Read a Little Less...

If you have a Facebook account, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, lean in. In the wonderful world of social media, there is a land called Facebook. In the land of Facebook, there is Main St., more commonly known as the "NewsFeed." This is where Facebook users can "share" things that they find on the internet, and other Facebook users can scroll through and see the things that other people have shared. The new cool things to share these days are blog posts with list-advice. I log into my Facebook account, go to my NewsFeed, and see at least ten shares of these stupid blog posts. I'm not kidding. It's serious stuff like, "16 Rules for a Christian Marriage," "8 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Get Married Before 23," or more trivial stuff like, "10 Reasons Why Avocado is the Best Food Ever." And who is writing these? Mostly children between the ages of 20 and 30 (there, I said it) who think they've lived enough life to give the rest of us pithy advice on things like marriage, our career, or how we construct our perception of ourselves. And avocados, of course.

 

My problem is really not with the content (although it's a little problematic when I see these two blog posts floating around the NewsFeed on the same day: "17 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Marry Young" and "11 Reasons Why Getting Married Young Was the Best Decision Ever." Uh. What?). My problem is with the fact that we're missing out on life. While we sit inside and read blog posts upon blog posts, the Kingdom of God is knocking at our doors.

I truly appreciate the efforts of all the dating/career/health bloggers out there, and especially appreciate the fact that they're writing something. But meaning no disrespect, I haven’t read a single post that told me something I didn’t know. Beyond that, I have my own Bible that I find to be far more reliable than my fellow twenty-somethings’ “life experiences.” It’s nothing personal. It’s just that I don’t understand why we’re caught up with all the intricacies of the "right way" to do literally every single thing you can possibly do in life right now.

Here's my point: the Jesus I know in scripture isn’t caught up in the past or the future. He is a present savior, professing the salvation that comes through God in each present moment, consistent with each breath I take in and release. My preoccupation with lists of tens and twelves and twenties that cleverly surmise what I need to look for in a future husband or how I should save my money so I can retire at the age of 40 is a pretty good clue that my faith in God dismisses my present blessings and opportunities and reaches into a pseudo-reality that I’ve created for myself. It promotes the idea that God will be faithful later, when we get all the things we want, the way we want them.

I have a home that I live in. God is faithful. I have a job. God is faithful. I have clothes and food and friends and family and God is faithful. Where is our preoccupation with God’s constant faithfulness? Where are the extensive lists of reasons why God is faithful now, daily, reminding why we should just be thankful? Evidently it’s waiting for us in some distant, opaque future that may or may not come to be.

This world is not my home. Who am I to bide my time waiting for a life that fits all my expectations, and waiting to rejoice in God's faithfulness until then? When I walk out my door each day to meet the Kingdom of God, I fully expect to meet all of the people who I need to meet. I don’t recall being promised specific little blessings as a reward for my pursuit of the Kingdom. I do recall being promised some kind of persecution.

Maybe the country we live in won’t provide the kind of persecution we think we deserve as disciples of Jesus. Some might chastise us for this. Well, in the same way, Jesus did not command us to seek first persecution. Jesus commanded us to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. The thing is, we aren’t supposed to seek first the Kingdom so all these things will be added unto us. We’re just supposed to seek first the Kingdom. This world would be a different place if we could just leave it at that. Life is not a list. The Kingdom of God is not a list. It is vibrant and fluid and everywhere. It needs eyes and hearts that can pull themselves away from the computer screen and see the world.

Erin E. Daugherty

Abilene Christian University

Are You Hungry?

Food is an essential part of our daily lives.  Unfortunately, the importance we place on eating has a tendency to go to excess.  (Note: we’ll save the obvious need for this discussion for another time.)  My point is that I have no problem planning, preparing, anticipating, and craving my next meal.  The norm when I am hungry is that I want to eat… NOW!

 

An odd sensation occurs once my stomach is full.  Interestingly, I want nothing to do with food.  When I am full, I am satisfied.  When I am satisfied, I am only concerned about other matters.  Food isn’t on my mind until I am hungry again.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

Jesus taught that our life will be blessed if we seek God’s righteousness in the same way as if we were hungry for food.  Those that do this will be filled and satisfied.  Isaiah describes it this way, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”  (Isaiah 55:2)

Hungering for righteousness means we have a strong desire for the holiness God has to offer.  When hungry, our souls will have an urgent need to be filled with God’s majesty and love.  Our hearts will long for the peace and contentment that can only come from heaven above.

Don’t be deceived:  It is difficult to consistently seek God’s righteousness because of the ebb and flow of our human desires.  We can be easily distracted, depending upon the urgency of a situation.  Hungering for righteousness is a matter of priorities.  When we say we love God and choose to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, hungering for righteousness is a matter of first importance.  We should desire to be filled with his Spirit and become like him in our spirit.

As Paul prayed for the Philippian church, I pray for you, “(Be) filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.”  (Philippians 1:11)  Are you hungry, now?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, please accept our appreciation for the righteousness you offer through your son.  Help us to have a strong desire to be filled with righteousness, in the same way we have a strong desire for food when we are hungry.  Praise and glory to your name.  In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Carl Smith,

Stephenville, Texas

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

A prediction from Ecclesiastes 10:20:

“Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.”

Solomon was the wisest man on Earth with no one to match him.  While he was a child, Solomon asked the LORD for “wisdom” in 1 Kings 3, and was given a wise and discerning heart along with wealth and honor.

It would seem that Solomon also foretold the future!  The instant media age we are in, with “personal communication devices” (they have become much more than cellular phones) and cameras in every person’s pocket, allows your “friends” to know your thoughts immediately because you “share” or “tweet” them.

Many celebrities “tweet” their thoughts and actions before their brains are in gear. We can learn from those folks as well as from Solomon.  It would be better in many instances to say nothing rather than to offer unsolicited or hurtful comments.  We all find ourselves in situations where we wish we had maintained silence.  We don’t intend to hurt people but our words can certainly do so if we don’t curb the tongue (or fingers).  Think, then speak, as recommended by the wisest man ever to live.

Dear God:  Help me to be slow to speak, and to avoid hurting people with thoughtless responses.

Sherilyn Svien, Stephenville, TX