I have a colleague who both privately and publically bemoans the fact that
we have lengthy meetings. It’s not unusual for a candidate or volunteer to look
at a job opportunity and think, ‘The job
looks easy, it will only take three or four hours a month. I can easily fit
that into my already busy schedule.’ For most of us, doing a job and doing
it right requires a lot more time investment than we thought. There is always a
cost associated with everything we do, even a cost to being a disciple. Jesus
said, “Suppose one of you wants to build
a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has
enough money to complete it?” (Luke 14:28 NIV)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----Freedom is tricky. Living in a culture that touts freedom as a basic right and necessity, we don’t appreciate its boundaries as also being its own perils. Those boundaries are these constraints: time, wealth, interests, and abilities. You have used the metaphor of wealth to express the reality of time being a limited asset for spending at will. I would love to visit every archeological site in the world and read every historical book written. But my freedom to do so is greatly constrained by the short time I have on earth and the pittance of my pockets. If I were to try anyway, my freedom would soon collapse under the consequences of the skulduggery it would take for me to get around the world on other people‘s wealth. My health would fail for want of the time its upkeep really needs. The integrity of my character would vanish in the light of my own interests being served to the total ignoring of my bride’s and daughters’ interests. Besides, I just don’t have the intellectual ability to do it. So I stay free within my constraints and enjoy a few books at home.
-----This is what Paul meant by writing, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal 5:13-14) What I mean when saying, “Life is complex,” is that your neighbors’ interests and needs define your freedom’s boundaries. Love is your eyes to see those boundaries. And this is why I like to boil love down to its simplest term: benefit for everyone involved. It isn’t an emotional thing such that you should be running around all the time with some powder-puffy giggle in your heart for everybody you see. You may not even like the person you see. But love for him is great regardless. It is a way of reasoning out your boundaries to conclusions which establish the best possible outcome between you and your neighbor within any particular situation. Try it. You’ll like it.
-----So, Paul says not to complain and to be content in all situations. Complaint and discontentment happen when we find too little space between our boundaries. There are two ways for being content and not complaining. One way is to humbly accept your circumstances because they immutably are what they have come to be. It is a very necessary way, because it is about, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Some mystical types expect God to kind of tell them what His specific will is for their lives. But He reveals it much more often in our simple dealing with immutable circumstances by all godly principles of both behavior and attitude. The second way is to change any circumstance which isn’t immutable. Even if no external circumstance will change, you are an element of every circumstance in your situation. When you change, their immutability can change. That can really expand boundaries! Of course, it is more fun to change circumstances without changing yourself. But that’s just the thing about God’s will - you don’t always get your way.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment