Delve Into Jesus Reflections

Optimism Takes a Beating in Tough Times

Rusty Wright — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:11:01 GMT

When the Optimist Club gets pessimistic, you know times are tough.

The Associated Press reports that an Optimist Club meeting in Gilbert, Arizona, started off positive enough members discussed service projects and enthused over each other's accomplishments. But then the conversation turned to the war in Iraq, expensive gasoline, food prices, the housing market, and economic uncertainty. Words like "terrified," "disgusted," "scary," and "this mess" entered the conversation.

"There's just entirely too much wrong right now," summarized one member.

The American psyche has taken a thrashing in recent months. Rising fuel costs affect commuter housing and employment decisions. UPS computers help plot delivery routes to minimize gas-wasting left turns. Constant media attention to economic crisis reflects and some say exacerbates pervasive pessimism.

Pervasive Pessimism

Maybe you feel like the country song laments: "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll found 82 percent of Americans believed the nation's economy was in bad shape. Seventy percent deemed fuel costs a hardship for their families.

How's your Hummer's mileage these days? General Motors announced plans to close four truck and SUV plants and to focus on fuel-efficient vehicles. Airline ticket prices climb. Some carriers add checked baggage fees to existing snack fees, prompting critics to quip that in-flight pay toilets may appear next.

A glance at 2008 Gallup polling headlines indicates the extent of US pessimism: "Economy Surpasses Iraq as Most Important Problem." "Americans Worried About Their Standard of Living." "Jobs Outlook Worst in Four Years." "Consumer Confidence Down." "Pessimism Clouds Housing Market." "Economic Pessimism Hits Gallup High."

Whew! Chocolate, anyone? How about some hope?

Losing hope of a positive future can have serious consequences. UCLA psychologist James C. Coleman noted several examples. " Shipwreck victims who lose hope may die after a few days, even though physiologically they could have survived many days longer." Loss of hope can contribute to suicide. "Values, meaning, and hope appear to act as catalysts" for mobilizing energy and finding satisfaction. Without them, Coleman reported, life can seem futile.¹

Up, Up, and Away

One enterprising fellow has found a way to rise above gas and travel woes. Kent Couch recently attache...

Giving Can Be Good for You: Science Says So

Rusty Wright — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:14:31 GMT

"All You Need is Love"

Do you want happiness and fulfillment in life? Then practice giving, advises an influential medical professor.

"It really is good to be good," claims Stephen Post, PhD., professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "Science says it is so."¹

Post and coauthor Jill Neimark present evidence in their book, Why Good Things Happen to Good People. The institute Post heads has funded "over fifty studies related to giving at forty-four major universities."² He's convinced that giving is essential for optimum physical and mental health in a fragmented society.

Post says research has produced remarkable findings: "Giving protects overall health twice as much as aspirin protects against heart disease." If pharmaceutical companies could charge for giving, we might see ads for "Give Back" instead of "Prozac," he speculates. One program, "Rx:Volunteer," has some California HMO physicians giving volunteerism "prescriptions" to their Medicare patients.³

Post and Neimark say around five hundred scientific studies demonstrate that unselfish love can enhance health. For instance, Paul Wink, a Wellesley College psychologist, studied data that followed about two hundred people every decade since the 1920s. Giving during high school correlated with good mental and physical health across life spans.⁴

Other research says that giving correlates with lower teen depression and suicide risk and with lower depression among the elderly. Studies at Stanford and elsewhere found links between frequent volunteering and delaying death. Post says giving even trumps receiving when it comes to reducing mortality.⁵

Give more; enjoy life and live longer? Maybe, as Jesus famously said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35 NASB). Both Jewish and Christian biblical texts admonish us to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18; Mt. 22:39 NIV). I don't know about you, but I find it fascinating to explore these ways that contemporary science and social science often highlight the value of ancient biblical principles.

