being like a lamb

This morning I read 2 Samuel 15 (as part of a daily Scripture reading plan), in which David's son Absolom, after being reconciled to his dad, begins to stir up rebellion in Israel in order to take over the throne.

For a warrior king, as he is so often thought of, David had a tremendous soft spot for his family and for his close friends. As Absolom put the conspiracy into motion and much of Israel began to follow him, David made the decision to leave Jerusalem, essentially abdicating the throne to his son so that they and the city would be spared from the disaster of civil war.

In the long run, Absolom's plans are squashed and Absolom is killed, by the way. David returns to the throne.

It was interesting that today's passage from the New Testament was John 18, which bears the subject heading "Jesus is Betrayed and Arrested." It's one of the Gospel accounts of the entourage of Roman soldiers and temple guards arresting Jesus.

Both accounts immediately brought to mind the passage from Isaiah 53:7, "He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth." (NLT)

I believe that this kind of thing is one of the reasons that David was called "a man after God's own heart," even though we read that David had some remarkably low points in his life. In almost a prophetic way, King David lived out the principles Paul wrote about in Philippians 2:3-5: "Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." (NLT)

It's a grim realization that I stand up for myself -- my own interests and opinions -- far often than I turn the other cheek. If this becomes our modus operandi, there's a good chance that we're undermining our own own faith in the power of our Father. "No thanks, God, I'd better handle this one. Looks like a pretty big job..."

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beautiful simplicity

A couple of days ago I was in my back yard looking around at nature -- a sprawling field, stinking cows (literally stinking -- I have no problem with cows otherwise), the blue sky, clouds, things like that. There was a gentle breeze blowing, and all was right with the world.

I looked up and in the distance I saw a large bird in the air over the house next door, slowly soaring my direction. The bird turned out to be a hawk, and I watched as it spread its wings out and floated majestically on the wind. Occasionally it would whisk its wings through the air once or twice to stay aloft, and it eventually reached the airspace above our yard.

The hawk made a large, ambling circle in the air over our front yard. I watched to see when it would beat its wings against the air again, and this was surprisingly infrequent. It made another large circle over our house and front yard.

As I watched this creature with its majestic command of the air, my first thought was, "Wow, that's beautiful." My second thought was, "I wonder what died in my front yard, 'cuz this thing is acting like a buzzard."

I'm sure this is an internal defense mechanism of some sort, but I chuckled at myself for trying to assign a reason, negative in this case (which is often what the way it works, unfortunately), to something that's simple and beautiful.

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Dying vs. Doing

During a discussion with my friend (and our youth pastor at Wall Highway) Tom a couple of days ago, he said something that I found very compelling. Neither concept was unfamiliar. In fact, they're both integral to the life of the person who follows Christ, but I'd not necessarily thought of them as competing concepts. To be sure, they aren't at their core, but often we let one overrule the other in our lives

He said something like this: "Living to serve God daily may not be so much about 'What can I do for you today, Lord?' as, 'How can I die to myself today, Lord?'"

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. - Galatians 4:24-25 (NLT)

There is no wrong in asking God how we can more perfectly serve Him by doing. As a matter of fact, I'm convinced that relatively few followers of Christ do this with enough regularity. However, unless we die to our selfish desires daily by the power of the Holy Spirit -- with intentional effort on our part -- our works are bound to be polluted by what we bring to the table.

That all sounds very churchy, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can sterilize the concept so much that we can't relate to it. I've seen "selfish desire" in myself in the the way I guard my time to the point of being rabid about it. Dying to that selfish desire might not be particularly fun for me, because it may involve me physically serving someone when I'd intended to sit on the couch and watch SpongeBob. In that case, "dying vs. doing" may oddly involve both.

In another case, I might be so consumed with a ministry activity or event that once the ball gets rolling I lose sight of its original focus (which had better be seeing Jesus Christ magnified/glorified). I'm convinced that this probably happens more often than not in most organized church activities.

Every personality type will have a different area of self that must die. This sounds awful, but it's probably going to be a slow death: "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2, NLT, emphasis mine)

Transformation is a process far more often than it's an epiphany.

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Shocking Confessions

I found this video last week while I was hunting other things. Blogger Mike Silliman has hit the nail on the head with this video. I showed it to our team in a meeting last week and it brought knowing laughter. It's hard to know whether this is acting or the real stuff.

Confessions from Mike Silliman on Vimeo.

