Several weeks ago, the lesson for the day from Mark talked about the rich young ruler. He seemed to be the model of the positive. He was positive that he had fulfilled the commandments to the letter and done so since he was a child. He seemed certain that he was doing all he could. But there was doubt also ... doubt or arrogance. The young man came to Jesus to ask what he had to do to be saved. Perhaps he was unsure. Or, perhaps, he was so sure that he had done it ALL that he could claim his crown while still here in the flesh.
Jesus saw it differently. Jesus wound up, in the end, talking to the disciples about how hard it is for a rich person to understand the plight of the poor. Marie Antoinette ran into this. Her famous quote was : No Bread? Then let them eat Cake! This quote shows the immense misunderstandings that can happen when your pantry has NEVER been bare.
When we talk about being positive, we have to be very mindful of ourselves. Remember: someone can look at you and say you are Positively Wrong!
Practice being Positive in the best sense of the word. Be the magnet that draws others, in a positive way, to the possibilities that exist for good in this world. Find a way to help one another. You probably won't have to give up everything to do that. But you may have to give up your most prized value: your self-centered nature.
The surprising thing is: real self-value has nothing to do with self at the center!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The Spring Cycles
Sometimes we are cycling... not with bikes, although that is fun. Instead, we are cycling in life. We are moving through moments and then find the moment reappearing again.
We all cycle...if nothing more than through the seasons of the year. There are other cycles though. There are life cycles and there are cycles in life. Aging is a life cycle. Caring for an aging relative is a cycle in life. Some of us have done that with caregiving for elderly parents...first one, then the other, than an aunt or uncle. It seems like "same song...second verse" kind of stuff.
Some cylces are simply not fun! At Church, young people get very annoyed with "us" for singing the sixth verse of a song they really didn't like the first verse of .... and I can't blame them. They see those as wasted moments in their lives as the song consistently does not speak to them. It doesn't fit their experience or their spirituality. No amount of repetition will make it "work" for them. It is just not in the least conducive to where they are and where they are going. Things are supposed to conduct us on to the next stop in life, like the conductor on the old time trains. Sometimes things seem to be on a whole different track than we are on. ...And, as such, they just don't connect to us.
It seems I am always cycling.
One and done is NOT a part of my life.
Whatever I do, I get an opportunity to redo and, hopefully, do better.
Whether it is dishes (I like multiple meals per day so there are always dishes)
or children (there are twelve years between my sons),
I seem to be able to find a second cycle on everything I do.
My hope is that I am a better dishwasher, a better mom, and a better pastor each time I cycle back into an event or event stream.
Some see these as clearly lessons I have to learn. Some would say this is Karma in the current life. Some would ask me why I keep stepping into the same situations over and over.
I just think I cycle...and that we all do. I think I do learn something new each time and I do think that "action followed by equal and opposite reaction" applies to personal relationships as well as to science and physics I think I step back into situations because each time it is new again. Since I like clean dishes and not paper plates, I will wash. I love my kids so I still answer the phone when they call. And people still seem to like my sermons.
Repetition is not a bad thing. It can be a learning thing. It can be an enjoyment thing. It can be a sharing and teaching thing. .
The trick is to keep the cycle positive. If I start liking paper plates more than diswashing,I'll probably change. If the kids are really driving me crazy, I do know how to mute my phone (at least for an hour or two). And if misistry ever becomes so old and overbearing that the stress is more than the reward, I bet I could even step away from that. The trick is to find a new positive cycle... paper plates, phone-free moments, or a new outreach.
After all, isn't spring all about the old cycle of new life.
We all cycle...if nothing more than through the seasons of the year. There are other cycles though. There are life cycles and there are cycles in life. Aging is a life cycle. Caring for an aging relative is a cycle in life. Some of us have done that with caregiving for elderly parents...first one, then the other, than an aunt or uncle. It seems like "same song...second verse" kind of stuff.
Some cylces are simply not fun! At Church, young people get very annoyed with "us" for singing the sixth verse of a song they really didn't like the first verse of .... and I can't blame them. They see those as wasted moments in their lives as the song consistently does not speak to them. It doesn't fit their experience or their spirituality. No amount of repetition will make it "work" for them. It is just not in the least conducive to where they are and where they are going. Things are supposed to conduct us on to the next stop in life, like the conductor on the old time trains. Sometimes things seem to be on a whole different track than we are on. ...And, as such, they just don't connect to us.
It seems I am always cycling.
One and done is NOT a part of my life.
Whatever I do, I get an opportunity to redo and, hopefully, do better.
Whether it is dishes (I like multiple meals per day so there are always dishes)
or children (there are twelve years between my sons),
I seem to be able to find a second cycle on everything I do.
My hope is that I am a better dishwasher, a better mom, and a better pastor each time I cycle back into an event or event stream.
Some see these as clearly lessons I have to learn. Some would say this is Karma in the current life. Some would ask me why I keep stepping into the same situations over and over.
I just think I cycle...and that we all do. I think I do learn something new each time and I do think that "action followed by equal and opposite reaction" applies to personal relationships as well as to science and physics I think I step back into situations because each time it is new again. Since I like clean dishes and not paper plates, I will wash. I love my kids so I still answer the phone when they call. And people still seem to like my sermons.
Repetition is not a bad thing. It can be a learning thing. It can be an enjoyment thing. It can be a sharing and teaching thing. .
The trick is to keep the cycle positive. If I start liking paper plates more than diswashing,I'll probably change. If the kids are really driving me crazy, I do know how to mute my phone (at least for an hour or two). And if misistry ever becomes so old and overbearing that the stress is more than the reward, I bet I could even step away from that. The trick is to find a new positive cycle... paper plates, phone-free moments, or a new outreach.
After all, isn't spring all about the old cycle of new life.
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