Monday, May 30, 2016

Being Lazy vs. Being Poor


Kris Vallotton recently wrote a blog post titled, "The Worth of Work."

One of his major points is that he can't understand why people can't find work and why so many people live on government handouts.

He's all for hand ups, not hand outs.

Unfortunately, Vallotton makes a major leap-frog over a ton of facts to reach his conclusion.

For instance: To begin with, social inequality in the US is directly related to economics.

Don't take my word for it. Watch this short video by Richard Reeves of the Brookings Institution.

Reeves makes a logical, factual case that in the US, the circumstances into which we are born is the chief determining factor as to where we wind up in life economically.

Columbia University's National Center for Children in Poverty notes that there are about 72 million children under the age of 18 in the US and 44 percent of them (31.4 million) are living in low-income families. 21 percent (15.4 million) live in poor families.

Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, reported that in 2014 more than 46 million people in the US were living in poverty. 15.5 million of those individuals (or 21 percent) were children.

According to Poverty USA (an initiative of the US Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops), the official Federal poverty threshold (in 2014) for a family of four was $24,000. "People living in poverty include those "...working at minimum wage jobs. Seniors living on fixed incomes. Wage earners suddenly out of work. Millions of families everywhere from our cities to rural communities."

Poverty USA reported that in 2014, 47 million people lived in poverty in the US (consistent with Feeding America's findings).

When such a high percentage of people need help, something is clearly wrong with the state of economic equality in our country.

The bottom line is that Vallatton may be looking at the wrong issue.

It's not a question of the dignity of work, or even laziness. It's a matter of the stark reality of economic inequality that makes most people poor.

Stan Choe, of the Associated Press, recently reported that "CEOs at the biggest companies got a 4.5 percent pay raise last year. That's almost double the typical American worker's."

Choe also reported that "the typical chief executive in the Standard & Poor's 500 index made $10.8 million in 2015." And the median CEO raise for this same group in 2015 was $468,449.

There was never a broad-based rags-to-riches American Dream.

The number of individuals who "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" and are offered as motivational examples are actually very few and far between.

This is so because it's a myth.

Sometimes, well-meaning Christians, when talking about poverty, say things like: "God helps those who help themselves."

It's often quoted as if it's straight from the Bible, but that saying has no basis in scripture.

Yes, the Bible does clearly warn about the pitfalls of being lazy,

But being lazy is not the same as being poor.

There are many scriptures that show us how we should be treating the poor. Check out Proverbs 4.27, 4.28, 14.31, 17.5, 19.17, 21.13, 22.9, or 28.3.

Jesus also spoke on the same subject. Take a look at Matthew 5.3, Matthew 11.5, Luke 6.20 or Luke 11.41. He called the poor "blessed."

No where in the Bible is it recorded that Jesus ever told the poor to pick themselves up and get a job.

And he didn't seem to be especially interested in separating the "deserving" from the "undeserving" poor.

When Jesus came across hungry crowds of people, he fed them.

In more modern times, Mother Teresa, encouraged us, "If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one."

And here's a great quote from Heidi Baker, who runs Iris Ministries with her husband, Rolland:
"It's not complicated. Just love the one in front of you."

Lord, please help us to follow their example.

Photo Credit: www.austincountynewsonline.com




















Monday, May 23, 2016

Mother Teresa & The Dark Night of the Soul



Mother Teresa is arguably one of the most well known people of faith of the 20th Century.

At the age of eighteen she left her home to join the Sisters of Loreto.

Always attracted to the missionary life, she eventually received permission to leave her order of cloistered nuns to minister to "the poorest of the poor," in the slums of Calcutta.

She began alone, but by 1950, with her work officially under the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, she had a dozen sisters helping. By 1997, Mother Teresa's Order had over 4,000 sisters working all over the world.

While most of this is almost common knowledge, what is not so commonly known is that for the entire length of Mother Teresa's work, spanning six decades, she struggled with loneliness and the feeling that God had abandoned her.

She regularly wrote to Fr. Celeste van Exem, her spiritual director, mentioning this struggle. The letters were deeply personal. In fact, she asked that they be destroyed after her death because she was concerned that they "would make people think more of me and less of Jesus." But, fortunately for us, they were collected by Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, (the director of the Mother Teresa Center) and published as Come Be My Light.

Mother Teresa's loneliness may have begun at an early age. When she was eight, her father passed away. After leaving home to become a nun eight years later, she never saw her Mother again. (At one point, Mother Teresa tried to arrange to have her own mother visit her in India, but the Albanian government refused the request.)

In 1979 Mother Teresa received the Noble Peace Prize. During her acceptance speech she said:
"Holiness is not a luxury of the few. It is a simple duty for each of us." She went on to say that "the poor don't need our pity and sympathy. They need our understanding love."

