my first mad one...

Ok, here is the deal, because i'm kinda frustrated...this one will be short. But stay with me on this because it is important...for me and you.

EVERYTHING has value. It either has (1) Instrumental value, or (2) Intrinsic value.

(1) Instrumental value means that something has worth because of what it can do for you...it is valuable because it is a means of getting what you want. Examples: a car drives you places, a jacket keeps you warm, a TV entertains you...notice these are all THINGS...

(2) Intrinsic value means that the thing itself has worth just because of what it is, not that it does something for you, but that the thing itself is valued. Examples: people

So here's the deal: As people we can never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever value people ONLY because of what they can do for you (Instrumental value). When you do that to someone, they are no longer a person, THEY ARE A THING to you. People have value because of that, they are people not things. When you are only interested in someone because of what they can do for you, you give them only instrumental value, and mirror them to a thing (a car, a jacket, a TV).

So as you may be able to tell, I'm a little run down. I just feel like some people that I have met recently have no interest in me because I can't get them anything...I'm just a normal guy with no connections. Have you ever felt that someone forgets your name 2 seconds after hearing it?...me too. So I'm just tired really. People tend to not listen anymore, UNTIL they find out you can get them something. I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT TO OTHERS. I pray that I will never do that to others.

Jesus loves me because of...........................................................

..................................................................nothing. He just does.

p.s. I'm not mad, just frustrated at my situation lately.

Atheists, Deists, and Christians. OH MY!

I really don't understand Atheists, or moreover, what they claim. I just don't grasp how someone can really honestly refuse the existence of God. For me, it seems almost impossible to simply say that there is no God. All you have to do is look around the universe to see God. The idea that things just happen by chance...THAT is absurd.

Then there's Deists, those who believe that God created the universe, but does not intervene with it; he just watches. I can honestly say that I can sometimes understand where they are coming from...

Today in church in youth group we talked about doubts. Everyone has them...even people who love Jesus. Just look in the Bible and you will find story after story of those who had doubts and yet God works around them and through them. It is normal and healthy to have doubts about God:...now for anyone that would freak out at that statement...just check the scriptures. "How long oh Lord will you forsake me?" (Psalm 13)...does not sound like a type of guy who had it all together.

Anywho, like I said, I can understand where deists are coming from because sometimes it DOES feel like God has gone silent...because he does sometimes..."In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, BUT with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you" (Isaiah 54)...great stuff.

So really, what does one do with their doubts?

Let them control their lives? =Deists.

Ignore them and refuse a higher purpose? = Atheists.

Give them to God? = Christians...new life...life to the fullest...

Oh yeah, Jesus saves...not religion. :)

Thoughts on MLK

I recently returned from a trip to Memphis with a church group. We ate at the #1 ranked rib joint in the world as rated by the Travel Channel and had lots of other funzies. One of the biggest things that stuck with me though was our trip to the Civil Rights Museum. At this museum you get to see the exact spot where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, and you can go and look out of the window where the shooter was. It is a very real and intense experience.

I learned a lot about Dr. King on that trip. He wasn’t perfect, but was a great example. A few things really stuck with me:

Dr. King received threats on his life and family for years but he never quit, he wholeheartedly persevered…completed devoted. He believed so strongly in his cause that he looked passed the criticisms and threats on his life. Dr. King said that he would never make it to the age of 40….he said that, and he believed it.

The night before he was killed he spoke these words:

“I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you.

But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people,

will get to the Promised Land! And so I'm happy, tonight.

I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!”

These were his last public words spoken. It’s almost like he knew what was coming the next day.

He said that he would never make it to age 40…he died at 39.

The biggest point for me was that Dr. King stood by his cause through criticism, threats, and even to death. He NEVER backed down from his beliefs. Everything he said and everything he did, affirmed each other. I wonder if people will say the same things about me one day.

Would I really stand behind what I say?....through criticisms…threats…death…

…just a thought.

Christian Rules 101

The other day, we were at dinner with some folks, and the food came out to our table. We all awkwardly looked at each other for a moment because we all know Unwritten Christian Rule #121: When you go out to dinner you have to pray for the meal…always. So then in the next moment everyone silently considered to themselves Unwritten Christian Rule #72: When deciding who will pray for the meal, the job always goes to the preacher/pastor. Well, I was the closest thing that we had to a pastor at the time; a slightly below average seminary student. So I was volunteered to pray for the meal (a term that I have coined as being “voluntold”). I have no problem praying in public, and I have no problem that I am usually the one to pray; despite being not very good at it. Up to this point at the meal everything is normal…I grab Kinzey’s hand to pray (not really sure why…that’s just what you do when you pray).

I then bowed my head and looked down at the food. I prayed some sort of lackluster apathetic prayer that I don’t really remember. The reason I don’t remember is because I was not actually thinking about what I was saying at the time…all I could think about was the fact that I was sitting there “thanking” God for the food in front of me, all the while thinking about how unthankful I really was for the food.

I can sincerely say that I have NEVER in my life stopped and looked at a meal in front of me, and really thought to myself, “I am so thankful for this meal. I am so grateful that God has given me another meal. Praise God that He has provided for me yet again, and again, and again.” That has NEVER happened to me before a meal…because honestly I am NOT thankful, I am not full of thanks, I am not grateful for things around me…I EXPECT them. I view it as my “right” as a person. I think that I am entitled to everything that I get. I think that I have earned it…I am so spoiled…we are so spoiled.

Paul says to the Colossians that “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” So Paul says to me that to continue in Christ means that I (1) build myself up in Christ (2) strengthen my faith and (3) be thankful. So part of continuing in Christ means to be thankful…that I have to decide to be thankful for everything. It doesn’t just happen, it is a decision to be grateful for things. I have to purposefully and actively look for blessings from God in my life, and choose to thank God for them. This is a challenging idea for me because I live in culture where we expect everything and are thankful for nothing. We think everything we have is our right and our entitlement….I mean, how often do we think to ourselves “I deserve _______”???

It is powerfully sobering to stop and honestly think of all the things that I am not really thankful for…that I view as my entitlements…

…I deserve nothing…