Thoughts and Ramblings

Is my job an extension of who I am in Christ?

God has given me a job to do. First of all, to be his follower. To do his will. To bring him the glory he deserves. This is the job he has given all people. Since I'm a Christian, this is my primary responsibility. So, above all else, this is my mission in this life.

God has currently given me another job to do. I'm a school teacher in a relatively high need setting. Is doing my job well, by human standards, part of what God desires that I do/be? Must I strive to be the best teacher of mathematics that I can to be serving God and his will in the highest capacity that I can? My insides tell me, yes. However, I don't know if that is from God or from the general christian culture I live in.

Back to the first job God has given me. What is his will, and what brings him glory in my job? His will states (aka the greatest commandment) that I should love God with all my heart and secondly, love my neighbor as myself. It seems that practically speaking, the doing of my job by human standards is of little value in the "love God with all your heart" category. Doing my job well in the category of "love your neighbor as yourself" may be a more debatable topic in my mind. However, God does command me to obey the laws of man. The laws of teaching (and therefore, man) encourage me to be the best teacher I can be.

The doing of my job well should also influence the "love my neighbor as myself" category in an extreme way. These students look to me for ultimate guidance in the area of math first and foremost. Loving them, would be to teach it in an easily understandable manner such that they're prepared for the next level and ultimately a little more prepared for life in the real world.

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Rules: Hard and fast, or an extension of grace?

It is my belief that rules exist for a reason and they're to be followed. God tells us to obey the laws of the land and since I make the laws of my land, students should follow them. If I don't obey the laws of the land I live in, I don't always receive a physical consequence. However, I have to believe that God judge me eventually (without the presence of Christ in my life). So, do students always get a physical consequence if they do not follow these rules? I'm reminded of the phrase, "don't spare the rod" in regards to child rearing.

It's easy for the teacher to let students get away with breaking rules. It makes you more popular among students. It also makes you look better to administrators. On the outside, everyone benefits from lacking enforcement of rules; at least initially. Eventually, I conclude this would lead to destructive behavior and selfish actions. I think this breeds a kind of dark, uneducated, impoverished culture.

Ecclesiates

A couple weeks ago, a man approached me. Seeing my Bible, he exclaimed, "Are you a Christian?!" I told him I was and he began to ask me why, telling me that there were better things I could do with my life. After I learned that he was only joking, he told me his life story in about 45 minutes and I hung on every word. In the end, he told me to read Ecclesiastes. Through his tears, he said it would change my life. So, I read it.

Solomon writes this book near the end of his life. Most of the book has a rather negative tone and his two favorite phrases seem to be "Everything is meaningless" and "This is like chasing after the wind" (which is also meaningless). Every so often, Solomon says something to the effect of, "therefore, don't waste time. Enjoy life as much as you can."

In these little sections where he deviates from his negative tone, he tells the reader to enjoy life, take risks, be glad, and chase after the things of heaven.

Many verses in this book sort of hit me where I'm at now that I'm in my first career-related job. Here are a few..

So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot.
- Ecclesiates 3:22

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat, drink, and be glad.
- Ecclesiastes 8:15

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10

Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
- Ecclesiastes 11:4

..Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgement. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9-10

Now, all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether is is good or evil.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

It's clear that the thrust of Solomon's message is that life is not about anything except following your God-given desires. This book helped me to really grasp the picture of how we're to live. I can only do something with all my might (9:10) if I thoroughly enjoy what I do (3:22). This also means I will be happy and therefore, I need to make sure I'm following the desires of my heart (11:9).

Maybe it seems trivial, but I needed this moment of clarity for where I'm at in life. This mindset helps me make life decisions. It gives me a lense to look through. It's not realistic to think that a person will be happy all the time in the things they pursue. There may even be stretches of very unpleasant events. However, at the end of the day and at the end of my life, I'll be most satisfied if I sought after the good desires of my heart.

Emphasis on the GOOD. Solomon's conclusion is that we're to fear God and keep his commandments. I don't think we're to actually be afraid of him like we're afraid of monsters in the closet when we're young, but rather, revere him. Do what he says, not out of fear, but out of reverance for him. Dictionary.com describes revere as meaning "an attitude of deep respect tinged with awe." This is a great description of how to think of and interact with God.

I also think its worth mentioning that the last phrase in the book states that God will "bring every deed into judgement, whether it is good or evil." Contradiction? I think not. The desires of my heart are both good and bad. Solomon isn't telling me to follow EVERY desire of my heart. I know that there are things my heart desires that I should not persue. Solomon is telling me to follow the desires of my heart which also coincide with God's character.

Teaching.

Student teaching is an opportunity for exploration. It’s an opportunity for me to see if God wants me to teach. It’s an opportunity for me to see if I like it as much as I thought I would. I should embrace it. If I don’t embrace it, things will seem crappy. Attitude is sometimes one of the biggest determiners of how much something is enjoyed. Sometimes, in the course of student teaching, I know that I have a bad day because my attitude stinks. I won’t know if I really like teaching if I go into it with a bad attitude. A bad attitude can make a lot of things seem worse than they are. I’ve got to give myself a fair shot at teaching. Some days, an attitude adjustment will give me that fair shot.

Branching off of that – We were made to enjoy creation/life. God has given people the power to enjoy the sun, moon, stars, architecture, teaching, lazy Saturdays, accomplished tasks, and ultimately glorifying the God who loves us immeasurably. What is the key idea? God wants us to enjoy life. To an extent, God wants us to do what we love to do… because he created us the way we are. If I’m created to love art, why would I doom myself to a life of frustration by becoming a business man? I can glorify God in all that I do, so I might as well do what I enjoy.