A 2015 movie, The Letters does a wonderful job of chronicling Mother Teresa's work, with a special focus on the letters she wrote.

Far from putting Mother Teresa in a negative light, these letters are actually an inspiration and assurance that even among spiritual giants, a walk of faith isn't a walk done by feelings.

In reviewing The Letters for the National Catholic Register, Tim Drake wrote:

"Her letters have been largely misunderstood by the secular media, thinking that they somehow suggest her lack of belief. In fact, the letters echo Christ's words to Thomas: 'Blessed are they who believe without seeing,' or in Mother Teresa's case, we might say: Blessed are those who believe without feeling. It is for this reason that the film is an important one."

Feelings of being far from God when simultaneously serving on the front lines are fairly common.

Even Jesus had his agony in the garden prior to the crucifixion.

Others who have done incredible work, like Mother Teresa and Dorothy Day have freely written of their longing to feel close to God.

If you'd like a Biblical basis for these feelings, Psalms is full of laments. Many of the major prophets also went through extreme trials which resulted in feeling very far from God's presence. (When you consider that they were trying to get the attention of an entire nation during times of extreme spiritual darkness it only makes sense.)

So we shouldn't be thrown for a loop when we encounter the "dark night of the soul."

In fact, quite often, going through such periods of darkness is a sign of an authentic relationship with God.

We wonder where God is because we long for God.

We cry out from a place of deep love and longing for intimacy.

And God often uses these difficult times, as with Mother Teresa, to help us identify with the very people that God is calling us to serve.

Photo Credit: www.biography..com


Monday, May 16, 2016

Six Reasons For Quitting Church




There's a trend among church-goers in 21st Century America.

They aren't going.

At least not as often as in previous decades.

One of the most widely quoted pieces of church attendance research is from Pew Research Center.

Their 2015 report noted that 71% of the US population identified themselves as Christian (down from 78% in 2007). At the same time, those who had no religious affiliation increased to 23% (up from 16% in 2007).

Perhaps more telling, only 18% of the population in the US were identified as "frequent" church goers (attending at least two times a month). That's according to Dr. Richard Krejcir of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership. (Kelly Shattuck reported a similar percentage in an article posted on churchleaders.com.)

Either way, among those professing to be Christian or those who report attending a church regularly, the numbers are down.

I'd like to offer a few reasons why this may be happening; mostly observations coming from my own experience.

People get offended and hurt each other.

When we get offended, we tend to limit or eventually end a relationship. That includes our relationship with a church. I've been attending the same church for 30 years. If all of the people who left my home church during that period of time were to somehow come back, it would result in at least a doubling of our current congregation size. (We have about 200 members).

I'm not saying that offense isn't justified, or that offense should be ignored. Getting hurt by others is a fact of life. But there really isn't a chance for healing or reconciliation without facing it. (To be clear, I'm not taking about domestic violence or any other type of dysfunction.)

It's far easier to leave a relationship than actively seek to fix it. 

This point goes along with being offended. But it includes other reasons for leaving. Unfortunately, this aspect of human behavior isn't limited to church-going. Anytime any kind of relationship goes sour it's easy to see it as an opportunity to opt out.

Sort of the opposite of the old adage: If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

The 21st Century mantra on relationships seems to be: If it's broken, move on.

It's difficult to adhere to a higher standard of living.

No matter what the denomination, most belief systems offer a code of conduct. We learn how to treat others by being encouraged to follow that code.

Sometimes it isn't easy to "treat others as you would like to be treated."

We're human and we fail.

That's no surprise.

So if our conscience is sensitized by church attendance, we can choose to listen to it, or not.

It's never been easy to go against popular culture.

The US is no longer a church-driven society.

To continue to go to church, or profess belief in God, is not a popular thing to do.

It won't earn you any special esteem in the eyes of peers or neighbors. In fact there's a good chance that regular church-goers who profess a belief in God may been seen as weak, under-educated adherents of an outdated tradition.

The church is full of hypocrites.

It's true.

In as much as church membership is usually a reflection of the community at large.

So we shouldn't be surprised when we come into contact with church members who are rude, close-minded or insensitive.

Jesus said he came to heal the sick. It shouldn't shock us when we come across people in church who may need emotional healing.

The church is full of people who don't think the way we do.

Church seems to be the only group affiliation where we expect everyone else to think about things the way we do.

But logically, how could we really expect an entire congregation of believers to think exactly alike?

I would be very surprised if anyone who read this blog post agreed on every item I've listed regarding church membership.

Similarly so if I went to church on a typical Sunday expecting that everyone there would think about life the way that I do, I would be gravely disappointed.

But what if  the real question isn't about why people aren't coming to church?

Maybe the more appropriate question is: Why do people keep coming?

