God Is Not A Priority

We all have priorities.  Not everyone has the same priorities.  The priorities of a politician may be different than the priorities of a stock broker, a police officer, a football player or a mom.  Even beyond the different priorities that encompass different careers, each individual person has their own set of priorities.  Some want to be wealthy, some want to be famous, some want to be educated, some want to be rational, some want to be loved, some want to be left alone, some want to live ethical lives, some want to care for the planet or their families or their pets, and some want to be more spiritual or know God more fully.  A long time ago I decided that it was time to make God a priority in my life.  I had just given my life to Christ after a long period of living for myself and I wanted to make sure that I prioritized my spiritual life.  So I added God to my list of priorities, right along side providing for my family, loving my wife and children, becoming a famous musician, taking care of my health, writing a book, doing post graduate work, vacations, date nights, and the list goes on and on...

What I discovered was this: when I made God a priority he tended to get shuffled...a lot.  I also found that I tended to compartmentalize God.  For instance, this hour is when I will focus on God and my spirituality because the rest of the day is about work and family and school and eating and taking my kids to football.  When I listed all my priorities I began to realize that quite often I made other things a priority over God.  Not because I intended to or wanted to but because I wasn't connected with who God really is and what God really wants for me.

God IS my life.  God is not part of my life.  God is over and in and around and through everything I do each day.  He is not just an hour before breakfast or a few chapters in the Bible before I fall asleep. He is not just prayer before meals or when I need help.  Honestly, if that is all God is, where is he when I sleep in and am late for work or when things are going well and I don't need any desperate help or when I decide to stay up late and watch a movie and then fall asleep and drag myself to bed?  He ends up getting pushed off until tomorrow or until I have more time or am once again faced with a situation I can't handle on my own.  Then God is suddenly a priority again.        

God has to be above priorities because as I discovered, priorities are subject to my control and my desires and my failures and my weaknesses. 

Now I engage in prayer continually as I go throughout my day because I have come to realize that God is with me wherever I am and doesn't need me to set aside quiet time and close my eyes and go into some long formal prayer when I want to talk to Him.  I can talk to him in sentences or phrases or questions as I drive, walk, or in the middle of a difficult conversation with someone and I need His grace.  When things come to mind, I don't need to put them off until my prayer time, I just talk to God about them right then because He is listening, always.  If I choose, I can also carve out time to spend in longer solitude and prayer, but that is not the only way to connect with God.  

I find God in the ordinary, in the everyday, in movies, words, phrases, music, beauty, nature, good food, a great wine, the joy of a good laugh, the community of good friends.  I don't have to wait for that 'sacred' time of devotions or those few verses I read before bed.  God is everywhere in this world, waiting, wanting us to discover Him in new and mysterious ways.

I still try to make time in my day to read the Bible to listen for God speaking to me, for silence and solitude, but I also realize that God is far beyond those times I try, and often fail, to make for Him. And so, with a very keen sense of my own weakness I have come to realize that as long as I try to make God a priority in my life, He will always be shuffled around, no matter how hard I try to keep him the top priority.  God is no longer one of the priorities in my life.  God is my life.  I am trying to see Him in everything I do, in everything I say, in every moment, in the good and the bad, in the successes and the failures.  

Some will no doubt say that this view of my life is about making God a priority, that I have prioritized seeing God in my life every day.  I would agree.  I am prioritizing the attempt to see God as more than a priority.  I know it is confusing, and for some it may just seem like a semantical argument, but for the way God has wired me, it is what makes sense to me.

    

        

 

Finding God in the everyday

Lots of people I know say they find God in the everyday things.  I believe them.  I'd love it if they told me where or how, or if it is just some dumb cliche that people use to excuse their inability or lack of desire to search for God in His word.  Regardless, I do find God in the everyday.
Here are some of the ways I've found God in my everyday life this week.

