It's all in the Nails

When our Lord Jesus was crucified, nails were used to hold Him up on the post of the cross.  One through each of His hands/arms and then one driven through both of His feet, one atop the other.  Nails became God's instrument to bring about redemption.  Though these nails caused pain, they also brought relief from pain.  The nails were the worldly means of keeping our Savior on the cross, though He Himself would have stayed up there even without the nails, such was the depth of His compassion for His fallen creation.

A nail, perhaps two, were used to post 95 statements onto a church door, just over 500 years ago.  The action of Jesus on the cross was still there, but many other things were now surrounding it, covering it, and even drawing the focus away from the cross, the nails, His death, and His resurrection.  More nails were used in an attempt to create a conversation about the central role of the One who had nails pierce His flesh to keep Him upon the cross, again, in the worldly sense.

The nails that held up Luther's 95 statements, or theses, were his attempt to bring the focus back upon Jesus, the One whom the nails had pierced, whose blood had been shed for the redemption and freedom of the world.  Not a freedom to do whatever we pleased, but instead, a freedom from that which shackled us, which condemned us, which would have led to our worldly death and our eternal death.  In one sense, we could say that it's all in the nails.

We Lutherans make a big deal about October 31 being called Reformation Day.  Luther chose this specific day for a reason.  You see, All Saints Day is November 1, a day that had traditionally been one of the big worship and festival days.  November 1 would be when the local people would be heading to that church to attend worship.  As they would enter, there would be Luther's 95 statements there, posted boldly for anyone to read, if they had the ability.  Those nails had a purpose, to draw attention and bring the conversation to Jesus and what He had accomplished for us.

When Lutherans celebrate October 31 as the Reformation, it's much more than remembering a monk who had 95 statements to initiate conversation.  Yes, that was a significant part of it.  But the thing to remember is that Luther posted those theses because he wanted to draw attention back to the original nails, the ones that had been used to help accomplish the redemption of each of us.  So yes, we sing proudly "A Mighty Fortress is Our God", and we lament that so many make the day more about costumes and candy rather than the cross and Jesus.  We wish many more would know the significance of these nails, nails which helped accomplish our redemption, and nails which helped draw the focus back to our redemption.  So Happy Reformation Day!

Reptition is the Mother of Learning

"Your steadfast love endures forever."  This is a refrain that rings out again and again in Psalm 136.  In fact, it is the ending of every verse in the Psalm.

I remember going through my confirmation years.  One thing that marks many confirmation classes in the church body I belong to is memorization of the Bible basics in the Small Catechism.  You say things like the commandments and their meanings over and over to yourself, repeating them to your classmates and the teacher.  You finally stand in front of the assembly of God's people and repeat them.  The intent is not to prove how proficient you are at memorizing things, but to start the process of "inwardly digesting" them, as one of our prayers says.  You learn by repeating.

While I am fully on board with changing things up so that people don't get bored with excessive repetition, I also see the value in saying the same things again and again.  We say the Apostles Creed and the Lord's Prayer frequently in congregations I have been a part of, and in the end, we take to heart the things that we speak of God or to God in them.  Sure, repetition has the potential of becoming rote, of just doing it because it's "the thing we do", but to offset that, it means that we take the time to occasionally review why we do the things we do, teaching the importance of them again and again.

If you think about it, this is actually how life works.  How did you learn to eat with a fork and spoon?  By practicing with it.  Watch any child start working with these utensils and you will see that you only improve by doing it again and again.  The first time, food ends up all over the floor, the clothes, the table, and even the hair!  But then, over time, they get much better at it.  They learn it to such a point that they hardly even think about it anymore.  In fact, reflect on how you use your utensils.  Do you even have to think about how you use them anymore?  Repetition is the mother of learning.

That's why I have become a huge fan of singing the same thing over and over, of saying the same thing over and over.  Now, I say that with a huge caveat.  You have to teach the meaning of what you are doing, why you are doing it, and be very explicit with what you are doing.  Just saying, "That's the way we've always done it" will not suffice as an explanation.  In the end, you will even find that teaching about why you are doing what you are doing is also something that calls for repetition, thus proving the point again and again, that we need to continually hear it to truly learn it.