Post presents research to support the value of ten ways of expressing giving love. Here we will examine four of them: compassion, humor, loyalty, and listening. "Love cures," wrote the esteemed psychiatrist Karl Menninger. It cures "both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."⁶

Compassion's Benefits

Illustrations abound of giving's personal benefits.

Millard Fuller, a...

Home Foreclosure's Emotional Toll

Rusty Wright — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:00:40 GMT

Has someone you know lost their home to foreclosure? Have you? The psychological effects can be devastating.

The mortgage crisis and related stress have seen an increase in symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to the extreme of suicide.

USA Today relates the heart wrenching story of Oregon residents Raymond and Deanna Donaca. The couple had lived in their home for over twenty years, but a foreclosure notice apparently sapped their hope. They closed up the house, left the door from the garage into the house open, turned on their automobile engine, and let fumes fill the home, killing them and their four golden retrievers.

Don Donaca said his brother Raymond "got so deep in debt he couldn't figure out what else to do."

Financial pain is widespread. The American Psychological Association's 2007 study of Stress in America found that nearly three quarters of Americans said work and money issues were very or somewhat significant sources of stress. Half of Americans pointed to housing costs as significant stressors.

Financial Woes' Impact

Of course money woes can affect marriage, family, neighborhood, and workplace. Snapping more at your spouse or kids these days? Wish your neighbor or boss would take a permanent vacation? Less patient than normal with those rude road hogs?

Many of us value having a quiet, peaceful, secure place to call home, a familiar and safe shelter to shut out the world's worries, relax, enjoy our families or hobbies, watch American Idol, and prepare for tomorrow's challenges.

Fear of losing your home threatens all that. One South Carolina realtor told USA Today his own mortgage struggles "shatter your pride and become very humiliating. ... The situation keeps you up at night. ... It angers you. It frustrates you. ... It affects us deeply."

Some medicate their financial pain with alcohol or addictions, which can compound interpersonal problems. Gambling, overeating, or majoring on comfort food may provide temporary solace, but with consequences. The American Psychological Association has posted a webpage on "Managing Your Stress in Tough Economic Times." The APA advises "pause but don't panic," figure how to cut expenses and develop a sound financial plan, perhaps with professional guidance. View difficult times as chances to grow and change.

Advocacy Apologetics: Finding Common Ground

Rusty Wright — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:25:09 GMT

As you examine your life, can you think of any lessons you wish you had learned earlier than you did?

I'm really glad I learned this lesson very early in my career as a Christian communicator. It's made a world of difference.

God has graciously sent me presenting Christ and biblical truth on six continents before university students and professors, on mainstream TV and radio talk shows, with executives, diplomats and professional athletes.

He's put me speaking in university classrooms and auditoriums, in embassies, boardrooms, and locker rooms. He's had me writing for mainstream newspapers, magazines, and on the Internet about controversial subjects like sex, abortion, the afterlife, and reasons for faith.

As you might imagine, I've encountered many skeptics and objections to faith. I've learned much from my critics, the "unpaid guardians of my soul."

But if I hadn't learned this crucial lesson at the outset, would all those outreach doors have opened?

The Lesson

I learned it on an island in a river in Seoul, Korea. Over a million believers were gathered for Explo 74. One speaker that day was a prominent church leader from India who discussed how to best communicate the message of Jesus to the types of Buddhists in India. Here's my paraphrase of his advice.

We could use two methods, he said. One was to begin by stressing the differences between Buddhism and Christianity. But that often gets people mad and turns them off.

A second way involved agreeing with the Buddhist where we could. We could say something like this: "I know that you as a Buddhist believe in Four Noble Truths." (This is foundational to many strains of Buddhism.) "First you believe suffering is universal. As a follower of Jesus, I also believe suffering is everywhere. It needs a solution."

"Second, you believe that suffering is caused by evil desire or craving. I believe something very similar; I call this evil desire sin.'"

"Third, you believe that the way to eliminate suffering is to eliminate craving. I feel selfishness needs to be eliminated, too. And fourth, you feel we eliminate craving by following the Eightfold Path: right understanding, right aspiration, right behavior, etc."

