Category: neighbor

Choose Contentment over Resentment

bstuetze

I was watching a Skit Guys video this week with our church youth group. We all love the way they present the gospel in humorous yet very meaningful ways. In this particular episode, they were reviewing the 10 Commandments, which if you know the Skit Guys, is a wealth of wit combined with wisdom. The youth laughed (we all did actually) as they waded through the meaning and relevance of each of God’s commands. Then toward the end Tommy makes the comment, “be content”. So much of what God calls us to do falls into the bucket of be content, with what you have, who is in your life, and how we are called to live.

The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy on this very subject, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

Paul is writing to Timothy about the sickness of this world, the sickness of self and putting ones self before everything else, before God, before others, sometimes we even put our own fleshly desires above what is really good for our own person. When we place our wants, not needs, above all else we become resentful and bitter toward God, others and the world in general. It is only by being content with what we have that we can find any kind of happiness in this world. After all, as Paul pointed out, we brought nothing into this world, and will take nothing out. All we have is from God.

I was going about my day this week when I got a text reminder about a house. It was a house that my husband and I considered buying several years ago, we decided at the time that it was too big of a commitment so we declined. I had forgotten that I had an alert set up if the house was ever up for sale again. Well, it was! And whoever bought it had done a wonderful job renovating it, and fixing, and updating all the things that we had decided were too big for us to handle. Within all of 5 minutes I was talking to a realtor friend of mine, texting my husband and picturing our family moving into this beautiful historic home. It consumed the rest of my day and part of the next.

My family has a wonderful home. We have the space we need, a backyard I have literally bled over. We have built our life there and have no need of anything more (although a 3rd bathroom would be nice in a family of 6). I don’t need a great room with picture windows, Mexican tile floors and a courtyard. I don’t need to become house poor just to host a lovely dinner in my own courtyard with friends who come to my home to visit me, not my house. I became so distracted by the idea of this beautiful, one of a kind, historic home belonging to me that I forgot what was important.  Wanting a new house isn’t a sin! Let me be clear! Obsessing and coveting what I don’t have and don’t need to the detriment of being grateful for what God has given me is.

In this passage Paul is explaining to Timothy that if we have what we need, we should be content, we should feel blessed. It’s when we want more than that, when we allow the temptation to become more, this desire becomes a trap that can ruin people, and lead to their destruction. Paul states that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By this he doesn’t mean cash in hand, although it’s part of it, it means our desire to have more. More than what we already have, more than what our friends and neighbors have, more than our enemies have. And having more, always, ALWAYS, leads us to want more. “It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” 

Resentment sinks in when we live our lives in constant comparison to those around us. When we see what we have as not being enough. The world tells us we need new cars, new homes, new jewelry, first class tickets and front row seats. There is a billboard that went up this spring in my home town that states, “you don’t need a divorce, you need a bigger house.” It was a joint advertisement for a husband and wife team. One is a realtor one is a divorce lawyer. The world we live in is consumer oriented. Whatever your particular temptation may be, you can bet that there is a billboard along the nearest highway designed to feed it.

Our discontentment with the blessings God has bestowed upon each of us is what causes our resentment, leads to arguments, anger, frustration and from that we have people who will gable, become workaholics, steal, cheat, lie and murder to fulfill that desire for more. When Paul stated that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, he was not exaggerating.

Dear friends, we each have been given riches beyond our wildest dreams. Our salvation is worth more than anything that this would could provide us. What we get here is temporary, yet we spend the majority of our lives energy trying to attain more. If we invested that time, those resources (meaning the gifts God has given us through the Holy Spirit) into the lives of others, into sharing the Kingdom of God with those around us, providing for the poor, weak, sick, widowed and orphans, we’d make life better for so many. Our riches, rewards are stored up in Heaven and we’ll have more people there to share them with.

Our lives here on this earth were not meant to be lived as if that were all we have. Our lives on this earth were meant to be lived in a way that brings Glory to God by sharing His love with as many people as we can. Our lives on this earth were meant to be lived with our eyes fixed on Jesus and the life we’ll live with Him forever. To do that we need to be content with what we have, where God placed us and use those blessings to bring ore people to knowledge of His love and salvation. When we are discontented with our lives, we grow resentful and that drives people away from us, ruins our witness and will eventually, as Paul states, drive us from the faith and pierce ourselves with many pangs. Our resentment will ruin our lives here and our chance for life in the Kingdom.

Chose contentment over resentment and be blessed with the knowledge that our riches are waiting for us with Jesus.

Please help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change our world!

Like, share, comment, and come back and visit at “Connectthedotblog”.

