The ongoing story of God's hand at work in the life of an average guy. I am a Left-Hand Man. If this sounds strange to you, you are in good company. It took me a while to accept it myself. Yet curiously, I am not left-handed...
(August 29, 2012)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24.
One day when I was a new teacher the principal came into our Wednesday chapel waving a $5 bill. Now it may not sound like much, but back in the 80’s that was actually worth something. He said he had left a candy wrapper on the ground as an experiment. Almost everyone walked right by it. There was one jr. high student who didn’t. The principal called him up the front, shook his hand and handed him the fiver. The young man was both ecstatic and embarrassed at the same time. He didn’t pick it up because he thought he was going to be rewarded; he did it because it was the right thing to do.
It left an impression on me. As I walk around our high school campus I try to do the same thing. I figure if it’s in front of me, it’s part of God’s good work for me to do today. (See Ephesians 2:10.) Sometimes kids say, “Ew, that’s gross!” I just smile, and tell them hands wash, and you’re not supposed to put your fingers in your mouth anyway.
I’m glad my mom and dad taught me to always work like someone is watching, because, well, God is always watching. But more importantly, you never know who else might be watching. You can be an example to those around you. I’ve noticed that if you start cleaning up, people will often stop what they are doing and help. Maybe it’s out of guilt, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’m not doing it for them anyway. Noticed or not, let’s just keep doing the right thing day by day. Eventually, it will start to make a difference.
“Snitch’s get stitches.”
“Mind your own business.” Why are we always on the extremes? When it’s
important people don’t say anything because “they don’t want to get involved”.
Yet the minor things all get air time.
This is especially true in
worship. Have you ever had someone grill you about your church worship? Why
don’t you raise your hands? Why do you only raise one hand? Why aren’t you
singing? Why aren’t you doing what we do?
Now I don’t recommend that you answer with
“get out of my face” but really, why is it their business? They have no idea
what is going on inside. If I want to stand quietly, it’s my choice. If I want
to raise one, two, or no hands, it’s my choice. I have seems so many people
turn away from church because someone was tried to be made to worship a certain
way. Sometime it’s blatant, almost a shaming thing. Sometimes it’s more tacit,
only a subtle hint. Frankly the great majority of us have no room to talk. We
have major business to do with God and should focus on that. (Interestingly,
the small minority seem to know how to keep quiet.) How ‘bout we educate
ourselves about what worship really is and confidently come before God with an
our heart. Here are some ways to do that.
Do a Bible study about
worship
Ray and seek God’s guidance
Worship God in spirit and
in truth.
Practice being in the
moment - avoid distractions.
Talk about it with a
trusted friend.
Decide for yourself.
Be sensitive to the
Spirit’s leading.
Find your way of worship
(according to the scriptures please) and come before God as a loved child. But
remember, allow others to do the same thing!
National Authenticity Day is celebrated on August 16
every year. This is the day of recognition of the power of authenticity, a term
that goes beyond just “being yourself.” It is dedicated to people who decide to
do things their way rather than simply check the box. (http://nationaltoday.com/national-authenticity-day)
Being yourself. What does
that really mean? Is it even a good thing? It brings up many questions. We live
in a world of many masks. Ask someone, How’s it going? The answer is almost
always, “good”. Even if the world is falling apart, most people will not admit
it. On the other hand, most people who ask that question really don’t want to
know the truth. They are just using it as a greeting. Finding a person who is truly
“what you see is what you get” is a rare thing. We often think we have to “be”
something else for other people. I think it’s a good thing that we can
encourage one another to “be yourself” and stop faking or hiding. There would
surely be less mental illness. When we let the masks drop, we are able to forge
deeper lasting relationships. We not only find out who others are, but we find
out who we really are. We will become stronger, wiser, and more stable. We will
form bonds greater than we could imagine. Hey, my wife has seen me at my worst
and still loves me. That’s gotta mean something.