"Here's where I would suggest an alternative. For many years I, too, tried to eliminate my selfishness by seeking to think and do the right thing. But you know what happened? I became very frustrated because I lacked the power to do it. I realized that if I relied on God, He could give me the inner power I needed."

Do you see the contrast between those two methods of approaching someone who differs with you? The first emphasizes differences and has the emotional effect of holding up your hands as if to say "Stop!" or "Go a...

A Doctor's Journey with Cancer

Rusty Wright — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:08:33 GMT
When you suddenly learn you might have only 18 months to live, it's a good time to sort out what really matters in life.

Last December, Yang Chen, MD, dismissed an aching pain under his shoulder as muscle strain. Five weeks later, as the pain persisted, a chest x-ray brought shocking results: possible lung cancer that might have spread.

A highly acclaimed specialist and medical professor at the University of Colorado Denver, Yang knew the average survival rate for his condition could be under 18 months. He didn't smoke and had no family history of cancer. He was stunned. His life changed in an instant.

"I wondered how I would break the news to my unsuspecting wife and three young children," he recalls. "Who would take care of my family if I died?"

Swirling Vortex of Uncertainty

When I heard his story, I felt a jab of recognition. In 1996, my doctor said I might have cancer. That word sent me into a swirling vortex of uncertainty. But I was fortunate; within a month, I learned my condition was benign.

Yang did not get such good news. He now knows he has an inoperable tumor. He's undergoing chemotherapy. It's uncertain whether radiation will help. Yet through it all, he seems remarkably calm and positive. At a time when one might understandably focus on oneself, he's even assisting other cancer patients and their families to cope with their own challenges. What's his secret?

I learned about Yang's personal inner resources when we first met in the 1980s. He worked at the Mayo Clinic and brought me to Rochester, Minnesota, to present a seminar for Mayo and IBM professionals on a less ponderous theme, "Love, Sex and the Single Lifestyle." With the audience, we laughed and explored relationship mysteries. He felt it was essential that people consider the spiritual aspect of relationships, as well as the psychological and physical.

Later he founded a global network to train medical professionals how to interact with patients on spiritual matters. Many seriously ill patients want their doctors to discuss spiritual needs and the profession is taking note.

Reality Blog

Now a patient himself, Yang exhibits strength drawn from the faith that has enriched his life. He has established a website www.aDoctorsJourneyWithCancer.net to chronicle his journey and "offer hope and encouragement to others." The site presents a compelling real-life drama as it happens.

As a follower of Jesus, Yang notes biblical references to God's "light shining in our hearts" and people of faith being "like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure." He sees himself as a "broken clay jar" through which G...

Amazing Grace in John Newton

Rusty Wright — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:00:49 GMT
Are you familiar with the classic song, Amazing Grace? Do you know its songwriter's inspiring story? Maybe like I did, you think you know the real story but you don't.

John Newton was an eighteenth century British slave trader who had a dramatic faith experience during a storm at sea. He gave his life to God, left the slave trade, and became a pastor. "Amazing Grace! (how sweet the sound)," Newton wrote, "That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see." ¹ He played a significant role in the movement to abolish the slave trade.

Newton's song and story have inspired millions. Amazing Grace is loved the world over. It's been played at countless funerals, civil rights events, and churches. Judy Collins' recording even hit pop music charts.

Jonathan Aitken's biography, John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace², provides revealing insights into his life. Newton only became a slave-ship captain after he came to faith. And he left the slave trade not from spiritual convictions but for health reasons. Puzzling? Consider "the rest of the story."

Lost and Found

John Newton was the prototypical "bad boy." Flogged and demoted by the Navy for desertion, he became depressed, considered suicide, and thought of murdering his captain. Traded to work on a slave ship, Newton recalled, "I was exceedingly wretched. I not only sinned with a high hand myself, but made it my study to tempt and seduce others upon every occasion."³

One day on another ship, Newton was casually reading an edition of Thomas à Kempis' famous book, On the Imitation of Christ. He wondered, "What if these things were true?" Dismayed, he "shut the book quickly." Newton called himself a terrible "blasphemer" who had rejected God completely.⁴ But then, as Forrest Gump might say, God showed up.