Jesus and the Three Pigs

bstuetze

Unswervingly Spur

bstuetze

Spur Heb 10I was scanning through my Facebook feed this morning, and as I often do, I checked out my memories function. I found that on this day, on year ago, I posted this scripture, ” Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25

My attention was captured by the words, unswervingly and spur. Not sure why, but these words aren’t common in my daily vocabulary, and they caught my attention. So, I spent some time this morning looking up what the meaning of them are in Greek. What I discovered created a sense of urgency from this passage that I had not grasped before.

Unswervingly, in generic English translation it means to follow a direct path, to never turn aside and to be steadfast and loyal. In Greek, the word is anthistemi, which means to set against or withstand without giving up or letting go.  We are to withstand without giving up on the hope we profess. We cannot turn or be turned aside from that hope. We must hold to it with a single-minded belief that this hope we have in Jesus, that which we profess is based on God’s promises which are unfailing.

How often do we get derailed by the frustrations of life? If any of you are like, me right now you feel like you’re in a batting cage with a rogue pitching machine, no bat, no glove and the door is locked. The fast balls of life are firing you at you, and they keep getting faster and faster and you are getting tired of dodging and swerving and trying to get out of the way, desperately trying to not get hit in the head and knocked out. We are called as Christians to hold fast to the hope of God’s promises without being turned aside, to set against all that life throws at us without giving up or letting go. Easier said than done sometimes…

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

We will face all kinds of trials during our lives in this world, but God has overcome the world. We must stand fast, without giving up or turning aside from the hope we have in Jesus. We have the Full Armor of God, and it can withstand any fastball!

The second word that grabbed me here was, spur. Being from the Old West this word has an entirely different meaning, or so I thought. When I hear or see the word spur I think of an attachment to my boot which is meant to get my horse moving with a bit more urgency… Spur also means to provoke or stir up, to goad in to action or to incite.  It also means to urge or encourage to action, to move in vigorous pursuit of an object, to stimulate, to impel, to drive. We are to spur each other on toward love and good deeds and not to neglect meeting together. Spur does not mean suggest, imply, or consider. It does not mean that we should think about it or wait for the right time or even to hold off till it’s convenient.

The sense of urgency here is clear. We are to stand firm without turning aside, setting ourselves against all that comes at us in the hope of God’s promises. Additionally, we are to drive and incite each other toward love and good deeds. This is action! As I read this scripture with new eyes, I don’t see it as the warm fuzzy that I once did, encouraging me to remember God’s promises and to make sure I continue to meet together with the Body.

This is a call to action. A call for us to stand firm in our beliefs and to encourage one another to act as Christ has taught us. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:29-32

When we are sharing the negativity we hear on the television, radio, internet; are we spuring one another on to love and good works? When we put our wants before the needs of others under the guise of ‘preparing for the future’ are we unswervingly holding to the hope of God’s promises?

What is our witness to the world when we are acting like everyone else? Hoarding material comforts, spreading slander, taking political sides, and ignoring the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world? This is not who Christ called us to be.

Let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, build others up according to their needs (not our circumstances), get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, slander, and every kind of malice. Be kind and compassionate, forgiving as Christ forgave us. This is who we are, this is what we are called to be, this is what the world needs right now.

Together, let’s be unswerving in our hope, and spur each other on toward love and good works.

Please help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change our world!

Like, share, comment, and come back and visit at “Connectthedotblog”.

 

God knows we choose

bstuetze

Romans-6-1

While spending time this week thinking and praying over what to write, I was brought back to a conversation I’d had recently.

I was having a conversation with a friend, on a variety of things when they made a statement that stuck with me. We were talking about some recent decisions they’d made, and they said, “God already knows what I’m going to do and loves me anyways, so why does it matter?” This statement reminded me of another friend who made a similar statement that, “If God wants me to die from COVID, it doesn’t matter if I wear a mask or not.” I’ve actually had several conversations, over the past few weeks, where individuals are relinquishing accountability for their choices to God’s foreknowledge, (and in some cases believed fore-planning) of them. I want to share something with you today, that as I write, I pray it will be received in the spirit which it is intended.

God’s Omniscience does not affect our choices – our relationship with Him does.

Just because God knows us completely and knows all things, knows how we’ll react and respond, this does not excuse us from our accountability for the choices we make. God’s knowledge does not equate to His approval. We cannot absolve ourselves of responsibility on the basis that God knew we’d do it, and He let us do it anyway.

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Romans 6:1-2

God created us in His image, we chose another road. God sent Jesus to die, and redeem that decision, not so we could relinquish responsibility for our choices, bu so we could make better ones. Jesus showed us the way. He showed us how to live.  As we read in Romans 6, God’s grace is not a license to drive off a cliff, it’s a get out of jail free card; for the mishaps of life – kind of like your auto insurance company’s accident forgiveness program. It’s there if you need it, but unnecessary if we practice good driving skills.

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-24

We all need accident forgiveness for the things that we’ve done. Here’s the rub, knowing that God knows we’ll do it, and knowing that God will forgive it, does not give us God’s permission for it.

