Luke 11:37-41 The Things That Matter Most

Luke 11:37-41  The Things That Matter Most

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After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.  He entered and reclined at table to eat.  The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.  The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!  Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil….Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?”

God loves us just the way we are.  Although I may disagree with most people who love to say this, I have to admit I disagree with them not because of what they say but because they “know not what they are saying.”  Yes, the Lord loves us “just the way we are”.  But if this is true, then why did the Lord admonish his host?  Why not just ignore him?  If I can’t say a kind word, then I shouldn’t say anything, correct?  And besides, the poor Pharisee didn’t even express his astonishment to Jesus.  Why all the fuss? 

Yes, I agree, the Lord loves us “just the way we are”.  In fact, He loves us enough to die for us.  But that does not mean He doesn’t expect much more from us, especially after He died for us. 

Jesus loves the Pharisee enough not only to die for Him but to correct him as well.  Love is not blind to error or sin.  It does not ignore one’s faults or even one’s sins.  The Lover is allowed to correct the beloved, and leaves room to be corrected himself.    

It is not wrong for a mother and father to say to their child, “I will always love you no matter what you do.”  But it would be seriously wrong for a mom and dad to never teach their child right from wrong.

Today, applauses, ribbons, certificates and trophies are given out like assorted candy.  Everyone gets one, regardless of how well they did or how much effort they put in.  Every time we congratulate a student on their poor performance we’re not only lying to them but teaching them how to lie. 

Yes, parents and teachers should love their children and students just the way they are, but that doesn’t mean they have to lie to them.  It takes faith, not lies, to love someone.  “Faith working through love” is what matters most (cf. Gal. 5:6).

My country right or wrong.  Americans were not the first to use this slogan during the Vietnam War.  The British were, sometime in the 19^th century, and during a war.  It is not an easily understood slogan.  It can easily turn the patriot into a real traitor.  After all, if someone loves their country enough to allow it to go down the wrong path, then (sorry) he is not a patriot, he is a traitor.  I love my country very much, enough to warn it or stop it from going down the wrong path!

Not too long ago, I got into an argument with a very holy woman who happens to be a Democrat and a very good friend (at least I think so).  She was trying to convince me that the Republicans were politicizing the tragic death of our Ambassador and three other Americans in Libya.  For her, this tragic incident was becoming a political issue, and the main reason for all the conservative media’s attention. 

My perspective is very different.  I told her that this tragedy will not go away not because Republicans keep bringing it up but because terrorists keep bringing it on, especially every 9/11.  Aren’t the terrorists constantly reminding us where there is a lack of security?  Aren’t they reminding us that the war on terrorism is far from over?  The Islamic world, especially in the Middle East, does not join us in mourning the loss of life on 9/11.  Instead, they continue to pick at our wound or open up a new one every 9/11.  The war on terrorism is far from being over.  And there is fear in admitting this.  It will take at least a century for this war to end because we refuse to attack the source of the problem:  Radical Islamic preaching.

I love my country, right or wrong, but love doesn't hide the issues, it brings them out, into the light. 

Everyone who loves life, their country, their family and their neighbor must speak up about what matters most.  It takes a lot of courage to love everyone just the way they are.  It takes a great deal of faith to love them even more. 

Luke 10:38-42 Lord, Do You Not Care?

Luke 10:38-42  Lord, Do You Not Care?

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Martha, burdened with much serving, came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Lord, do you not care?  The Lord cares…that I know.  But I’m not convinced that He cares so much about what we care so much about.  While we stress over a lot of things that maybe are just not worth stressing about, we don’t stress enough what we should be stressing.

Forget for a moment that Martha is working hard in preparing and serving a meal.  Let’s, for a moment, imagine that Martha is a 21^st century woman, wife and mom who doesn’t prepare or serve a meal but rather stresses over picking the right nanny to tend to her only child.  Lord, don’t you care that I pick the right nanny? Now of course I can’t speak for the Lord, but my gut instinct tells me He really doesn’t care.  Or let’s take for a moment our full-time working man who thinks he's a part-time dad and husband.  He puts in extra hours on Saturday and Sunday to get that big promotion at work.  Lord, don’t you care that I make more money than I really need?  Again, I can’t speak for the Lord, but I think it’s a sure bet that He doesn’t really care.   

There is a school for young children in Dallas that by the name of it I thought at first was a French pastry shop.  But then one morning I was surprised to see so many kids getting dropped off to get a pastry, and right before school!  I inquired and found out that my little “French pastry store” was actually an American’s ingenious business plan to start up a very expensive school for the snobbish and lonely children of the very rich and far too busy parent.

Recommendations written by school parents reinforce what I just said:

“If not my wife or I…then [this school]...as slightly (maybe overly) protective parents, we looked at EVERY option. Nanny’s, babysitters, daycares, half days, half weeks, full weeks…Far and away the best decision was [this school].

They stressed.  They looked at every option, except the obvious one; that is, that they downsize to allow someone to stay home and be the most important person in their child's life; that is, the first educators of love, faith and values to their own God-given and precious child. 

Another stressed-out parent writes:  “Our daughter has attended [this school] since she was 7 months and she’s now almost 4 years old.  [This school] has exceeded our expectations and prepared her so well for Pre-K.  I highly recommend [this school] This is not a daycare but the first steps into education.”