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More on Personalities

Erstwhile commenter Leroy sent me a link to an article, implying that I am an introvert. Here's a clip from the article:

"Some introverts aren't stereotypically shy and can strike up conversations with anyone. These introverts enjoy talking and listening to people, and going to parties and events. But most introverts would rather be at home. Introverts can find small talk easy but tiring – and sometimes boring. They'd rather have meaningful conversations about the depths of human souls and minds, but find few opportunities (those aren't your usual conversations at water coolers or dinner parties!)."

I've gotten clues of my introvertedness in things like the fact that I'd rather play the piano for 1,000 people than for 10 people. Not that I desire a larger audience -- I think the whole thing just less personal that way.

I've found that making adjustments to one's natural tendencies in order to show (and have) love for and interest in others' lives can be a daunting and incredibly difficult task -- but an absolutely necessary one. As I've noted before, I am not naturally predisposed to just like people, but God worked in an amazing way in this area of my personality when I actually laid it at His feet. ("Hey, God, this personality thing is just not working out -- I'm a jerk! Can I get a new one?")

So here I go, hammering on the overall theme of this blog: "But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." (James 1:22, NLT)

Recognition of some of the problems associated with our personality types is just knowledge-gathering. Neat info, but worthless to the Christ-follower unless it is used to correct areas which negatively impact others and cast a negative reflection on Jesus Christ.

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My Dog's Better than Your Dog

I have got some sort of mental disorder, and after I post this I'll bet those of you who know me will be slightly paranoid to be around me. I'm sure some of you will be happy to tell me which disorder (or combination of disorders) I have.

My family was on a short vacation and I decided to go down from our third-floor room to get a cup of coffee early one morning. I got on the elevator and surveyed my surroundings.

I glanced at the "Don't dare touch this panel unless you're wearing some sort of uniform"-looking section above the "normal person" buttons, and upon noticing that it was labeled "FIREFIGHTERS' OPERATION," I thought, "Yes! They put the apostrophe in the right place."

I turned to my left and read the ad for the coffee I was heading down to purchase. The tagline at the bottom of the ad said, "Just stop by our lobby and enjoy a delicious cup of Starbucks espresso today." This made me think three things:

1) "Wow. That sounds so 1950's."
2) "So 'Starbucks' must be a simple plural word rather than possessive or plural possessive word, like 'coffee filled with starbucks.'" For some reason I'd never paid any attention to this before.
3) "It annoys me when people say 'expresso'" (although I've never looked at a pronunciation guide for the word -- I could be wrong in saying it like it's written, for all I know).

Mercifully, the door then opened to the ground floor and I stepped out.

I'm telling you, I get frustrated with myself sometimes. I couldn't even absent-mindedly take an elevator three floors down without dissecting my surroundings and thinking (in each case except number two above, and arguably the firefighters' panel) that I could've done a better job.

The thing that compounds this kind of thought process and frustrates me further is knowing that I'm not perfect, myself. Friend and blogger Tony M occasionally (and courteously) lets me know when I've committed grammatical sins in my posts, for example.

This mentality makes war in me against the compassionate, Christ-like spirit that Paul writes about in Philippians:

"Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." (Philippians 2:1-4, NLT)

We often live with our faults rather than capturing our rebellious thoughts and teaching them to fully obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). This is not to say that something like obsessive perfectionism in itself is sinful. Its results certainly can be, though.

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Pessimism Into Realism

I'm not sure if my touch of pessimism keeps me honest or keeps me from embracing things wholeheartedly. It sure permeates lots of areas of my life. I don't like seeing it in other people, but I guess I have a double-standard; I've been living with my own pessimism for a long time. People complain about the music over which I've prayed and our team has prepared each week, and I immediately think, "If only they made good assumptions instead of bad, they probably wouldn't be saying that."

My current personal life project could be called "Transforming Pessimism Into Useful Realism" ("Optimism" will hopefully come after that). If I were to write a book on it right now, it would have a title and a page of special thanks to all those who've endured my pessimism over the years (that'd be nearly everyone who's come in contact with me on a deeper-than-courteous-interaction level), but it wouldn't have a whole lot of content just yet.