Our choices can’t be ‘blamed’ on Gods foreknowledge and acceptance. That’s like saying it’s a parent’s fault that a child sneaks out of their bedroom at night to steal ice cream. The parent may expect it to happen, they’ve established rules and guidelines so the child knows they should not do it, but in the end the parent also knows that the stomach ache the child may feel in the morning may be the best way for them to learn. As a parent there are choices, I could prevent my child from making, but then how would they learn? Allowing them to make, and learn from their mistakes, does not mean I approve of them, it means I’m giving them the space to learn and grow.

The flip side of this coin however, is that my child’s relationship with me, and my relationship with God, can (and will) affect their choices. Demonstrating the way, reading the Bible and praying with them, teaching them how to make Godly choices, will help them make better choices.

How can we claim to know God, to know Christ and have a relationship with Him, if we don’t know His word? How can we claim to know God’s direction for our lives when we don’t go before Him in prayer? How can we claim to follow Christ when our words and actions degrade, demean and devalue ourselves and others?

Our relationship with God, and His son Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit is the only thing that can influence, affect and change our behaviors. Just like the single greatest influence on our children’s lives is their relationship with us. The single greatest influence on our Christian walk is our relationship with Christ.

We face down decisions every day, now more than ever our choices are so polarized that it seems almost impossible to chose wisely. The world is full of advice on what to do, what to think, how to act, who to believe, which side to chose and which side to hate. We keep looking to the world for answers, mostly because they are easy, plenty and familiar. When the stakes are highest and the decisions hardest we throw our hands in the air and claim, not my responsibility; God planned all this out, He knew what would happen, it’s His will, it’s His decision, doesn’t matter what I do.

Friends, it does matter what you do, you were given a will of your own, a chance to choose God or the World. God’s knowledge of you (like a parent who knows his child) does not absolve you from the responsibility to use the mind soul and strength that He gave you. Yes His grace is sufficient, but it is not an excuse.

Your relationship with Christ is the single largest influence on your choices; it can save, redeem, restore and complete you. Your choices, and the outcome of your life is a product of your relationship with Him. A relationship which is always present, unchanging and available when you decide to turn to Him.

Please help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change our world!

Like, share, comment, and come back and visit at “Connectthedotblog”.

 

 

This isn’t Mr. Rogers neighborhood

bstuetze

good-samaritan-wordle“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher”, he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”, and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”” Luke 10:29

Who indeed?

Over the past three months or so this question has popped into my head with both frequency and urgency; who is my neighbor? Does the person screaming profanity in a ‘peaceful’ protest count as my neighbor? Does the individual who posts racist ideas on social media, then incites further controversy with their responses count as my neighbor? Does the politician who touts their integrity to the whole world, then gets indicted for embezzlement and gross negligence count as my neighbor? The short answer is, yes.

Even in this time of highly polarized conversation and opinions, everyone is your neighbor. Scripture is very specific on how we are to treat others; we are to treat them how we would want to be treated. I don’t believe I know anyone who would want to be yelled at, called stupid, demeaned, lied too or beaten. All of us want to be respected, valued, and loved, all of us want to be treated like we matter and are important.

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are given so much with regards to how we are to interact with one another. We are reminded of the greatest commandment, “He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

Love God, and love others as you love yourself.

Scripture also tells us in Ephesians 4:32 to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving. In John 15:12 Jesus tells us to love one another as He loved us. In Romans 12:10 Paul tells us to love one another with brotherly affection and to outdo one another in showing honor. We are to bear with one another, build each other up, have one mind, be sympathetic, humble, bless, speak well of, and hold them in higher regard than ourselves.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14

Scripture does not tell us to repay, revile, revenge, slander, cheat, lie, anger, take sides, bear false witness, demean, devalue, crush underfoot, show favoritism, destroy, devour, take pride in division, or gloat over our enemies. It does not!

How much pride do we take in a well landed jab, or in our witty, albeit cruel, sarcasm? Since when do we measure intelligence by how quickly someone can cut down or put someone in their place? Our world is overfull of hateful rhetoric, slanderous jabs, and divisive politicking. I wonder if we even see those on the receiving end of our vulgarity as our neighbors.

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:17-21

There is no excuse, or reason for Christ followers to speak like we are right now. If our neighbor has a different political opinion, that does not make them stupid. If our neighbor does not share our opinion on child rearing or infant baptism or basic traffic laws, that does not make them ignorant, evil, uninformed, or incapable of reason. It simply means they have a different opinion, one that is derived from their lifetime experiences and upbringing. None of this precludes any of them from being our neighbor. In fact, even them being our enemy does not (per scripture) preclude them.

Our witness to the world has never been more tested than now. Nor has it ever been more important.

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 1-:36-37

I’d love to hear from you. If you like what you’ve read, please share and comment.

Come back and visit at “Connectthedotblog”.