That night, a violent storm flooded the ship with water. Fearing for his life, Newton surprised himself by uttering, "The Lord have mercy on us!" Spending long hours at the ship's helm, he reflected on his life and rejection of God. At first, he thought his shortcomings too great to be forgiven. Then, he said, "I began to think of Jesus whom I had so often derided of His life and of His death for sins not His own, but for those who in their distress should put their trust in Him." ⁵

In coming days, the New Testament story of the prodigal son⁶ particularly impressed him. He became convinced of the truth of Jesus' message and his own need for it. "I was no longer an atheist," he writes. "I was sincerely touched with a sense of undeserved mercy in being brought safe through so many dangers. I was a new man." ⁷

From Slave-Ship Captain to Pastor

After his dramatic experience ...

Castro's Staying Power

Rusty Wright — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:11:47 GMT
"I threw a rock at Castro!" my young friend beamed in our junior high classroom. He had recently migrated to Miami, part of a mass exodus fleeing the Cuban revolution.

Over the intervening years, many others have thrown rocks real and figurative at El Comandante. An Energizer Bunny of world rulers, he just kept on going. Only Britain's queen and Thailand's king had served longer as heads of state when Castro recently announced that, due to declining health, he would not continue his presidency.

Survivor

The aging socialist warrior has staying power. The Guinness Book of Records says his 4 hour and 29 minute UN speech in 1960 remains a UN record for length. His longest recorded speech in Cuba lasted 7 hours 10 minutes.

Castro counts 634 attempts on his life, ranging from poison pills to a toxic cigar.¹ Ten US presidents have served during his command. He survived the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year.

I remember as a child sitting on our living room floor watching JFK demand the Soviets remove their missiles. We were only 235 miles away, well within range. The world approached the brink, Khrushchev blinked, Fidel and humanity survived.

Several years later my parents' airline flight was hijacked to Cuba. Their surreal night in the Havana airport included individual government interviews, genuine risk of not being allowed to return to the US, and relief at finally taking off for home.

The controversial dictator inspires affection from compatriots who appreciate Cuba's high literacy and universal health care. Relatives of his political prisoners hold him in considerably less regard. And Cuba's economic woes are legend.

He's Not Gone Yet

In stepping down, Castro emphasized he isn't planning to disappear: "This is not my farewell. My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the heading of 'Reflections by comrade Fidel.' It will be just another weapon you can count on."²

What "reflections" are in Castro's future at a frail 81? Even globally influential leaders must face life's finish line. Often spiritual matters creep into one's thoughts during autumn years. Castro has reflected on them in surprising ways in the past.

In 1985 he said, "I never saw a contradiction between the ideas that sustain me and the ideas of that symbol, of that extraordinary figure (Jesus Christ)." ³

Certainly Jesus displayed compassion for the poor and oppressed, significant Marxist concerns. But it's hard to envision the one who said "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free"⁴ jailing folks for disagreeing with him.

Years ago, Fidel wrote about a fallen comrade: "Physical life is ephemeral, it passes inexorably... ...

Your Money, Your Life or Your Wine

Rusty Wright — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:32:08 GMT
Could offering a cup of human kindness save your life sometime? It helped protect guests from a menacing gunman at a recent Washington, DC, dinner gathering.

Comedian Jack Benny had a famous skit in which an armed robber pointed a gun at Benny, whose comedy often poked fun at his own miserly show business persona. In the routine, Benny told the robber to put the gun down. The robber persisted. "Your money or your life!" demanded the crook, irritated by the delay. "I'm thinking it over," deadpanned Benny.¹

Quick thinking helped save the DC dinner guests.

"Give me your money!"

The Washington Post reports² that some friends had enjoyed steak and shrimp at a DC home and were sitting on the back patio sipping wine around midnight. A hooded gunman slipped in through an open gate and held a pistol to a fourteen-year-old girls head. "Give me your money, or I'll start shooting", demanded the intruder.