Pessimism can actually manifest itself in ways that, at a glance, look like humility. Last weekend I was judging a local battle of the bands with a friend I hadn't seen in years (check out Guitorchestra (TM)). While he's a better musician and recording engineer than I (and may have recorded more noteworthy artists than have I), we have somewhat similar backgrounds. I noticed something about the way we each introduced ourselves to various people when telling them about our qualifications. When I would note my recording and production credentials (20 years or so of recording and producing local acts, with a few ultra-top-notch players in there), I would say something like, "I haven't recorded anyone 'famous' except maybe Shania Twain's rhythm section and Heartland on their first couple of demos" (usually stopping my sentence before naming anyone), whereas Mychael would typically say something more like, "I've produced and recorded independent artists for more than 25 years."

Both of those statements say essentially the same thing, but my statement started with, "I haven't," and his started with, "I have..." Some would say that I was being humble, and I wish that were the total reason for my approach, but mostly it's due to my "glass is half-empty" mentality.

The other day I was talking with a Christian friend about something relating to following Christ, and I began my statement with, "I have a fundamental problem with..." and before my sentence was complete, he began to laugh, and exclaimed, "You have a fundamental problem with everything!" Upon realizing that he was absolutely right, I started laughing at myself.

This is not to tell you all about my pessimism, although I've probably done a decent job of that so far. My point is to say that pessimism is not typically healthy for the life and growth of a Christ-follower. While it can help us to be on our guard against false doctrines, missteps, etc., it can also keep us from experiencing joy and embracing situations and people wholeheartedly.

For me, step one in "Turning Pessimism Into Useful Realism" is stated in this brief clip from Paul's letter to the Philippians: "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you." (Philippians 2:13-15a, NLT)

Here again, as in so many situations, an act of the will is required. We're instructed to act in a way that God has given us the power to act. We have the choice to refrain from that action, but obeying it is another step in allowing God to transform us from the inside out (Romans 12:2).

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Doing What Comes Naturally

I don't know if I've done a wonderful job of pouring out what's in my head in today's post. I'm interested in knowing if it makes sense to anyone but me...

I believe that is is a wholly good thing to attempt to be the very best at whatever one does. I don't encourage anyone to ever give their second-best effort. "Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom." (Ecclesiastes 9:10, NLT)

A couple of days ago during my copious spare time ("LOL" may be used appropriately here), I was playing some head-to-head Boggle online and decided I'd better quit after I was beaten in three consecutive rounds (the computer selects tougher opponents from around the world as you win rounds, and arguably easier ones if you lose). As I've stated before, I don't find defeat to be particularly pleasing, and I felt like my temper was about to bubble to the surface.

I believe every person was born with a unique kind of mental wiring. Some people are peacemakers, some are natural-born leaders, some are particularly organized, some are good at delegation, some are naturally empathetic, etc. Some "natural" traits are also developed as a result of a person's upbringing or life circumstances.

A few times during my life I've tried to justify my innate desire to win by telling myself that the Bible encourages us to do our best, and that's why I'm like that. I have to wonder if there are others like me -- people who sometimes pat themselves on the back for keeping the peace, for instance, when in fact they would go crazy if they did not exercise that trait.

It's almost humorous that we sometimes think of ourselves as being extra "good" or as being a more Godly person for doing that which comes natural to us.

I can't help thinking of what Jesus said: "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return." (Luke 6:32-34, NLT)

Pride is an aggravating beast.

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The Shoelace Maneuver

In the great symbiotic circle of life, it is well-known that Felis silvestris catus, the Common Domesticated Housecat, has but a few instinctive enemies, the first among them being the Common Shoelace.

My cat attacks my shoelaces. Jesse the Common Domesticated Housecat senses, no matter where he is in the house at the time, that I am about to put on a shoe or boot with laces, and he appears with feline alacrity to engage the laces in pitched battle, sometimes with my knuckles becoming casualties of war.

Animals (or Jesse the Cat, at least) attack that which they instinctually sense to be either a threat or a great plaything, and I've found myself wondering lately if I have a tendency to attack shoelaces -- engaging that which is not a threat, but is instead something I see as an entertaining diversion because I get to spout my two cents about it.

I've formed opinions about actions and the implementation (or even the non-implementation) of things and ideas in the church. I feel certain we all have. As I pray about and dig into my thoughts and motivations, I occasionally see that some of these things and ideas with which I personally disagree have no negative bearing whatsoever on the Church's ability to disciple Christ-followers, share the message of Christ, edify believers, or help needy or hurting people. I just have an opinion that's different.

The question I ask myself is this: what's really worth arguing about? Or maybe "argue" isn't the proper word. What's worth fighting for?

