Kind of like Batman and Robin, but not

When you think of things that make a bad combination, what comes to mind? Idiots and cars? Lousy parents and having kids? Mayo plus anything? (Sorry Kelli, but it is true.) There are a lot of combinations that just shouldn't happen, but I think the worst may be pride and selfishness.

Pride keeps us from reaching out to others and convinces us that we are always right. In may be something as minor as asking directions or may be something more serious. That pride may keep us from going where we need to go or doing what we know we should. Our pride keeps us from being able to open to others. We don't want them to think less of us, even though we may be thinking too highly of ourselves anyway. We keep hiding behind the mask of our pride, not willing to lay it down and be transparent. We don't reach out because it may mean we have to depend on others.

Selfishness is the other partner is this bad duo. Selfishness says that I am the only one who matters. It is about what I want. What I desire. I want to control things. I want and I don't care about others. Selfishness also keeps us to ourselves. We don't want to think about others before the things we want. We close out others so we don't have to even consider them. Selfishness is a quick way to being alone. Have you sees community or unity destroyed? Look closely and I will bet that one, or more likely both, of these are involved.

So are you prideful? Are you selfish? If so, what are you going to do about it? Don't let it tear apart the good things that are possible.

Well behaved is overrated

"Well behaved people have rarely made history." Saw this on a bumper sticker the other day on my way to work. I like this. Not only does it appeal to the part of me that wants to keep people guessing, but I think it rings true. The radical is what makes the difference. Fitting the norm, rarely impacts the bigger picture. So the question is are you radical or well behaved? We are told to be well behaved, but really if we lived a radical life don't you think it would be noticed?

Seems strangely like what Jesus did. He lived a life that turned everything upside down. He was a king, but his purpose was to serve, not be served. He had compassion and loved those that the well behaved said were to be ignored. Instead of being in the church building and hanging with the religious, he was out with the prostitutes, the down-and-out, and the ones society said had no worth. So again, are you making history? If you are a Christian, shouldn't you be a radical instead of the watered down version that we are told is well behaved? Just wondering. Seems I might need to go rock the boat a little and upset the well behaved. The well behaved will be forgotten in the next year (maybe the next hour), but the radical could impact history. What do you think?

Wait...wait... wait for it

Wait. What does that simple word bring to mind for you? Does it create a warm, fuzzy feeling for you? Are you the type who doesn't want to pray for patience because you don't want to wait on the time it will take for you to learn it? Most of us probably fall in the category of not liking to wait. Maybe tolerating it at best. We are the reason that Pop-Tarts can be microwaved. Who has the time to wait 25 seconds for the toaster? We need it in 5 seconds. Matter of fact is there a way we can get it done quicker in maybe 2 seconds? We want it now and we don't want to wait for it.

Most of us probably wouldn't make good farmers. See you have to wait on the harvest. You work and you do the things you are supposed to, but still you have to wait for it to grow. And growing takes time. So you wait. And wait some more. And then probably even a little longer before it is time to harvest. (I have no farming background, but that is my understanding of how it works.) Some things need that time to become usable and serve their purpose.

The other side of waiting is that sometimes we are too slow in acting. We hit "wait" mode and never move forward. We wait for exactly the right time before we make a decision. We want to ponder every possible variable and try to control it all. So we wait, and wait, and continue to wait without moving forward. Then we miss the harvest. We waited too long to plant, we waited for the ideal day with 75 degree temperatures and a slight southerly breeze to act, we waited when we should have been doing our part to help it grow. We wait on the wrong things.

What should you be waiting on? Where do you need to act and quit waiting? My guess is you might have both areas in your life right now. Somethings are worth waiting for, others may require you to act now. So what do you do? No nice solution to wrap it all up. You will just have to wait for that.

It is pretty simple

What is the gutter you came from? Do you remember or are you content in the little bubble you now live in? These are some of my thoughts as I read "The Gutter" by Craig Gross. I tend to forget we all have our own gutters we came from. Mine may not have been the porn industry, a horrible marriage, a drug dealers lifestyle, an absentee dad or prison, but that doesn't mean I didn't come from the gutter. We can't deny our past nor should we forget. We need to remember how lost, alone, and in need of love we were (and still are). As Christians it should drive us to the gutters to show that His love is available to everyone who wants it. It really is that simple. We want to make it more complicated than that, but really the only difference of our faith is that we have been brought out of our gutters. We know His love. We aren't better, just relocated. Two quotes from what I've read so far in the book.

"Don't blame the dark for being dark. Blame the light for not shining on the dark."

"While the missions couldn't be simpler, I've noticed that many of us in the Church would rather sit back and criticize what others do instead of actually doing something ourselves." (The mission is to go to the gutter and show His love. Seems strangely like the Great commission to me.)

So where have you been and what are you going to do? Pretty simple, huh?

What your choices determine

"Who we become is determined by whether we settle for what is permissible or strive for what is beneficial." - Mark Batterson

When we settle, we accept something less than what we could have. When we strive, we pursue something with great energy. Which would you rather describe you? Settling is so easy. It is our comfort zone. It is the familiar. It has the least road blocks. We decide to accept the okay instead of pursue the great. Are there any areas where you would choose the fourth best of something when you could have the best? Settling is a compromise of what we believe. We decide to take the easy instead of working for the harder.

I like the part that says "who we become". The choices we make, the areas we settle in, the things we strive for... they determine who we are becoming. We can wish we were becoming somebody, but the choices we make will determine who that actually is. So are you just living to the minimum standard? Are you doing just enough to get by? Are you settling for the okay? Or are you pursuing the important? Is the best what you aim for?

Take a minute and take a hard look at your choices recently. What are you pursuing first and what is getting your leftovers? Do you like who you will become with those choices?