John Mayer's song "Other Side of Green".  I was listening to it today at the gym.  It contains these lyrics.  "And I don't need another kind of green to know I'm on the right side with you."  So often the grass looks greener on the other side.  Life without the "restrictions" of religion or the perceived inability to have fun if you believe in God can make some people think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  As I listened to the song today I was reminded how true it is that I don't need to go back and try the grass on the other side of the fence, I know I'm on the right side with God.  I love my life with God.  I enjoy my life with God.  I have fun.  I live on His side of the fence.

On the wall of my office is an old Matrix poster.  The tagline is "How far down does the rabbit hole go?"  One of my favorite movies of all time.  In it Morpheus asks Neo if he wants to take the blue pill and continue living in a fairy tale land where nothing is real, or if he wants to take the red pill and discover how far down the rabbit hole goes?  Essentially, if he wants to discover the truth.  Everyday I am reminded that there is no end to what I can discover about my Savior.  There is no end to the rabbit hole, only deeper and deeper levels of understanding and discovery.  The mystery is what keeps me coming back.

The keyboard on my ipad stopped working this week.  I'm not a mac guy so I was frustrated.  I'm downloading manuals from the internet, my wife is downloading manuals, I'm talking with my staff trying to figure it out.  Finally my wife asks me if I have plugged in the keyboard to recharge it.  I didn't know you had to recharge the keyboard separately from the ipad itself.  I was reminded once again as I sat and watched the keyboard recharge yesterday afternoon of how vital it is that I remain plugged in to Jesus and His word.

Now I'm not trying to say that every little thing that happens in life has some giant spiritual significance. Most of the time it probably doesn't.  I'm not suggesting we try to force some spiritual significance into every day living.  Don't waste your day trying to figure out if the water not getting hot in the shower is God's way of trying to tell you something.  What I am saying is this:  be open to the reality that God does speak to us through our everyday lives.  Look for the moments, be open to them.  It may just be a feeling of peace as you watch the sun set.  It may be a feeling of thankfulness as you interact with your kids or our spouse.  God is everywhere.

 

Halloween

Yesterday I tweeted that I was not going to dress up for Halloween.  I said that I was going to just be myself, or something along those lines.  Well, tonight there is a big Halloween party at work.  Everyone is going and everyone is dressing up.  I've already seen the costumes.  I don't want to be the only guy there without a costume.  So, I have decided to dress up as the scariest thing I know.
I'm going as a Seattle Seahawk's fan.

HaHaHa...o.k. seriously.

Halloween and Christianity.  Should a Christian participate in, or celebrate, such an obviously pagan holiday.  (There are, by the way, very good arguments that would indicate that perhaps Halloween is based more on Christian origins than on pagan ones, however the pagan traditions were more fun and so began to take over)
I've gone back and forth on this.  When I was in my more fundamentalist days (yes, I had them) I wouldn't let my kids dress up or go trick-or-treating.  We just bought them candy ourselves.  In my more liberal days (which some of you are saying, does it get more liberal than this?) we took our kids to big trick-or-treat parties or took them up and down our street.

Here is what I always come back to.  Where would Jesus be?
I know exactly where He would be.  He'd be out with people.  A big wedding party?  Check.  A funeral? Check.  A huge dinner party at the home of the head of the NRA?  Check.  Cocktails with the mayor and the head of the IRS?  Check.  Dinner with the Republican caucus?  Check.  Lunch with the Democratic National Convention?  Check.  Down on the docks on Monday morning?  Check.  At the playground with the moms and the kids?  Check.  At church?  Check.  At a Halloween party?  Why not.

Take what you want from this post.  I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything.

Oh ya, underneath my Seattle Seahawks costume, I'll be wearing my 49er T-shirt!!    

Self Control and Social Media

I love social media, especially Facebook and Twitter.  My family would probably tell you I love both of them too much.  I love the connectivity they offer me to the world. I love them as a forum to meet old friends, make new friends (although cyber friends aren't real friends, right?), to solicit and gather information, to engage the world, and to support causes that are important.  There is a certain power that comes with the ability to speak to the world from behind your computer desk, and that power can be used as a force for good or a force for evil.