The guests including the girls parents froze. Then one adult Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan had an idea.

"We were just finishing dinner," Rowan said to the uninvited guest. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"

The robber sipped their French wine and said, "Damn, thats good wine."

Michael Rabdau, the girls father, offered the man the glass. Rowan offered the bottle. The man with hood down, by this point sipped more wine and sampled some Camembert cheese. Then he stowed the gun in his pocket and admitted, "I think I may have come to the wrong house. I'm sorry. Can I get a hug?"

Rowan hugged the man. Then Rabdau, his wife and the other two guests each hugged him. The man asked for a group hug; the five adults complied. He left with the wine glass. There were no injuries, no theft. The stunned guests entered the house and stared at each other silently. Police came. Investigators discovered the empty and unbroken wine glass on the ground in a nearby alley.

"I was definitely expecting there would be some kind of casualty," Rabdau recalled, according to the Post. "He was very aggressive at first; then it turned into a love fest. I don't know what it was."

"There was this degree of disbelief and terror at the same time," Rabdau observed. "Then it miraculously just changed. His whole emotional tone turned like, we're one big happy family now. I thought: Was it the wine? Was it the cheese?" The entire encounter lasted about ten minutes. DC police chalked it up as strange but true.

Gentle Answers

An old Jewish proverb says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." ³ I
suspect her friends are extremely grateful that "Cha Cha" Rowan had the presence of mind to offer a gentle reply to the intruders demands.

Sometimes the psychological approach ca...

Winning Hearts And Minds

arsindelve — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:53:55 GMT
Sometime in the 1960's, our culture started to break with the moral foundation upon which the nation was built. Things have been moving in that direction ever since, but the pace of change has been so deceptively slow that it's hard to say for certain when in the last 40 years the line of decency was crossed. But as we look back on how low the culture has descended, it's clear the line has been crossed. In the 1950's, networks would not show a married couple sleeping in the same bed or skirts above the knee. Today, after 9pm, we can find nudity and profanity on basic cable. Society at large is not offended by this at all, but rather seems to embrace the new found freedom that has resulted from the break with what they see as the tired ethics of their long-ago, less enlightened religious past.

Christians have not been idle while this has been going on. Falwell's moral majority launched the fight in the political arena in the early eighties and enjoyed some success, and Canadian organizations such as Tristan Emmanuel's ECP are doing what they can to bring about change in the Canadian parliament. Despite these efforts, Christians are losing the battle. The evidence is all around us - things on television and in movies are getting worse, not better.

The reason we're losing amounts to simple arithmetic. We live in a democracy, and those who want a return to moral decency are far outnumbered by those who want nothing to do with Christian ethics, which they perceive as primitive and regressive. In any battle, numbers mean everything and so we seem destined to lose in the long run.

But yet, what sometimes seems destined to be an obvious victory by a vastly superior army actually results in a protracted conflict as the weaker of the two armies resists all attempts to destroy it. This happens not on the battlefield, where armies oppose each other in open combat. It happens in the streets, and it happens in the home. It happens when the weaker army calls upon those people standing on the sidelines and enlists them to their fight. The weaker army grows in strength and numbers as they convince people of the righteousness of their cause. This kind of army can never be defeated, for every member who is killed in combat enlists two more fighters before they die. Eventually, the strong army must withdraw and accept their defeat. In combat, this is often referred to as "winning hearts and minds", and military commanders understand very well how important this phenomenon can be in turning the tide of war. That is how the early Christians overcame the greatest empire of it's time and toppled Rome itself. It was not by military might. It was with conviction, perseverance and righteousness.

That is what we have to do - take the fight to the streets and win the hearts and minds.

When you see something filthy on television, you can write to your gover...