Secondly, I think I’m more open to doing what God wants me to do if I’m doing what I enjoy. If I love art and I get to do art, then I’ll be happy and more open to seeking out opportunities to thank God for his goodness. If I’m a business man, I’ll spend my days soaked in misery. The last thing on my mind would be the furtherance of his kingdom. Seems counterintuitive (now) to think any other way.

the grand scheme

In the grand scheme, no one person can really change the world. In fact, no person can really make the right choices for any other person. At some point, we have to recognize that people make their own decisions. People can only be influenced so much.

In the grand scheme, God calls us to preach his gospel to everyone. BUT, never does he say to force people to make steps toward God. It is not written that rearing a child in the right way yields a adult who makes all the right choices. There is no proven formula that works across the board for people. Ultimately, people, make their own decisions.

I think, at some point, I need to realize that people don't make (what I perceive to be wrong) decisions because I did something wrong. I need to realize that the people in my life aren't rejecting me when they reject the gospel. If I say something biblical and someone rejects it, they don't reject me, they reject God. Everyone is born with a sinful nature - one that naturally rejects God. Overcoming this nature and following God wholeheartedly, in a sense, doesn't feel natural.

Look at children. Their natural tendency is to gratify themselves. I have a 22 month old niece who is the perfect example of this. She always yells, 'mine!' or picks up all of her toys when other children are around because she doesn't want them to play with them. We're naturally greedy. Sure, at some point, we learn that such behavior is not 'mature' or socially acceptable. BUT, we'd like to take everything for ourselves and leave nothing for others. Deep down, at our core, we're selfish beings.

This is a sticky topic in my mind. Who is to say that the advice I give is totally correct, sound advice? If I believe it is sound, biblical advice, and someone rejects it, then they're rejecting God, straight up. If it's not biblical, then they're rejecting me. But, since when does it matter to God if someone rejects me?

Point: Often times, it's not me that is being rejected - it's God.

stuff cont...

It’s not that it’s wrong to have nice things. It’s not wrong to buy things that you don’t necessarily need even though there are millions of people who suffer continually all around the world. The spirit will lead you to do the things you should do. He’s not calling all wealthy people to send half their paycheck to Africa. After all, he doesn’t need our money to save these people from physical death. He doesn’t NEED my help in the least. God doesn’t need a thing from me.

However, God does tell me to honor him with my stuff. I should be using my stuff to bring God as much glory as possible; even though he doesn’t need me for anything. Nevertheless, I am provided with opportunities to please, honor, and glorify him. I’m not to put stock in earthly things since they are really of little value. What is money in the grand scheme of everything anyway? Next to worthless, I'd say.

This was a moment of clarity for me with the help of a couple good friends :)

What are we doing?

Sometimes, I wonder this. What are we doing? Like, seriously, what are we doing? As much as we claim to be followers of Christ, what are we REALLY doing for Christ? You can't dive 10 blocks without passing a church. Sometimes I feel all we really do is exist inside of them. I'm guilty as well.

My church took a survey awhile ago that 'revealed' what we, as a church, need to work on. The survey revealed that as a whole, we were extremely low on people who are in the Bible on a consistent basis. Also, as far as I can tell, it takes a whip or cattle prod to really get people to serve in the church, let alone in the community within which they live. Maybe that's just my perception??

I had a conversation recently with a good friend of mine. He brought up the point that many Christians perceive God as all knowing, all powerful, all loving, etc... While these things are true, He's a jealous God. He's a Just God. He did wicked crazy things to people who didn't obey him (recorded in many different places in the Bible). This tells me that we're more concerned with making people feel good than we are telling people the truth.

The bottom line is I feel that we as Jesus-followers are really missing the mark. We're severely distracted by the pleasures of life and the lie that sitting in church on Sunday and being in a small group is following Christ to the best of our ability.

If people were sincerely grateful for the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, I feel we'd have a much greater movement of God's people being involved in God's work.

Girl America

Listening to “Girl America” by Mat Kearney made me think of all the injustice that happens everywhere all the time. I caught myself wondering if the majority of people just block it out and pretend that life is happy everywhere or if we acknowledge it, but just decide that it’s “too bad.” Neither of these responses is the right one. What makes us unwilling to reach out? What does it take to love a stranger enough to lend a helping hand; in the name of Jesus or even of morals in general. Reasons I can come up with are as follows:

-It messes up the comfortable life that I currently possess or am trying to obtain.
-I don’t want someone to reject my love.
-It’s an awkward situation and I wouldn’t know how to act or react.
-I wouldn’t even know where to begin…

All of these reasons are valid and most likely true. In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did to me.” There will always be injustice. There will always be hurting people – everywhere. God commands his people to reach out. It is awkward and uncomfortable. It is also seen as going above and beyond. Lastly, it’s perfectly acceptable to the vast majority of society to just sigh “oh, that’s too bad” and move on with life.

HOWEVER, this is no excuse. Too often, (I think) Christians quench the opportunities God gives us to be used by him to extend his love to broken people. That doesn’t mean that an opportunity was made crystal clear and we reject it (although sometimes this is the case). I think that often, we need to be looking for opportunities and follow God’s leading, even when it seems scary to do so.

This is somewhat of a scatter-brained post. Sorry. Your thoughts?