The Fame of Anonymity

And Jesus sternly charged [the leper] and sent him away at once, and said to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.' But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, to that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people where coming to him from every quarter. Mark 1:43-45

In my life and ministry, I have typically attempted to keep as low a profile as I could.  I have rarely aspired to be anyone of importance.  I have no desire to hold offices.  I even shy away from the thought that people might want to look up to me as a role model or anything like that.  Sure, it's an honor when people encourage their kids to look to me as an example, but what I am saying is that it is not something I aspire toward.

To some extent, I have come to see Jesus in a similar light.  Quite often we find accounts in the Gospels like the one above, where Jesus does some act of kindness or compassion toward someone, and then tells them not to make a big deal out of it.  Over the years, I've heard various reasons given for this.  Some say that He knew the best way to get them to tell others would be to tell them NOT to talk about it, but that hasn't sat right with me, as it makes Jesus out to be intentionally misleading people.  Others say He didn't really mean it, but that would then devalue what Jesus says, which we only do at our peril.

I've rather come to think that Jesus actually didn't want attention drawn to Himself when He would show compassion and care for others.  He didn't want the left hand to know what the right hand was doing, or to have His actions done for the praise of man.  Instead, I have come to see Him much more in the light of what He spoke in Matthew 5, where He said to let your light shine before others, that they may see your good and give glory to the Father for what they have seen.

I have come to deeply believe that, when you do good for others, such as showing care and compassion, and you don't do it to be noticed, that it will get noticed.  Yes, God notices it, and truly, that is all that matters.  Any good that we do should really be done for an audience of One, that of the Father.  Yet, when people realize that you aren't doing good to them simply to show how good you are, they will respect that, and will inevitably let others know that you are one who is trustworthy.  As people who have been the recipients of your care and compassion connect with one another, suddenly what you have done builds.  Again, not so much for your benefit, but that God is glorified through what you have done.  Yet, in the long run, it will cause you to be more noticed, and perhaps even asked to do more, or to show more compassion.  That is what we eventually see with Jesus, just like Mark points out at the end of his first chapter.

So yes, show your care and compassion toward others, and do it abundantly.  Don't do it to be noticed, and don't do it so that others will talk about what a good person you are.  Do it because your Father sees it and rejoices over Christ shining in your life.  But also don't be surprised if you then start to witness what I am calling the Fame of Anonymity. 

The Power of the Question

I was recently reading through a book in which the author mentioned that he started reading through the Gospel accounts with the goal of counting the number of questions that Jesus asked.  He said that he stopped at somewhere around 300 questions.  Think about that for a moment.  One of the things Jesus did repeatedly was ask questions.  More often than not, He also didn't answer them, but rather allowed the person to work through the answer for themselves.  (By the way, I've also read that letting others answer the question for themselves is just about the most effective way for them to not only learn, but actually retain that information.)

Over the past number of years, I have to say that I have noticed myself moving toward asking questions far more than answering questions, or inserting my thoughts into a situation.  Sure, I might have some knowledge or even wisdom to apply to a situation, and there may be a time where it is suitable to provide that.  However, far more often, it is most beneficial to ask others to work through their thoughts and assumptions on things, to see what they are thinking and, perhaps more importantly, why they are thinking that.  That begins to tap into the power of the question.

I realize that this really isn't anything all that profound.  Yet, it also goes against so much of our human nature.  We want to think that we have something to contribute to the conversation.  We have knowledge that fits the situation, and it just seems appropriate to provide it.  We have wisdom regarding what is happening, and it just seems appropriate to share it for the benefit of others.  Yet, how often have you provided knowledge or wisdom, only to have the other person do something else, regardless of how good or right your knowledge or wisdom was?  Just like we think we have something to contribute, we could also benefit from remembering that they also think that, and somewhere in the back of their mind, they may also think that their way of thinking of the situation is superior to ours.

To ask questions means that we put aside our human tendency to insert our thoughts into the situation. That, my friends, is a hard thing to do. It involves a very intentional effort.  It means that we do as Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians and consider others as more significant than ourselves.  Truthfully, we don't want to do that.  That's why the power of the question so often goes untapped.

I admit that I am still learning this.  I've been coached by a wonderful man of God, who introduced me to much of the power of the question.  I've seen repeatedly in my reading of God's Word how often God asks a question, looking for His people to consider their answer.  And I have grown to see that God's Spirit is at work in ways that I can hardly imagine, and sometimes I have to ask before I see how He is bringing this person before me at this time to contribute something that I would not have seen if I hadn't simply asked for their input.