As Spiderman's uncle says to him "With great power comes great responsibility" and I fear that many times, we misuse the power of social media and do not exercise responsibility or self-control.

I'm guilty of this from time to time.  I have occasionally voiced personal opinions on sensitive topics on Facebook and Twitter that have gotten me into trouble.  Because I am a Christian minister I have to be extra careful of what I post and which debates I engage in publicly.  From time to time I forget this and it has cost me.  I am learning, however, that people in public positions do not get to use social media as carelessly as those who are not in public positions. While this is at times frustrating, it is also a fact of life in the age of information and social media.  I get that.  I don't like it, because I have strong opinions and I am wired to engage with people who have different opinions, however social media is not the venue in which to do this, but I get it.  This does not mean that I can not have an opinion or that I can not support that opinion and disagree with the opposite opinion.  What it does mean is that I have to be mature enough to know when and how to engage in discussions surrounding the topic that do not bring dishonor to the name of God or to the church.  

Social media allows me the cloak of supposed invisibility.  When it is just me alone with my computer, it is easy to forget that what I am writing could potentially be seen by hundreds if not thousands of people.  I have no control over how what I write will be used by others, how it will be taken by others, how it will be forwarded by others, and how it could ultimately end up hurting many more people than just the one person I may be targeting in my tweet or Facebook post or blog.  I am not actually looking into the face of the person with whom I am having a "discussion" via social media.  Adding the hashtag #justsayin or something like that, does not excuse me from saying things that are hurtful or offensive that I would not say face to face to that person.  When I am protected behind my keyboard alone in my office it is easy to forget that there is a real, living, human being for whom Christ died at the other end of this discussion.   

As Christians we are called to a higher standard than even those in public office.  From the housewife to the President, from the student to the University Professor, from the dad to the Pastor, if you are a Christian there is a higher standard that we are called to follow, not just when using social media, but in every interaction.  This standard is called "Self Control" and it based on the universal principle of love. 

The Bible talks about them over and over again.  Here are four examples out of thousands I could cite.

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and self-control."

1 Timothy 6:11 "But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and self control."

John 13:35 "By this will all men know you are my followers, if you love one another."

1 John 3:23 "This is  (God's) command, to believe in Jesus Christ and to love one another."

I have seen far too many Christians use social media as a vehicle to express anger, bitterness, resentment, hostility and to then express slanderous, hate-filled, one-sided rants towards people, institutions, and policies or beliefs with which they disagree.  Whether you are a liberal Christian or a fundamentalist Christian, Facebook, Twitter, and the comment section of Youtube videos are not the places to engage in public bashing of those with whom you disagree.  In fact, no place is the proper place to bash those with whom you disagree, regardless of who you believe is right or wrong. Believers don't do that to each other.  

James 3 is an amazing chapter in the Bible on learning to control the tongue.  I think if James were writing today he would be talking about learning to control our use of social media.  I'm still learning. I hope you are too.    

   

      

