The Power of Ten

It seems to me that we’re so individualistic nowadays that we don’t understand that there are bigger ramifications to our actions then just us. Back during the siege of a city in Persia, Alexander the Great called to the ruler of the city, “Give up, open your gates, and you’ll be spared destruction.” The ruler answered, “Why would I do that? My gates are strong and my walls are tall and thick.” Alexander then ordered his warriors to assume a line formation facing a cliff and ordered them to march forward. Ten of them plummeted headlong into a ravine, dying on impact. When the ruler saw this, he cried out “Stop! We will surrender the city.” When he saw that Alexander's men were willing to die for him so willingly, he knew it was hopeless. At the same time, Alexander knew that by killing ten men, he’d be sparing countless thousands in what would be a bloody and destructive siege.

We all see the logic in this situation. Ten dead is better than a ruined city and a damaged army of thousands. But ask yourself. Are you willing to be one of the ten?

Universal Remote

Can you imagine if we had a remote control for our lives? Some of us would wear out the fast forward button, skipping the boring or sad parts ahead to the fun times, the parties, weddings, honeymoons, accomplishments. Others, like me, would be hitting the ‘pause’ button all the time, looking at a situation from every angle and deciding exactly what, how, and when to do the best thing. The fact that time waits for no man is a great incentive to address whatever issues you have, because right now is the perfect opportunity.

What do you think?

Prayer or Prescriptions?

So I'm reading Esquire at work one night, right? I ran across their monthly segment called "A Thousand Words About our Culture". It was a writer by the name of Stephen Marche, and he was talking about how our culture has taken bad behavior and, instead of attributing it to the corruption of human nature, rebranded it as a symptom of ever more prevalent psychological disorders or pathological ailments. Our newfound fascination with t.v. shows about people with personality disorders and poor coping skills "[blur] the line between what is sick and what is bad", Marche said. "For millennia", he continues, "Western culture had a very simple system for dealing with bad actions. You sinned, you recognized it, you decided you wanted to change, and you were redeemed. This neat little system was called Christianity. Now "sins" are called "bad choices," and for the price of a stay at Hazelden or Pine Grove, redemption comes in the form of rehab."So when did we get this crazy idea that pills were better than prayer? And why are Christians buying into it?

The real question is, what are we being taught about how to live our faith? As Christians there are things we're taught that we ought to do. There are obligations that we ought to fulfill. We ought to pray, we ought to tithe, we ought to go to church, we ought, we ought, we ought.

As a teenager I learned that when 'ought' is put up against, well, just about anything, it's gonna lose about seven times out of ten. If there's a strong desire to do the right thing present within us, then we'll do what we 'ought' with a bit more consistency, and if we fear the ostracism of a group, then we'll stay on the straight and narrow even more. Those two things, a desire to do the right thing and a fear of ostracism, are constantly battling in the heart of every human being, but especially the Christian. Many of the things that the Christian life demands of its adherents are demanding, strenuous and unpleasant. Someone might get through them, might abstain from an easier path, through sheer determination to do what he 'ought'. But in my humble opinion, this isn't the way it 'ought' to be.

As Christians, we believe that Christ died as an atonement for our sins, and that through Him we are justified before the Father. We believe that, when God looks down upon us, He does not see our brokenness, our illnesses, our weakness before temptation, et cetera, but instead sees the righteousness of Christ, because we believe in Him.

So, given this, what 'ought' we do? What did Christ himself have to say? When the crowd, still full from the miraculous provision of bread and fishes, asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” So what exactly does it mean to believe? Well, it's pretty simple, really. You sorta gotta buy into it. And the craziest thing happens when you do that. It's not so logical or rational a thing, but no less real for all that. You begin to change from the inside.

"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2: 4-10, NLT


That last part gets me. We are created anew, so that we can do the good things that He planned for us to do. The problem is, it's a two step process. If we're not cooperating with the execution of these good plans, then there's not gonna be a whole lot of transforming going on. Maybe that's why we hold out against forgiveness, and continue to sit in judgment over ourselves. Maybe we don't want to owe anyone anything. But the truth is, we're never gonna break free of the mire we're so firmly lodged in unless we reach out and accept the helping hand.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that when you're saved, and experience that transformation within yourself, then 'ought to' becomes 'happy to', because they're now acts of loving gratitude.


Just something to think about.

Check out that article I mentioned here: http://www.esquire.com/features/thousand-words-on-culture/psychology-tv-shows-0810#ixzz173AfCztu

No Reception, Or, Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

Ever had your phone fall into a waterfall as you scaled a mountain? Well, I have. It all started when I heard that some of the people I was having Thanksgiving with were heading up to Hanging Rock to hike to the waterfalls there. Now, as soon as I heard that my mind went to two places. The first centered on the presence of pretty girls, and the second centered on my lack of physical prowess. I was sort of athletic once upon a time, but a broken ankle and a twinkie fetish have made the battle of the bulge into a war of attrition. I spent two days dreading this fateful event, and used a great deal of brainpower to conjure up very realistic images of myself doubled over beside the trail, a river of sweat and failure flowing down the path, the girls laughing and the guys shaking their heads at my total failure to complete even the tamest of outdoorsy tasks. If there’s anything I’ve learned in my short tenure here on planet Earth, it’s that my powers of imagination are sharply enhanced by my fear of failure. We got in the car and headed up, running into, of all places, a Hicks Pharmacy, and once we got to the park I began to steel myself for the humiliation ahead. Since we didn’t get cell reception, Drew suggested that we put our phones on airplane mode so that they wouldn’t continually scan for a signal and wear down their batteries. This turned out to be a fortuitous decision. We set off down the trail, the four girls walking ahead and the guys behind, and went down the first trail. Ok, so far so good. No hemorrhages. Checked things out, took some pictures, then back up the trail to the crossroad. Here the challenge began. Uphill is a little tougher than downhill, but we made it. Then we got to hidden falls, and I started climbing on stuff. I found that my fears had been so far unjustified- or maybe I was just being blindly optimistic, I thought. The real threat was still ahead. But, as I came to find, I was up to the task. Nothing is so pleasant as finding oneself equal to something daunting, even if the daunt is all in one’s head. But I digress.

After an hour or so, I was feeling so cocky that I decided to scale the waterfall and make it back up that way instead of following the trail. Johnny followed, and soon we were high on a bluff, waiting for the others to catch up. As I surveyed the landscape, master of my domain, my Saxon ancestors smiling upon their mighty scion, I heard a voice from the trail. “Hicks!” Nonplussed, I answered the mere mortal with a nonchalant “What?” “Do you have your phone?” How dare this peon challenge my epic climbing skills? I felt in my pocket, only to discover… “No…” I answered, weakly. “I found it in a puddle…so…”

Fart!

Someone suggested that I put it in rice, which is what we did when we got back. But the true challenge still lay ahead. Getting back up the mountain, like so many challenges in my life, turned out to be nothing at all like the mental picture I had, and everyone was able to make it without incident. Johnny and I even had a footrace to the car on the last stretch, which I (barely) lost. But I’m pretty sure he cheated, or something. Anyway, there are two morals to this story. The first is, assess the challenges you face realistically, and have confidence in your abilities, and second, and most important, if you dare to climb higher to reach your true potential, then make sure your pockets are zipped shut. Because even if you have insurance, it’s a long way down.

Oh, and bring matches. Not because it’s a metaphor, but, y’know. So you’ll have matches.