The power of the question.  What is keeping you from making use of this powerful thing?  How do you see God using questions to grow His people in knowledge, faith, and maturity?  

On Motivation

"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore, all have died..."  2 Corinthians 5:14

What drives you and motivates you?  In some ways, this is an easy question to answer.  When you wake up in the morning, an empty tummy drives you to breakfast.  A full bladder drives you to the bathroom.  With a desire to approach the day anew, you may be motivated to shower, shave, and get ready for the day.  When you are tired in the evening, your droopy eyes and the darkness motivate you to sleep.

Other times, however, discerning this is not so easily accomplished.  What drives you or motivates you in how you approach your work?  Think about it for a moment.  It could be the need for a paycheck, which motivates you to work, but not perhaps to put your greatest effort into it.  You could be motivated to please those who determine your pay level, and so you are motivated to do the things that you get "graded" for, but not a lot else.  You could be motivated because you feel particularly called to what you do, and therefore, you go above and beyond what is expected.  And even within these, you may find a variety of different motivations for the different tasks you face each day.

We can apply this question to practically everything in life.  Your interactions with your family, with your friends, with your neighbors.  What motivates you to buy the food you buy, the car you drive, the house in which you live, and so on down the line.  Perhaps you have reflected and thought about it, or perhaps not.  The question of what drives us is likely not one we consider often enough.

In the verse above, Paul is mentioning that he is driven and motivated by what Jesus had accomplished for him in His death and resurrection.  The New International Version of the Bible even puts it like this.  The love of Christ compels us.  For Paul, the love that God has revealed in Jesus is the motivating factor behind everything.  The work he would do, whether as apostle or as tentmaker, would be motivated by Christ's death and resurrection for him.  The people he would engage with, he would do so because he was motivated by Christ's death and resurrection for him and for them.  The places he would visit, and even the end he would meet, would all be motivated by the love of God in Christ Jesus crucified and raised from the dead.

Think back now to the questions that were posed above.  What motivates you in those different things?  Sure, the love of God in Christ Jesus may be behind some of them, but you might not think about it for others.  How does the love of Christ motivate you, say, in the car you purchase?  The home in which you live?  How you interact with your coworkers or neighbors?  What role does the love of Christ play in how you approach your work, or your family?

You may notice that I'm not answering these questions.  These are yours to answer, and if we are honest with ourselves, we may not like how we answer them.  We may grow in our realization that much of what we do is not motivated or driven by the love of God in Christ Jesus.  That is uncomfortable for us to think about, and yet, it may be the very thing we need to consider so we start to find the love of God in Christ Jesus motivating us even more.

For example, how can the love of Christ motivate us in the house we purchase?  Well, it could be that we consider being good stewards of the gifts God has given us.  It could be that we consider how our house and home could be a place where we advance God's kingdom, which then impacts the type and style of home we purchase.  Say you are motivated by Christ's love to host.  Then you likely will choose a house where hosting is easily accomplished.  Say you are motivated by Christ's love to raise children, your own, foster, adopted, etc.  You choose a place where you can more easily accomplish this.  Or you are motivated to live in a place where you can live generously toward others financially, and so you choose a smaller, more spartan house.  You see how the love of Christ can motivate even something like the house you buy.

Motivation is not an easily discernible thing.  I would argue that we do not consciously know what motivates us in what we do, and so taking the time to reflect on that motivation could prove to be a helpful thing.  It may show us things about ourselves we don't like, but that's when we fall back in thankfulness to God's truth that one has died for all, and in our baptism, we have died with Him.  Likewise, we have been raised with Him through those same baptismal waters.  

The Loneliness of Conviction

One of the sides of leadership that I have never been able to prepare for, and really have always inadequately dealt with, is the loneliness that comes from conviction.  What do I mean by that, you ask?  Great question.

The Loneliness of Conviction comes when you know that there is something that needs to be done, or an issue that needs to be addressed, and you realize that you are the one who is being called upon to lead the charge.  Others may think or feel the same way that you do, but they have not been given the opportunity or strength to speak up or stand up.  Yet others may see your conviction as unnecessary, needlessly causing conflict and stirring up the pot from their normal, known, often comfortable ways.  Some may even stand actively against you, whether they (or you) are right or wrong, but simply find comfort in where they stand.