Yes, before your child can take his or her first physical steps, they need to be taking their first cognitive steps “into” education, Pre-K. 

Now, I've always understood how some poor families could not afford to have one parent stay home.  But the fact that rich families cannot afford to either is very confusing to me. By the looks of it (and commentaries), it seems as though rich parents are stressed just as much over the right educational options for their child as poor parents are stressed over the lack of options for their child.  Everyone seems to be stressed out, regardless of whether or not they are rich or poor.  So maybe poverty and wealth have nothing to do with stress but being over-ambitious and selfishness do?

This might explain why so many children are on medication for anxiety and stress.  It’s not because their parents are rich or poor, it’s because their parents stress over the wrong things.

We should all take a trip to Finland where children start their education at the age of seven and don’t seem to worry so much about keeping up with other Fin’s.

I don’t think toddlers need teachers to learn skills or a foreign language like French by the time they can pick their nose.  [Of course, there is a French way to pick one’s nose…if you did not already know.]  I think toddlers need their mom and dad to take care of their bloody nose.

Does the Lord care about this?  I don’t think so.  Actually, I know He doesn’t care at all!  But I guarantee you that the Lord does care that we are faithful to our vocation as husband/wife and father/mother.  The good news is that he will hold us accountable for the simple things in life.  The bad news is that most of these things are neglected on a daily basis. 

Did you give your time, attention and affection to your spouse and family?  Did you stress to your children the need to pray to the love of their life?  Did you teach your children how to love as they should? 

If not, then it is time to stress over them...over and over again.

Mt 13:18-23 Seeds That Grows

Mt 13:18-23  Seeds That Grows

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “Hear the parable of the sower…The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

We all look for excitement while we all appreciate what’s common.  What’s common is what is very stable.  For example, in order for a seed to grow it must fall on rich soil; take root; and persevere in times of trial. 

The Lord knows human nature as well as he knows plants.  Without stability; without roots; without Christ, we have little to no chance of surviving like humans and living like saints. 

Yesterday, I saw a very disturbing video of a nine-year old boy in a daycare center that viciously punched and kicked other children while they were waiting for a parent or guardian to pick them up.  He attacked children as little as nine-months old!  He knew what he was doing.  He actually waited for the day care assistant to turn her back before he ruthlessly attacked the children.  At one moment, he positioned a little girl, turned his head to make sure the assistant wasn’t looking, and kicked the little girl in the back.  When the assistant turned to see what had happened, he cleverly went over to the baby and picked her up, giving the appearance that he was consoling her.

Let me guess:  He has “mental health” issues, right?  He needs to be medicated.  Health officials should have informed the daycare center that he was capable of doing great harm to others.  They should be held liable for not predicting this type of behavior.  Or maybe the answer (or solution) is that he was born evil.  Some people get more of original sin than others.  Original sin affects the genetics of a person, right?  WRONG!

What’s wrong with our kids today?  What’s changed, other than time?  Have their bodies evolved?  Do they no longer need two arms but three?  Do they see from their ears and hear from their eyes?  Are they no longer born with an umbilical cord, like the first humans?  Kids do not evolve, they grow.  There is a difference.

What’s changed is the following:  they no longer have any type of roots; that is, they have little to no stability; little to no responsibility; little to no morality.  Man has not evolved with time, but marriage and family have, and they have left everyone behind, especially their children, our future.

Far too many of us will do whatever it takes to be happy, even at the expense of those who depend on us.  We will do whatever makes us happy but not whatever it takes for our children to be happy.  Sometimes the two coincide.  Many times they don’t.   

Evolution can be a great thing.  It can also be a lousy thing.  Supposedly we have become stronger over time, but so have viruses and bacteria.  Whatever gains we made with our minds, we’ve definitely lost with our hearts.  We have evolved into thinking that a child born out of wedlock is worse than a child being born.  Kids that know this think about this and grow up with this.  They value their comfort level much more than their sense of honor, duty and responsibility.

Human nature has not changed with time.  We still need to eat.  We still need to sleep.  We still need to be taught order, discipline, stability, responsibility and morality.  We still need someone to take care of us when we are vulnerable and someone to love us always.  If we take a beautiful tree that has been firmly planted in the ground and uproot it to move it, watch out:  chances are it will die. 

That’s what’s happening to our kids.  They don’t have a family that will love them so they find a family in a gang, prison or cult.  They have no one to spend hours with so they text, tweet, chat, and Facebook.  They don’t have a sibling as a friend so they find a sibling in a friend.  They don’t have a mother or a father to love them so they find a boyfriend or a girlfriend that will.  They don’t have someone that will teach them, discipline them, help them, tough-love them and be honest with them, so they find a mother or a father in a coach, teacher, social worker, priest or neighbor. 

But what eventually ends up happening is that they find out just how inhumane they really are.   They are not human.  They are like an artificial plant; no leaves, no roots, no soil.  And we are content with it, as long as we can get by with it.

Although the world around us may evolve over time, plants still need what they have always needed since the dawn of time. 

Although marriage and family may evolve in name and over time, children still need what they have always needed since the dawn of man. 

The lack of it will be ever more noticeable (and shocking) over time.