Light of the World

tom — Thu, 24 May 2007 20:34:21 GMT

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else" - C.S Lewis

It would be a mistake to think that Christianity does nothing more than tell us what happens when we die. It does even more than simply tell us how to live. The Word of God is the lens through which every thing else comes into focus. We need to learn to adopt Christianity as both a philosophy and a world view. Just as we are called to become like Christ in our personal lives, we are called to shape the world into the Kingdom of God, but we cannot hope to do that unless we understand it.

While most Christian thinkers defend Christianity by presenting either some sort of evidence or by offering some logical proof, the late Cornelius Van Til proposed a subtler type of approach. He used to encourage people to investigate Christianity by first getting them to assume it was all false, and then challenging them to explain the universe without it. Why are we here? Where did we come from? What are good and evil? In doing so, Van Til helped people to see for themselves that without a foundation in Christ, nothing makes sense. Christianity doesn't just have the answers to salvation, it has the answers to everything.

For example, Christianity helps us to see why Communism was such a wicked and dismal failure. In the days following the resurrection, Christ's disciples practiced a kind of communism and it was successful because every member placed the will of God first. However, modern-day communism denies God and so there is nothing to keep the power and authority in check. The Bible teaches us that without God, man is inherently sinful and communism has been the ultimate and unfortunate demonstration of that fact. Democracy, though far from perfect, works because it understands that power has the tendency to corrupt and so there are check and balances in place to protect us.

The Bible does not provide solutions for every problem we face in the world. It cannot specifically tell us what to do about gun violence, broken marriages, sexual immortality or rampant famine. What it can do is provide principles and a framework by which we can arrive at the correct solution. Things will get better in our lives and community when we start to see every problem from a Biblical perspective and then apply these principles consistently in our lives, our families, our work, our home and our governments.

If you want to know more about the "Christian worldview", one of the finest books I've found is How Now Shall We Live? It's a long, challenging read, but well worth the effort.

Family

arsindelve — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:14:51 GMT
The front page article in this morning's "Metro" newspaper calls the state of child care in Canada a "chaotic mess". The statistics are staggering. Dr. Fraser Mustard estimates that "the cost of behavioral and mental health problems triggered by problems in early childhood to be 30 billion". It's a national disgrace, but one that is not entirely a surprise given the reports I hear from friends in the teaching profession. They claim that you can tell with a high degree of accuracy which children were raised in the home and which were raised in day-care. Their attitude, behavior and performance in school are dead giveaways.

This is a problem that is only going to get worse. Is there any reason to think that without intervention, the children of this generation will be better adjusted than their parents? If we don't get a handle on this problem, what will the "behavioral" problems look like in 40 years?

People sometimes ask me why God does not do more to reverse this slide into moral depravity. The fact is, God has given us the tools we need, but we've chosen not to use them. God gave us several institutions which were intended to serve as the framework for a healthy, well-adjusted society. Among these are church, family and government. The first two have all but disappeared from the daily lives of North Americans, and we watch in helpless terror as the third one gets more corrupt and bloated every day. Of these, it's family which has deteriorated the most in the last 50 years. Under the assault of divorce, sexual immorality, lack of responsibility and a desire to have every new luxury they can't afford, parents have all but taken away the very thing that children need the most - two loving parents.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I spent half an hour in Johnny Rockets, a small restaurant which is done up in a 50's style and exudes all the happiness and innocence of that age. We debated whether or not the 50's were really as free and happy as it is always portrayed, and we concluded that it probably was, for the most part, a far better time then the one in which we live. So, what was it about that time - which made it so special - that is now missing from our society? The answer is family.

50 years ago, the husband worked and the wife stayed home and raised the family. I am well aware how shockingly chauvinistic this sounds, but isn't this picture of family the way God intended it to be? I am not saying that women should not or cannot work. What I am saying is that when a couple makes a decision to have children, then one of them must make the sacrifice to stay home and raise those children, not shuffle them off to a day-care. Someone has to show those children the love and support they so desperately need in the tender first years. If both parents love their careers and their lifestyle, then something will have to give. Someone will have to ma...