I will admit that this particular matter, the loneliness of conviction, has led to more sleepless nights than I would ever have hoped for.  I will also admit that even typing these words causes me to question myself.  The vulnerability that I admit to having in being lonely and in, at times, wanting not to be the one who has such conviction, is truly gut-wrenching.  However, I also have come to believe very firmly in what Paul wrote when he wrote that, in weakness, the power of Christ is revealed.  Vulnerability truly does have a way of opening up doors for the Spirit that power, pride, and confidence don't.

The loneliness of conviction is not something you typically learn when dealing with leadership.  We often want to think that we will be able to win the argument, to persuade others to our side.  We want to think that our influence will change their minds and their actions.  And, truthfully, sometimes our conviction is simply the conviction of a better way to do something, but the "old" way is known, comfortable, and may even be showing signs of life, however faint.  The conviction to move out into the unknown is not something given to everyone.  Why do you think the people grumbled against Moses when they were out in the wilderness?  Moses had the conviction that this was from God, and yet, even as badly as the people had it, it was easier to grumble against it.  And even Moses struggled with the loneliness of conviction.

The loneliness of conviction is real.  Perhaps it is something that you have never thought of before, and if you are reading this, I hope you don't go away disheartened.  Yes, the loneliness of conviction is hard, but often, it means that God has prepared you for this moment (think Esther, as her cousin Mordecai would tell her that God may even have put her in the position she was in for just a time as this). God has also redeemed this, as Jesus Himself knows the loneliness of conviction, eventually being completely abandoned by all as He bore the weight of the sin of the world and the wrath of God, only to overcome it with His resurrection.  It is His strength that flows.  Will we fail?  Yes.  Will we doubt?  Yes.  Will we be lonely?  Yes.  Will we feel guilty if we fail to act or stand on our convictions?  Yes.  And yet, there will be a Savior there who has scars of His own and who can tell you that He can and has redeemed even this moment.

To Engage, or Not To Engage: That Is The Question

I know quite a few people who are heavily invested in social media as Christians.  If you filter through their posts, you will see their Christian faith coming out, whether by quoting Bible verses, advertising things that their community of faith are doing, or simply showing how God continues His activity in their lives.  These are great things, and in some cases, I am actually envious of how open and up-front they are about things.

I also know any number of people who are quite limited in their social media activity.  They may have an account or two, but use them sparingly.  You may not find much evidence of their Christian faith in their posts, but their posts are fairly sparse to begin with.  I actually find myself amazed when I see some of them post, as it is so rare that I wonder what brought them to the point of actually signing in and posting.

What defines how much you post on your social media?  Since you are reading this blog, I will admit that you are already one who is likely active with social media and who looks to utilize it.  More likely than not, the people who rarely post will not see this and thus, will have a limited thought on it.  Those who choose not to utilize social media will surely not even know that I have typed up these words, much less have a thought on them.  That's somewhat of a sobering thought, too.

Why do you choose to engage with social media?  What are the benefits you see in its use?  On the other hand, what are the limitations you find with your use?  You might say that a benefit is that you connect with more people, but a limitation could be that you spend less time face to face with those around you.  Or, you may say that a benefit is that people see your faith as an active thing, but a limitation is that the words are open to misunderstanding and even ridicule.  Do you delete a negative post, or let it remain?  If so, why do you do what you do?

You may notice that I am asking more questions than I am providing answers.  That's because I truly do believe that social media use is up to the individual.  I will not belittle anyone for using it or not using it.  I may challenge someone who perhaps makes too much of it, where it may interfere with things like family life and thus detract from that most important vocational responsibility, or I may question what a particular post is saying.  I will not belittle anyone for actually using social media, though.

Why have you chosen to engage with social media?  I think it's an important question for you to ponder, and you may find that engage with it for reasons that you may not even have really thought of before.  Perhaps giving your use that critical look will help focus what you do with it, or you may find that you are doing exactly what you hope to do.  Either way, I hope that taking some time to reflect on it will deepen your understanding of what you hope to accomplish through your engagement with social media.

Social Media and the Gospel

When I first started attending seminary as a student back in 1997, the internet was a largely unknown place.  The year before, I remember my AOL disk arriving in the mail, and I thought I would try it out.  Over the next few years, I started to learn about things like chat rooms and the like.  I have to admit that surfing the net sure wasn't in the picture, as businesses hadn't really learned the power of this new thing (new to most of us at that time). Mainly, I met a few new people, occasionally talked with them, but overall, found it to be rather boring, since I didn't know them.