Under New Management

I used to work at a hotel on The Strip, well, just off The Strip.  It was a long time ago. It wasn't a very good hotel.  I think its nickname was "hooker central" or something along those lines.  If it wasn't, it should have been.  I saw my fair share of prostitution, drug deals, criminals, pimps, and police officers (not to mention a dead body, oh and a pimp threatened to kill me once). In my short time at that fine establishment we changed management companies: twice.  Both times we hung out a banner that said "Under New Management" and both times, nothing changed.  It was the same hotel with the same philosophy and the same way of doing things and the same clientele.
As Christians, when we surrender our lives to Jesus, when we turn to Jesus, in effect we come under new management.  We are no longer in charge of our lives, we give that management to God.  We ask God to take over and help us figure out how to live every day with a new perspective on life, a new perspective on the world, a new perspective on ourselves, and a new perspective on eternity.  It begins when we ask, but for some of us, it takes a long time to actually implement.
See, we are all raised in a culture that says "I am in control of my own life."  The American dream is the self made man, the man who works hard and takes control of his life and becomes a success; all on his own with his own smarts and a little bit of luck.  Giving control of our lives to Jesus is counter cultural.  It might even be a little subversive.  It is also the only way to live.
Just like the hotel, I can hang out a banner that says "I'm under new management, Jesus is in control of my life" and then have nothing change.  I can talk the talk and then keep doing my own thing and running my own life.  Jesus won't go where he isn't wanted.  He respects our choices.  However, if I am serious, if I really do want to be under new management, then slowly my life becomes a process of learning how to let go and of how to let God be in control.  This isn't an easy thing.  It isn't a quick thing either.  It takes a lifetime.  There are days when it is one step forward and three steps backwards. But with God in control, those days slowly becomes fewer and fewer.  Slowly it becomes two steps forward, one step back...then three steps forward...and one day you realize you are walking in the Spirit.  Again, it isn't perfection, nobody will ever be perfect, but it is so much better than the alternative.
And the best part is, one day, all those steps will lead you home.  

far away dad

I wonder if this is how God feels?  Far away and disconnected from his children.  

I love that Skype and email and phone calls keep me as connected as I am to my family, but it isn't the same as being there.  There are days when I feel very disconnected to what is going on in their lives. Like today.  I wonder if after this year of separation, they won't really remember what it is like to live with their dad.  I wonder if they will have grown and developed so much that it will feel awkward to be living in the same house again and attempting to readapt to life with dad around again. They are in their mid to late teens and they are becoming adults without me around to guide them.  They are learning to make choices and decisions without the ability, or perhaps the need, to ask for my input or insight.  

Ya, I wonder if this is how God feels.    

3 Days

My church surprised me with a three day "holiday" with my family last week.  They flew me up to Canada after church on Sunday and then flew me back on Thursday so I'd be here in time for rehearsal Thursday night.  It was the best mini vacation I can remember.  Three days with your family when you haven't seen them in a while is heaven.  Little things like walking the kids to school, seeing where Kyle works at Costco, going to the gym with my wife, watching Monday Night Football together, jamming on the guitar and bass with Braden, taking Skye and the dog on long evening walks mean so much more when you don't get to do them on a regular basis.  God absolutely knew what he was talking about when he said "It is not good for man to be alone."  As a man I know I am at my best when I have my family around me and when I am engaged in leading my household spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  When my energy is directed towards God, my family, and my work (in that order) I am at my best.  When I am away from my family, even though I try to be as engaged with them as I can through regular Skype, email, and phone calls, there is a disorder that enters my world that is difficult to deal with.  
When I am alone I can get away with being less engaged, less focused, and more selfish than I would be with my family.  I can stay up later and sleep in more because I don't have to get up and make lunches and help get my family ready for the day.  It's just me and I can come and go as I please.  When it is just me I can go to work as long as I want, as often as I want.  I can work on my days off if I need too. This knowledge makes it easier for me to work less efficiently on my regular work days because I know I can always "get it done on Saturday" if I need too.  When I am alone I am not as disciplined in my spiritual and prayer life.  They still exist, but they do so on my schedule whenever I feel like fitting them in to my day.  When I am with my family I am constantly reminded of my need for God because I am always aware of how my answers to their questions, of how my attitude in difficult circumstances, reflect to them how much God and spirituality inform my life and my opinions.  When I am with my family my wife and I pray together every night.  It is the last thing we do together before we go to sleep.  When I am by myself it is easy to forget to pray every night; it is easy to slip into bed and be out before I know it.
So, apart from just being a great time, the last three days with my family have reminded me how important it is to continue to live the way I would live if my family were in the same house as I am.