Pride

arsindelve — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 22:47:12 GMT

There are many sins that cause trouble for Christians today, but one of the least understood is pride. We know what lust and greed look like, but sometimes pride can be subtle. Can you think of anyone in your congregation that has a real problem with greed, lust or anger? Perhaps not. These sins are found in private, behind closed doors. Can you think of anyone who has a problem with pride? I suspect you can, but even if you can't think of anyone, I'll wager that there is someone you're having trouble getting along with, or simply don't like and that pride is at the center of that situation and neither one of you realizes it.

It's easier to begin by understanding what humility is, for humility is the opposite of pride. Humility is not modesty or self-deprecation. There is no honor or value in trying to pretend that you have not done well when someone compliments you on an achievement. It does no good to pretend that something you have created is terrible when it is obviously very good. This is not humility - it's pride masquerading as modesty. People do this because they want you to think they are humble. They are proudly drawing your attention to their modesty!

Humility means that in all situations, you take pleasure in goodness, and give all glory and honor to God. If you are a musician and someone writes a beautiful song to glorify God, you should be equally pleased if you are the composer, or if the composer is someone you do not really like. If you lead a person to Christ, you should be very pleased, but should be just as pleased if they had come to Christ on their own. This is real humility, and when you see the opposite of this - the lack of any ability to take pleasure from a good thing unless you can derive some recognition - you find the real meaning of pride.

Pride lies behind all sorts of conflict in our families, our work and our churches. Think of the parishioner who exclaims "That sermon was terrible" when really it was a fine sermon, but it was delivered by the new Associate Pastor that got the job over their brother-in-law. This kind of thing is going on all the time. We need to see good things for what they really are, and stop looking at who they come from. All good things ultimately come from God and belong to Him. When we try to suppress and diminish them for our pride's sake, God is the one we are hurting the most.

The Highest Stakes

arsindelve — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 22:43:24 GMT

This week, something happened that we had all been anticipating and discussing ever since the sextuplets were born in BC a few weeks ago. The surviving babies were taken from their parents and were given blood transfusions against their parent's will. Let me begin by saying I think the parents are theologically wrong. Their beliefs about blood transfusions (among many other things) are based on bad exegesis and from reading passages that are taken out of context and misunderstood. I don't want to get into a debate about the parents, but rather, I want to take a look at some of the reaction that ensued and show how this kind of viewpoint undermines the very core of faith itself.

Predictably, radio call-in shows and websites starting asking people what they thought. It's no surprise that the vast majority of respondents agreed with the government's decision. Frankly, I was surprised that anyone supported the parents, but there were a handful. It was the nonsense logic behind some of the government's supporters that really surprised me. One woman wrote, "If someone is going to die then their religious beliefs don't matter. " When, then, does it matter? If faith only matters when nothing is at stake, what good is it? How can a faith such as this ever save anyone?

Recall when John the Baptist, imprisoned and sentenced to die, asked his followers to go and ask Jesus if He was really the Messiah. Why now? John had seen much of what Jesus had done. He had heard the voice of God proclaim that Jesus was His son. Why does John doubt now? Because he is going to die - because now his faith really matters. No one wants to die for a lie. We get scared. We have to know that it was really worth something.

Remember the apocryphal story of the girl at Columbine who was asked if she believed in God and was shot when she replied that she did? I have not been able to verify that this ever happened, but put yourself in that position. Could you say the words to save your life as you imperil your soul? Many of would like the think we would stay true to the Lord and not falter, as John and Peter did.

What if instead of shooting you, the killer will shoot your child. Will you renounce God to save your child? Let that choice sink in for a moment. Can any of us, having not lived through it, imagine the suffering that comes from standing by while our children die, knowing that with a single word we could save them? What kind of faith does it take to say the words; to sentence your children to death because of what you believe?

Pray that your faith will never be tested this way, but if it does, then you will really know once and for all what you are made of. Do you believe only when it's safe, or will you pay the ultimate price for your faith? The tricky part is that our faith always matters because our eternal life hangs in the balance. What stakes could be ...