Flash forward a couple of decades, and everyone (it seems) is now connected virtually all the time via their phones.  Not only that, but the scope and reach of their thoughts and words can now touch countless people at practically any time.  We've gotten used to words such as tweet and post without having to explain them.  We can pin items, snap pictures to chat, and all sorts of other things.

Social media is now a given.  Many Christians also make extensive use of it. In fact, I would dare say that most Christians regularly use at least one or two of these social media sites frequently each day.  The real question that we are looking at today is, what is the message that we convey through our use of social media?  Let me give you some brief examples to consider.

Take a Christian who is highly engaged in political discussions.  He posts frequently his unwavering support of his candidate, even when that candidate's character may be found lacking.  Seems harmless, right?  However, those who read what he posts and know that he is a Christian potentially could see what he posts as though God doesn't really care about character matters of leaders, or that character even matters.  He may come across as though he's okay with the sins of people whose values reflect those that align with his, but obeying God's will and law is optional as long as they agree with his values.

Or, consider the Christian who only posts items that show her family as though everything is always good.  The pictures are always of the family smiling, the posts show how great her kids are, and if you read through her history, it seems like they are the example of the perfectly happy family.  How many people may read through what she puts out there and git the false sense that being a Christian means that everything is always cheery and upbeat?  When their life doesn't reflect that, they may wonder about their faith.

For our final example, consider the Christian whose posts show the full spectrum of what is happening in life.  He posts some things of joy, but others of struggles and hardships that he faces.  He is open when he doesn't know what is happening, or when his life with Christ ebbs and wans.  This person shows what is "normal" for most people.  He may post things that are completely unrelated to his faith, while other things may be deeply faith related.  He addresses all of life with what he puts out there, and in doing so, may give a picture that being a Christian is openly involved in the world around him, and his faith informs him on these things.

Now, I am not going to say that you are wrong if you do some of these things.  The thing I most encourage you to do is to read through the items you post and consider the message that you are conveying through those posts.  Are they what you would hope they would be?  I even suggest that you ask some of your followers or friends what "image" you are conveying, and take their responses seriously.  More than anything, simply look at what you are doing and see if it fits with what you want others to see of you.

Observations from a Technology/Social Media Challenge

Yesterday, I posted at length about a challenge to see how you use technology and social media for a day.  I did this myself, and wanted to share some of what happened on my part.

First, simply as a result of knowing that I was keeping a record, I noticed that I had a tendency to want not to use some of the various media and technologies that I typically do.  Where I might typically spend more time looking over a website, say, one of my Dallas Cowboys, I noticed that I would spend less time reading and browsing over it than I normally would.  The same goes for the two games that I will often find a few minutes to play (these two are a Mahjong game and one of those popular matching games, called Homescapes).  Instead of spending more time on them, I found that I wasn't quite as keen in playing them, knowing that I would be putting my usage out there for whoever to read.

Overall, my day demonstrated a marked lower usage of technology and social media overall, around a whole hour less usage.  Yes, I still had to use my computer while at work, but I devoted my time much more to getting work done and less surfing the web.  While I tend to have my Twitter feed open, I also spent less time reading over it (15 total minutes on the day today).

One thing that I typically make a very intentional effort to do is to put away my phone when I get home.  That was the same today.  From my time arriving at home until the kids are asleep, I usually only check my phone about 2-3 times total, and that stayed the same.  I truly believe in having face to face time with them and my wife, without any screen interruptions.  So that is something that I intentionally do no matter what.

My evenings are often spent checking Facebook for about 15 minutes, then putting my blog entry and my daily Facebook post together.  That is going to be the same tonight.  Some evenings, I will give myself a little time to play my phone games, and other nights, I focus on reading to continue my learning.  Tonight is going to be an evening where I look over some items for the congregation at which I worship for Sunday, as I will be leading a service at an assisted living center during the Sunday School hour.  Then I will devote a few minutes to deciding which book to start next for my continuing education.  So tonight, I anticipate about another 15-20 minutes of social media/game usage.