For me, it's about seeking fellowship, seeking relationship, however awkwardly this is worked out.
(I'm quite an introvert, so it isn't natural for me to seek out group activities.)

It's about admitting mistakes and seeking reconciliation within the context of community.

It's about being continually challenged to be my best, truest self.
(I'm lazy and need the encouragement of others to be authentic.)

To grow and to learn.

Most of all, it's about seeing God in the face of others.

How about you...

Why do you/don't  you go to church?

And if you go: What keeps you going?

Photo Credit: www.tntclassrooom.org























Monday, May 9, 2016

The difference between being nice and being kind



According to Merriam Webster's dictionary, "nice" comes from a Middle English word meaning foolish. The primary definition of "nice," at one time, was wanton or dissolute (both words pointing to a lack of moral restraint).

Over the years, the use of the word "nice" has evolved to its current definition: "giving pleasure or joy; good and enjoyable, attractive or of good quality; kind, polite, and friendly."

"Kind" also has an interesting linguistic history. Originally from a Middle English word meaning nature, or species or grouping.

While "kind" retains that meaning today as a noun, Merriam Webster says that the word's adjective meaning is "having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others - wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others."

The principle difference between "nice" and "kind" seems to be focused on relationship, or lack of it.

Most of my actions towards others have been of the "nice" variety. Skimming the surface. Being superficially polite. Not wanting to offend.

Unfortunately, the best example of this I can give is a typical Sunday morning before or after the church service. During these times I am smiling, shaking hands, giving hugs, handing out 'hellos' but not much else.

The actions motivated by being "nice" are mostly done to project a positive image, while keeping others at a distance. "Nice" is lukewarm. It's non-committal for the most part. There really isn't much effort or engagement made.

On the other hand, acts that are "kind" come from a commitment. They are usually other-centered and focus on deepening relationship.

In the film Old Fashioned there's a great line spoken by Amber, the main female character. "I think the world has enough greatness and not enough kindness."

This statement seems to sum up our current state of divisiveness in American society, doesn't it?

Or perhaps, it could be rephrased, the world has enough niceness and not enough kindness?

I'm not saying that we should all quit being nice. Lord knows we need to get out of ourselves and think of others more. And there isn't anything wrong with being polite.

But being "nice" isn't enough.

Being kind involves risk. It often involves going outside of our comfort zone. And it may not be our "go to" action of choice.

But, with practice, we can learn. We can dig a little deeper emotionally and choose to give more of ourselves.

What would those after-church conversations look like if I were a little more kind? And not so nice? Perhaps they might open the door to sharing? Maybe even friendship?

P.S. If you need a musical nudge in this direction, try listening to Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind."

Photo Credit: www.daringtolivefully.com



















Monday, May 2, 2016

The challenge of finding true freedom



God's goal is to have you be the person that God created you to be.

While that will happen when you reach heaven, God's desire is that you’d begin to experience that now.

You don’t have to wait until you pass from this earth to be authentic. 

There is nothing holding God back from accomplishing this. It’s up to you.

How much of your true self do you want to explore and see come to life? How much of your true self will you let out? How deep will you trust God? How deep will you let God's love go? How strongly do you want to replace fear as a motivation for living?

God isn't looking for a second-rate version of yourself! God's not satisfied with you going through life being half-filled and God won’t give up on you.

God wants you to understand this. 

The Creator of the Universe didn’t save you from something, You were saved into something.

Many followers of God's Son don’t understand the depth of this truth.

God didn’t save you so you wouldn't limp. You were saved so that you could run.

Freedom.

In American culture that’s at the heart of everything, isn’t it?

Freedom of choice. Freedom of religion. Freedom of speech. Freedom.

But a person who isn’t their truest self isn’t free.

There is no freedom in fulfilling other people’s expectations. 

There is no freedom in kowtowing to the status quo. 

There is no freedom in being caught up in the politics of the day. 

There is no freedom in blindly following after material success.

The US national anthem contains the refrain: “...land of the free and the home of the brave.”

But how free are you when you allow what others think to dictate your actions? 

How brave are you when you stand silent in response to racism, sexual inequality and other forms of social injustice?

Where is freedom found?

Many people think freedom is found in following their feelings. Or financial security. Or material possessions. Or power. But none of these things bring freedom. 

In fact every one of these things can be a ball-and-chain wrapped tight around your spirit. Squelching the life out of you.

Freedom is found in service to others. 

Freedom is found in loving unconditionally. 

Freedom is found in loving your neighbor as yourself. 

Freedom is found in opening the borders of your heart to let others in.

This day I challenge us all to embrace true freedom.

To find out what it is and to go after it!

Take a moment to answer this question: True freedom, for me, is...

Photo credit: www.jewishlearningworks.org

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Pinocchio: Art Credit, Disney If ever there were a time for a national "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" award, it's now. And certai...