If you're able to examine your own opinion for or against something and discover that it is based on personal prejudice rather than what the Scriptures say, I submit that that item is not worth arguing about or fighting for. If, however, you see a situation in which Christ is not being honored; one in opposition to the Word, you have a responsibility to voice your observations.

The most difficult part, I believe, is having the wisdom to differentiate between the two, because we sometimes have a tendency to warp Scripture into saying what we wish it would say rather than seeing what it really says. Another unfortunate, and very human, tendency is to jump (or take a flying headlong leap) to conclusions.

I intentionally leave this post a little more open-ended than normal -- I don't have a real-world example to insert. In songwriting it's said that the more specific the subject written about, the more universal the song's appeal (how ironic...), and the lack of clarification here leaves a little more breadth than normal in discerning what in the world I'm talking about.

I will leave each of you to your own devices in knowing whether or not your tendency is to employ the Shoelace Maneuver.

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On Being a Nit-Picker

Over yonder at his blog, my friend Bill posted some comments about a movie he and his wife recently watched, and the post somehow put me into movie critic mode. I'm probably being hyper-critical, and it may be annoying to some that I think there's a deeper meaning to just about everything. Please accept this sentence as my obligatory (though actually rather insincere) apology.

Believe it or not, I recently saw a distortion of the laws of physics (not to mention some of the laws of acting) in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. I decided to let it go because I didn't want everyone to think that I was a true nerd, nor did I want the family to stop enjoying the movie on my account. Oddly, I saw the same type of distortion in 2006's The Shaggy Dog as I watched it with my family for the first time a couple of days ago.

The scenario is like this: the guy-you-love-to-hate-but-not-really-a-bad-guy's car is stopped at an intersection, and the viewer hopes the guy gets what's coming to him. Sure enough, a truck rear-ends his vehicle, sending his little dog flying into the front window and pressing the dog's facial features onto the glass for (apparent) visual comedic effect.

But, as I'm sure everyone immediately noticed, if the car were rear-ended, the dog would fly backward, not forward. (I believe it was the reverse that happened in Alvin... A car slammed its brakes on, highly improbably sending the chipmunks flying from the dashboard backward into the front seat.) As is my wont, I couldn't stop thinking about these scenes for the remainder of the respective movies.

So where is the life-related tie-in?

My illustration: "If I had made that movie..."

Real life: "If I were in charge of that ministry..."

I find that I don't always agree with decisions that others make. I am just beginning to really learn, though, that while some of those things are important, the great majority fit nicely into the "Dean, you are really obsessive" category. When I can't let go of the things in the latter category, I'm bound to remain stationary (or worse, move backward) until I'm able to do so.

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Prepping for Curmudgeonhood?

My son makes some of the wittiest remarks I've ever heard, and he often makes them simply for impact. I'm really proud of the dry sense of humor that he's developed. Chip off the old block.

On the subject of driving/riding in a car, he commented to me the other day, "Did you know that you've spent more of your life riding in the front seat instead of the back?" His intent was to delicately (with a sledgehammer) say that I am getting old, and I got his point.

As I sit here and age (I don't think I'm "old" yet, by the way), I seem to be reflecting more and more on the fact that I'm not a very openly encouraging person. Surely, at my current ripe old age, I should've already learned that it is good for a person -- a Christ-follower, especially -- to encourage people. Not "encourage" as in "motivate someone to do something," but to give people a pat on the back, provide an ear to listen to them; things like that.

An older couple (upper 70's, I'd guess) passed me on the road in our rural area, and they both made it a point to wave to me; a stranger passing them on the road. Not one to miss an opportunity to read more into the situation than was really there, and also drawing on my superior skill at over-simplification, I began to think about what type of person I'll be at that age. There were, in my estimation at the moment, three general types of "older" people (defined as "people who are at least 40 years older than I"):

A) Really nice people
2) Really matter-of-fact people
Lastly) Really grumpy people

Out of the three given options, I much prefer to be in Category A, and I realized that I'd better begin cultivating that type of personality now. I'm not talking about giving out phony praise, and of course, words other than encouraging ones are sometimes required ("In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery." Proverbs 28:23, NLT).

I just want to be known -- and eventually remembered -- as someone who spent his life loving and encouraging other people.

If you've gotten to the end of this post and are wondering what "curmudgeonhood" is, click on THIS LINK to see the definition of the root word. (Now I'm trying to think of ways to use the word "cantankerous" in a post.)

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