The main point from yesterday that I wanted to emphasize was simply checking to see if your usage matched what you thought it would be.  In my case, I am sure that I used less today than I normally do, simply because I was aware that I was doing so.  I also noticed that I did not miss that time that I usually spend on it.  While I am far from a social media junkie, I realize that even that extra hour or so in the day could be put to far better use, far more than in me spending it on myself.

What were your observations, if you participated in the challenge?  If you didn't, what do you suspect you might discover?  What is keeping you from recording your technology and social media usage?  

A Digital Challenge

Generally speaking, there are a few things in our lives that we can look at which help us determine what is of most importance in our lives.  How and where we spend our money shows us a certain set of priorities in life.  Likewise, who we spend time with, and where, also gives us insight into our priorities.  How we allot the time we spend throughout the day is yet another indication of what is of importance in our lives, and it is on this last one that I want to spend a few thoughts.

Do you currently know how you spend the time God has gifted you each day?  Or, perhaps, let me start from a different place.  How do you think you are spending the time that God has given you each day?  Sure, you have a certain amount of time dedicated to sleep.  Another significant portion may be set apart for work (though we will look a little at how we spend our time at work as well).  Then, depending on our life situation, we will allot the rest of the time in ways that reveal things that are important to us.

Initially, here is what I would ask you to do.  Write out how you expect that you are spending your time each day.  Now, don't give too much thought to this, but do take it seriously.  Don't try to pin things down to the exact number of minutes, but give the general feel for how you spend your day.  Please make sure that it adds up to 24 hours, though.  Though He reserves the right to do so, God rarely extends the day for anyone.

Now comes the hard part.  Starting tomorrow, make a log of how you spend your time throughout the day.  Again, don't focus so much on getting it down to the minute, but make sure you are giving an accurate representation of how your time is being spent.  If it takes you 15 minutes to drive to work, simply write down the time you leave your house and the time you arrive at work.  If you are sitting down to eat, note the time you start and then the time you wrap up.  Don't make the exercise more challenging than it already is.

This especially goes for your time on technology.  Write down when you sit down and turn on your computer, and then when you turn it off.  If you log onto something like social media, make a note of when you get on, and then when you get off.  For these, I would actually suggest that you keep it as accurately as possible (easy to do, since most computers have the time stamp at the lower right hand part of the screen).  

For work purposes, you likely have to engage technology in some way.  Rather than keeping track of how you spend your whole work day, focus instead on the time you dedicate to other activities besides work.  If you are surfing the net, write down when you do that on non-work related activities.  Basically, record anything that you do that falls outside of normal work expectations.

Do all this for one full day.  Then, the next day, compare how you thought you were spending your day to how you were actually spending your day.  What did you observe?  Were you surprised by the times you dedicated to certain activities?  What does your observation tell you about what is of importance to you?  Are these the things to which you want your time dedicated?  I'm offering this, not to make you feel bad about how you spend your time, but to encourage you to consider the time that God is giving to you.  You are a redeemed child of God in Christ Jesus, and my hope would be that your day would carry a reflection of how God would have you prioritize your vocations in service to Him and to neighbor.  If you find that is not the case, now is the time to repent and then start to work some change into your life.  We'll deal more with that in the next post. 

Book Review: Digitized: Spiritual Implications of Technology

Digitized: Spiritual Implications of Technology, by Bernard Bull, Concordia Publishing House, 2018

How often do you think about technology?  Chances are, you think about it quite often in our day and age.  Technology is an intricate part of our lives these days.  Every day, new technologies and new media are coming forth at a dizzying pace.  As we adopt technology into our lives, we seem to rarely consider how we are being shaped by it.

In Digitized, Bernard Bull challenges the reader to give consideration to the technology and media that are part of their lives.  Bull isn't against technology by any means.  In fact, in service to the salvation Jesus purchased for us on the cross and the resurrection, technology and media can be a tremendous asset.  Yet, just as there are great possibilities, there are also great challenges.  Technology and media can begin to consume our lives and, in doing so, can actually creep toward becoming idols.

Bull presents a number of thoughts that are worth considering, and I will likely touch on some of these in future posts.  One thing he asserts is that every technology is not neutral, but has its bias.  That is, every technology is created to perform a function and in performing that function, it means that it is not suitable for other functions.  For example, a hammer is a technology created to hit things.  Its bias is toward hitting things.  It doesn't do very well as a back scratcher or to dust your house.  We can see the same thing with other technology.  It has its biases, and how we utilize it according to its purpose means that we are being shaped by it.