Unfortunately, some use “just
be yourself” as a reason to not grow or better themselves. Yes, there are too
many boxes we are expected to check. Yes, many times people want us to do
things their way. As a teacher I have to always be conscious of the fact that
there are students who don’t process things like the rest of us. I recently had
a chemistry student from another country get excited that I would let them show
their work in several different ways. I their country, they said it was usually
“my way or the highway”.
Yet, as a Christ follower, I
need to yield who I am and give in to God’s plan. I may have to change some
things. I may have to add or leave something behind. All the while I can be
sure that I am not giving up my authenticity, but instead creating a new and
better “self”. Today, spend a little time to refresh “who you are” for
yourself. Be authentic, just like God created you!
This week at school
our campus pastor used a glove as a visual aid. It got me thinking, then
musing, which led to writing. That's usually how it works for me. There are many
types of gloves. They are all made and tailored to fit their use. There are
protective gloves like disposable medical gloves and leather work gloves. There
are gloves for the various sports. Sign language interpreters, traffic cops,
and ushers often use white glove so that the signals they each give are more readily
seen. Then there are gloves just for show.
A glove is really a good example of our lives. Each of us
have different talents that we use throughout our lives as we relate to those
around us. Gloves are nice and all, but they can’t really do anything on their own.
They need a force on the inside guiding it. And just like the glove, we are of
no use unless we are, well, also being used. The glove is best used when it is
correctly fitted to the user.
The important thing is who is doing the controlling. Put a
baseball glove in my hand, and it becomes amateur night. Put the glove on Paul Goldschmidt,
and first base is covered. (He was one of my favorites when he played for the
D-Backs.) We all have at least one strength. Some of us may even represent
multiple gloves. We can try to do it all ourselves (and fail miserably) or we
can allow God to fill us and direct our lives.
Ephesians 2:10 says, For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. Each of us are created with talents
(gloves) for the projects God has for us. He already has them waiting for us. He
know the plan. He knows the curves and blind spots. He will guide and empower
us. All we have to do is look for them, and be willing to let God
“wear the glove”.
Growing up, we lived across an alley from my grandparents. During
the summer I would often go over to their house, especially in my high school
years, and play various games. They were already both retired by then. We might
play Yahtzee, various forms of solitaire, or even a card game called “poop on
your neighbor” where you try to dump all your cards on someone else. If we
weren’t playing games, we often went with my grandpa to the bowling alley for a
few games. He even took us flying remote control airplanes a few times. Oh, the
time we spent wandering corn fields looking for model airplanes…
Grandpa Kerley was my step grandpa, but he’s the only one I
remember. My mom’s real father died of tuberculosis when my mom was young.
Grandpa was also a pretty good musician. He played guitar and piano. He loved
to do duel “Boggie Woogie” sessions with me. I can’t say I loved it, most likely
tolerated it. Hey, it made him happy.
In his later years through the influence of my dad, he gave
his life to Christ. I vividly remember him telling me that he went through the “Battle
of the Bulge” mostly in WW2 foxhole. He said, “They say there are no atheists
in foxholes, but I never really thought about it. I just tried to stay alive”.
Now it was different. He started playing in the worship band at the Sothern
Baptist Church. Just a guitar a drummer and a piano. Still, he loved it. He
started helping other “older“ people. He said it kept him young. When he
invited me to join him on Saturdays to help sing (by that time I knew most of
the old hymns by heart) I joined him. I really didn’t want to be there, but it
meant a lot to him, so I went. Looking back, it is one of my fondest memories
of him.
This week at H St, a homeless and under-resourced ministry
we volunteer at, we sang one of the old songs by CeCe Winans, Come Jesus Come. It sounded just like
the music he used to play. Memories came flooding in and I had to smile. We
helped people in the nursing home have those memories too. Grangpa died at age 87
as I remember. Still, his music, his voice, and his care for the elderly are
still with me. Thanks Grandpa.
