I Want to Be a Dog

Suggested Reading: Mark 7:24-29

The times when I think scripture teaches us the most are those times when we find something totally unexpected, those times when our own understanding and expectations set us up for a double-take, when we read something that cuts against the grain. One of those times for me, was in Mark 7, with the story of the Syrophoenician woman.

Jesus had taken his disciples to the vicinity of Tyre, a good distance away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds of Judea and Galilee so that he could spend some quality time instructing them. But, like always, Jesus couldn't get away from the crowds.  They followed him and crowded him and knowledge of his presence spread like wildfire throughout the countryside until a desperate Gentile woman learned he was there.

This woman's desperation grew out of the fact that her daughter was demon-possessed, and that desperation drove her to find Jesus. When she approached him, Jesus didn't seem to respond to her because the tense of the Greek  verb tells us tells us that she was continually begging him to drive the demon out. He didn't respond to her. He seemingly ignored her. Then, when he finally did respond, he said, "It's not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs" (Mark 7:27, NIV).  What? Did Jesus seriously call her a dog? Personally, I would have been greatly offended. How did the woman respond?

"Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs" (Mark 7:28, NIV).  Jesus then granted her request and promised her that the demon had left her daughter.

You see, sometimes, we want God to move in our lives, but we want him to do it on our terms, in our way, in our time because we are under some delusion that God is obligated to us. This woman came to Jesus fully aware of her own unworthiness, more concerned about God moving than about her own dignity, and God responded to her humility.  Often, we miss out on God's movement because we are far too concerned about ourselves, about what we deserve and what we want, about our own dignity and importance. When we come to God with that attitude, God's movement will never be awe-inspiring or life-changing; it will simply be what we self-righteously think we are owed.

The next time you need God to move, track your attitude. Do you want God to move because you think He owes it to you or because you are desperate for the touch of His hand? Do you want God to do things in your time, in your way, and on your terms? Or do you need Him so much that you are willing to come to Him in humility, acknowledging your own unworthiness, and accepting His movement in whatever time and form He chooses?

Looking to the one who is able to do "above and beyond all that we could ask or imagine," (Ephesians 3:20-21) I want God to move and I want to leave the details up to him. So go ahead, call me a dog. 

Choosing to Enjoy Real World Fairy Tales

Suggested Reading: Isaiah 58:10-14

One of my favorite Disney movies from recent years is Enchanted, starring Amy Adams as Gizelle. Gizelle literally lived a fairytale life, cartoon form and all, waiting for her Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet. But when he finally did, the prince's evil step-mother exiled Gizelle to the real world, depositing her on the cruel streets of New York City. One of the reasons I find the movie so enchanting is that Gizelle, even as she learns lessons about the cruelty of life, continues choosing to have a good attitude. She cleans the apartment of the father and daughter who have taken her in, singing and happily directing the real world animals that have answered her call to clean. She adamantly refuses to accept that true love doesn't exist and wills it into existence. Her attitude infects everyone around her and makes the ordinary tasks of life more enjoyable.

One of the problems Jesus faced with the Pharisees, and that we often face in our churches today, is the number of people who go through the motions but lack any real excitement about their walk with the Lord. Things like going to church, attending a Bible study, or making time to serve our neighbors fail to be things we enjoy and become burdensome duties, taking up time we could be using to do other things.  We may go through the motions, but there is no enjoyment, no sense of life.

In Isaiah chapter 58, God was speaking through the prophet, warning His people about the reasons for their current problems. They had been going through the motions of religious life very dutifully, but it affected their day to day walk very little and they were not experiencing God's blessings. So God advised them, "Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the LORD, have spoken!" (Isaiah 58:13-14, NLT). The phrase that jumps out at me? Enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day.

God commanded his people, not just to keep the Sabbath, but to enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight. Instead of grumbling about the work they were missing out on or the recreational activity they could enjoy instead, God ordered his people to enjoy it and speak of it with delight. Essentially, he was commanding his people to choose to have a good attitude about the Lord's day and God promised that if they would choose a good attitude, if they would choose to speak of it with delight then the Lord would become their delight. Just as we sometimes rekindle "that old fire" with our spouses by choosing to act as if it is already kindled, we can rekindle our love for God and experience delight in God by speaking and acting as if it is already the case.

Is there an area of your walk with God that has become burdensome or dreary? Do you avoid going to church or engaging in "religious activity" because you would just rather spend your time doing other things? Try choosing a good attitude about those activities. Try speaking of the Lord's Day with delight and, like the passage suggests, throwing yourself into it whole-heartedly, setting everything else aside. Choose to act like the Lord is your delight and, soon, you will feel like the Lord is your delight.

Zack Morris's Rules of Studying

Suggested Reading: Colossians 2:11-3:4

In the final season of Saved By the Bell, Zack Morris, the perpetual under achieving high school schemer managed to score 1500 out of 1600 points on his SAT test. Naturally, Zack managed to turn his score into an opportunity to spend time with cute girls who wanted help with their studies. Zack invited one girl home and began to tell her how he "studies." He told her they needed to lower the lights, close her eyes and allow him to rub her shoulders. He told her several things to do but none of them were intended to help her study. Everything he told her was intended to help him "score."

The Apostle Paul also told  us about a list of rules that don't accomplish what they are supposed to. Paul described a list of religious rules which he dismissed as worthless. He wrote, "These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self- denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth." (Colossians 2:23-3:2, NLT)

Paul was not saying that all of the religious rules were bad. Who can argue that avoiding sexual immorality or controlling your temper are bad? Paul was arguing that the rules themselves don't accomplish anything. Most of us knew many religious rules which were useless before we came to Christ. Rules don't change our behavior. Changing the way we think changes our behavior. Paul asks us what we think about. Do we think about things that make us sympathetic to sin or do we think about things that encourage us toward righteous living? Do we allow ourselves to be influenced by culture and media or are we intentional about choosing the types of film and literature that influence us?

What kind of things do you allow your mind to dwell on? Those are the kinds of things you will do.

Nagging and Rooftop Escapes

Suggested Reading: Proverbs 25:20-28

It always seems to happen about this time of year. Stress. There is too much to do, too many things to get ready, too many events to attend, too much house to clean. Family  and guests are coming and the house needs to be spotless to provide that perfect Christmas atmosphere. There is never enough money  or time for all of the gifts you want to get and all of the cards you want to send. Slowly, all of these little frustrations build and you begin doing it without even realizing you're doing it.

You start nagging.

The kids aren't keeping their rooms clean enough. Your spouse is doing all of the wrong chores. People are taking too long to get ready. No one is RSVPing in time.  Why did they forget the milk at the grocery store? That's not the way the stockings were supposed to be hung! Nag, nag, nag, nag, nag. Sound familiar? Maybe you know someone who sounds that way right now. Maybe you are the one who sounds like that.

I had a friend once who used to quote a verse daily, "Proverbs 25:24,  Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a nagging wife" (HCSB). He also quoted the other three Proverbs that were just like it. Constantly. I used to think those verses were just my friend's and the writer's way of venting or of warning unmarried people about the kind of spouse they should be searching for.  I still think both of those things may be true but I think it was also a bit of advice for how to be the right kind of person. 

When you nag you become unbearable to live with. So don't. Nothing can kill Christmas cheer like a nagging family member. Nothing sucks the motivation out of preparing for guests like someone ragging on you for not doing it the "right" way or never being given credit for the work that has already been done. And nothing drives a wedge between family members, and especially spouses, quicker than constant nagging.

This holiday season, in the midst of all the preparations and the to-do lists, decide not to be a nag. Don't drive your spouse, kids, or anyone else to living on the roof.