Bull also presents another thought that we may not always consider.  Every technology has its affordances.  That is, particular technologies bring to light things that are beneficial.  However, there are also limitations that technology brings.  We typically focus mostly on the affordances, but spend less time on the limitations.  If you spend, for example, time on Facebook connecting with other people, that is an affordance.  However, you might also consider that it limits the time you are spending with your family, or doing another task around your house that may need to be done.  Giving thought to the limitations might help bring the use of technology into a greater perspective.

While Bull gives the reader many different points to consider when it comes to technology use (and these are vastly needed in our day and age), the main thing that he urges the reader to do is to approach all technology with the Scriptures open in front of them.  Technology is not neutral.  Therefore, as Christians, we need to be examining technology and our use of it with God's Word being a constant that we consult.  It's not just merely about the content of the technology, but even the technology itself, and especially our use of technology.  Having the reminder that we are redeemed children of God through the sacrifice of Jesus and His resurrection helps us as Christians to focus our use of technology in ways that serve God and our neighbor, and even provides a forum for us to ask for forgiveness when we find technology assuming too large a role in our lives.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who regularly uses technology (that means you).  You'll find yourself challenged by it, but in a very good way.

Saying "Yes" and Saying "No"

Let what you say simply be Yes or No; anything more than this comes from evil/the evil one.  Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 5:37

It's very likely that you have been asked to do something or to participate in something in the past.  You didn't really want to do it, but it was a noble cause, or it was something that you felt that you had some level of responsibility to do.  It could have been a matter of deep importance or something that was of far less importance.  You wanted to say no.  You really didn't have enough time for it, you didn't have the interest in it, or it wasn't in your area of strength.  It may have been something that was very good, but it just wasn't going to be a good match for you.  But instead of saying no, you said that you would think about it, that you would pray about it, and in the end, you may even have agreed to do it, even though it was with something less than enthusiasm.

For a moment, I want to suggest that we often say yes to things that we should not agree to do, and we say no to things that we should say yes to doing.  Answering these in the proper way often involves a level of discernment, and a great deal of getting over ourselves.  If we want to say no because we are too busy, or we don't believe we have the time, or we just simply don't want to do it, we should probably ask ourselves if we have selfish reasons for not wanting to do it.  If we say no for selfish reasons, some time to reflect and discern may prove helpful.  If we don't want to do it because we are busy, it may mean that we really should look at our schedule and see if we have too many other things to which we are saying yes, when we should be saying no.

On the other hand, we also sometimes say yes for without utilizing that same discernment.  We say yes because the person asking really wants us to do it, but we are a poor fit for it.  We say yes because we feel guilty saying no.  We say yes because it's a really good thing, even though our schedule is already full of really good things.  Again, this may be the time when we need to utilize discernment in our reasoning for saying yes.  We may need to get over ourselves again, whether it is getting over our sense of guilt, or because we really don't want to let someone else down and thus have a different opinion of us.

When I was reading this verse above, it really struck me deeply.  Jesus says that anything more than yes or no is from evil, and the reading of evil from the original Greek text implies more of the evil one.  That caught me.  If I try to qualify my yes or no, whatever I add could actually be of the evil one.  If I say yes simply because I don't like conflict, and therefore don't want to offend the other person by saying no, I'm "adding" to my yes, but for sinful reasons, and that is of the evil one.  If I say no because I simply don't want to do it, or I don't want to think about what I might have to give up, again I am "adding" to my no, but for sinful reasons, and that is of the evil one.

I'll be up front in saying that it is hard to simply say yes or no to a situation set before you.  We have this need to explain ourselves within us.  I would suggest that we probably need to actually take more time to discern, to pray, to consider our schedule of activities, and then to respond with either yes or no.  Discerning is difficult, though.  It may reveal that you have said yes to way too many things, and now you need to practice your no.  Or, it may reveal that you have said no simply because you don't want to give of ourselves, and now you need to practice sacrificial giving of yourself.

Now, I don't expect that you are going to read this and all of a sudden have an epiphany and completely change how you answer people.  Perhaps the most I hope for is that you actually do make a little more effort to discern the situation next time you face a "yes" or "no". It is worth noting that we face this discernment as a redeemed child of God in Jesus, connected to His death and resurrection through our baptism.  We will mess up, and add to our no and our yes.  Yet, we also live with the perfect life of Jesus within us, with His death in us, and His resurrection in us.  That makes our no and our yes definitely worth discerning, since He has freed us from the evil one. 

