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Life’s Not Fair

Every parent has heard the words. Every leader has heard the words. Every mediator has heard the words. "That's not fair!"

There is a root thought that causes us to want fairness and it isn't a desire for fairness. A root cause for 'fairness' is actually greed.

In Luke 12:13-15 there is a brief account of a man asking Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance his brother was going to get. In that day, the oldest brother got everything. The younger brother got what was left over. The younger brother was asking for life to be fair. I find it interesting that Jesus didn't challenge the cultural norm of the day. Instead he drilled down to the heart of the matter.

Jesus pointedly addresses that the young man was not motivated by fairness, but by greed. "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

There are many lessons in this statement of Jesus'. The fact that he goes to the issue of greed emphasizes that this young man wanted what was not his. This is the essence of greed.

When you're feeling like you want life to be fair, check your own heart. Are you really wanting something that isn't yours in the first place?

Fasting

Have you ever had that one meal that when you finished you sat back and said, “Wow, my appetite is satisfied once and for all!”? Of course not, our appetite is something that cannot be permanently satisfied. In fact, feeding your appetite actually increases, not decreases, your appetite!

Fasting isn’t an inherently spiritual activity – meaning that there are a variety of purposes to fasting. Fasting is normal before getting blood work done for your annual (or less frequent if you are male) physical. It is normal before a surgical procedure. Fasting is a part of some health regiments to remove toxins from your system. What turns fasting into a spiritual activity is the purpose. I’ve known people that have joined a fast that a church was promoting because, “I need to lose some weight anyway.” That is the wrong motive.

Study Your Bible

When I was in college my great claim to fame was that my GPA went up every semester. What I don’t brag about is that I had a habit of cramming for exams. I’d attend classes (usually) and take notes. I’d even read (most) of the required reading (sometimes right in class). However, I rarely (not never) regularly studied through the semester. This always became evident when an unexpected quiz was handed to me as I walked into the classroom.

At the end of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians he lists a number of rapid fire instructions. Because they are quick, bullet-point type of instruction, we may tend to miss their importance. In 5:19-22 he writes, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (emphasis mine)

What are we to test everything against? What is the measuring rod? Of course, it is God’s Word. If we don’t know God’s Word, we cannot test everything against it. Our daily life provides us with unexpected quizzes each day that, if we pay attention, reveal how we are doing.

We go to a movie and watch images that are contrary to God’s teaching, but if we’ve not studied the Bible, Satan has easy access into our thought life. We hear a preacher says something and accept it simply because he’s a preacher. We mindlessly listen to the radio and let the message covered with a great tune get into our brain.

Paul challenges us to study God’s Word so we can test everything. Not just for the final test but for the quizzes along the way.

Studying God’s Word requires more than a 10 minute ‘devotional’ read. Those readings are important and are effective at allowing God to speak to you on a regular basis, but studying for the test requires some focused and intentional time in addition to those brief daily readings.

Get yourself a set of commentaries; you don’t have to spend much. The Life Application Bible Commentary is a great, inexpensive set of paperback commentaries that provide a great balance of information and application.

Silence and Solitude

When our daughters were small we learned an interesting difference between them. One of them preferred being alone, one went out of her way to avoid being alone. You can only imagine the dynamics when these opposing desires appeared at the same time. As I’ve studied people I’ve seen this difference in people more and more clearly. There are reasons that go much deeper than simple introvert/extrovert temperaments. I’ve meet some people that are almost afraid to be alone!

One of the habits in Jesus’ life was to intentionally have times when he would retreat into solitude. It wasn’t that he was “peopled out” it served an important purpose that we also need in our lives. Jesus sought out times of solitude when he was weary or when he was being pressured to do or be something that was not true to who he was.

Mark 6:31-46 shows a time that Jesus taught his disciples to find a place of solitude when the demands of the people were preventing them from taking care of themselves!

John 6:14-15 shows a time when Jesus withdrew because the people were going to try to make him a political king.

Implementing the habit of solitude in your rhythm of life is incredibly important. When we fail to find those times of regular solitude, the pace of life can prevent us from taking care of ourselves and we can end up in an unhealthy condition.

As we grow weary, we can find ourselves being shaped by people’s expectations and demands instead of what God has designed us for!

When we are surrounded by people we can miss what God wants to do in our lives because of all the distractions. It is during those times of solitude that, if we are willing, God can gently place his finger on an area of our life that he wants to address. And when we give Him permission, he can begin to affect life-change.

Try to take some time today and create some solitude. Communicate to your family members so they know that you are not just emotionally withdrawing. Try to get alone for at least 15 minutes, minimize distractions and don’t work on a project. Get your Bible out and read a few verses and let God speak to you.

Propelled Forward

The other day my wife and I were returning from Minni-SNOW-ta and had to go through Chicago. O'Hare is a rather large airport and to move from one concourse to another you've got to go below ground level and travel through tunnels. They have these "moving sidewalks" that propel you forward and give you the option to stand and be moved along, or to walk and be accelerated along.

In our spiritual journey there are practices and environments that we can utilize to propel our spiritual journey forward. The great thing about these practices or environments is that once you commit to them, your growth is accelerated without having to expend any more energy or effort! Incorporating a new spiritual habit is an effective means to accelerating your spiritual growth. Attending a class or seminar or retreat can also be effective.

Sometimes we find ourselves incorporating a new practice or environment and feel that initial push forward and we make the mistake of relaxing instead of leaning into the forward progress. We stop walking and mistake our apparent forward motion for progress! That is dangerous... have you ever tried to not walk off the end of those moving sidewalks?

What are some of the things you've found effective at propelling you forward in your spiritual growth?