A Little Catching Up

Those of you who follow me may have noticed that I have been quiet for about a week.  Last week, I was crossing the plains of Nebraska in search of future workers for God's kingdom.  While it's not as large as my home state of Texas, there are still plenty of miles to travel there, and enough things to keep working on that I just ran out of time.

So, what else has been going on?  Glad you asked.  Just yesterday, we hosted a block party for our street for the second year in a row.  The smaller city we live in provides hot dogs and drinks, and leaves barricades at the ends of the street, so that the residents of the street can get to know each other, eat together, and create a stronger neighborhood.  Last year, we were pleasantly surprised at the turnout, and this year, it was even bigger.

When God tells us to love our neighbor, we understand that there are multiple ways to understand the term "neighbor."  Yes, it means the literal person who lives next door, and we are to strive to live at peace with them, as much as it lies with us.  It also means the people of our general area (city, metro area, county, state, and nation).  On the largest of scales, we also understand it to mean every person that God has created on this earth.

For us, the block party is a great way to bring that love and care to our literal neighbors.  We met some new neighbors, reconnected with some that we hadn't seen too much over the last year, and connected even more deeply with some we see with regularity.  It's also interesting to see their reactions when they learn of my work, though for the most part, they seemed rather accommodating to serving the Lord (especially since we have two sets of nuns that live on our street).  I even had one of the nuns ask me if I knew a certain pastor in the area, who just happens to be my pastor at the church I attend!  It's amazing what you learn when you live life together.

I had to miss an on-campus event that evening in which we hosted a theologian who was speaking on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, "Life Together."  Though I missed the session, I would hope that Bonhoeffer would agree with the reason for missing it, that I was living life together with the people on my street.  My hope is that we Christians can become more known for such activities as this.

Who is your Thorn?

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:7

No one likes to have negative or sinful things about them pointed out.  Sure, we may say that we welcome correction or reproof, or that we are open to learning more of our weaknesses and shortcomings, but deep down, it really is something we resist.  We not only fail to go out of our way to find those who can point those out to us, often we actually shy away from anyone who would share those sins, weaknesses, and shortcomings with us.

Yet, there are few things more valuable to our growth as Christians than to have someone lovingly point out a sinful action or behavior, or a habit that we have that hinders others, or a weakness that we may not want to consider.  When such things are pointed out to us, we have the opportunity to address that issue and to grow from it.  I know personally that I have benefited from having this done for me any number of times, sometimes on matters of minor importance and at other times on matters that deeply affected me and others.  Each time, I have grown in my Christian faith and in the living out of that faith because of such encounters.

Truth be told, having someone do this for us is much like a thorn in the flesh.  To be honest, I made use of the verse above because it somewhat fit what I was looking for from a Bible verse for this post, rather than being the specific thing that Paul was talking about.  However, I do believe that we would tend to look at someone bringing a word of correction or reproof as a thorn.  It's something to avoid.  It keeps us from becoming conceited.  It may or may not be of Satan, but it does serve to remind us of the humility that God looks for in His people.

So the simple question tonight is, who is your thorn?  Who is that person that could address a sin issue, a weakness, or a correction, and that you would be open to their words?  Some might say it's your spouse, and there is something to that.  However, while it's good to be open and honest as a married couple, you usually want to focus on building up and strengthening each other.  Yes, at times that means addressing issues, but I would suggest that you don't necessarily want the person who is your thorn to be your spouse.

Consider, though.  Who is that person who can address that sin issue in a firm, yet caring way?  Who is there that you know who could correct something that you have done, and you won't build up a wall of pride to prove them wrong (or, at least, not too high a wall)?  Who could poke you in a way that hurts, but that serves to draw you to humility and care, and so the pain they inflict is something that you are thankful for?

If you don't have such a person in your life, perhaps it's time to look for that.  WARNING: doing this WILL be damaging to your pride and ego.  You are not perfect, and you will have some holes punctured in you.  Yet, when this is done in a caring way toward you, you can start to address these areas and grow as a Christian, which benefits you, the whole Body of Christ, and ultimately all of your neighbors as well.