Respond

Sometimes I wonder how the early church spent hours and days dropping everything to take in more of Jesus.

I am learning. I am learning that life is response and I AM TIRED of responding to so many things.

And that is NOT what life is supposed to be. Life is not supposed to be my response to social media or opinions, to circumstances at home or work or on the road, to mistakes - mine or others, not to the good or bad situations.

My life is meant to be a response to God - most specifically God's love for me that has freed me from death though the sacrifice of Jesus graciously giving his own life to cover my foolishness.

There is nothing more important and it is the ONLY response that will not take from me.

My daily responses to life take my joy, my energy, my time.

My response to Jesus gives me life. I only gain because to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

I want to see below the surface. I want to see what God is doing, not only what my children are doing. I want to see what God is doing, not just what the people in church are doing. I want to see what God is doing, not the annoyance or the immediate gratification.

I want my life to be a response to what God is doing.

Even in the church, I think sometimes we do because we are told. In truth,WE ARE FREE and we should have an emotional, physical, ACTIVE response to that freedom.

When I take Communion at church, it is my response to Jesus' sacrifice.

When I tithe financially, I am responding to the overwhelming graciousness of God.

When I email parents and coworkers, it needs to be a response to the God who has given me the job and placed me there.

The decision to be baptized is an response to the gift of salvation/the freedom from death Jesus gave. ("And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 3:21 NLT)

When my perfect, angelic children drive me crazy, I want to respond to the beautiful gift and miracle God has given me in each child.

Making dinner, driving with maniacs, paying bills, grocery shopping, doing laundry all in response to God's generous provision and love for me and my family.

I don't want to respond to selfish or hurtful people based on how tired,  hurt, or annoyed I am. I want to respond because of God's goodness in my life. I want to respond within the realm of His goodness and will.

I need to stop wasting time responding to everything else.

The early church was doing that. They dropped everything to respond to an overwhelming, deep love and sacrifice, and FREEDOM in Jesus.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
2 Peter 1:3‭-‬7 NLT

How to Disagree

When was the last time you disagreed with someone? Probably today. Disagreements are a part of life and (can be) part of healthy relationships.

Our world is wracked with disagreements, but I don’t think we know how to disagree.
We know how to name call.
We know how to argue.
We know how to judge (not really, though, because judgment means reaching sensible conclusions, and we know more how to be judgmental -- overly critical).

Do we really understand disagreement, though?

I look at marriages, relationships, political establishments, and churches suffering and I believe a lot of that comes from not being able to disagree. Look at what the world tells us -- that tolerance is agreement and getting along. News flash. Tolerance stems from disagreement. It is disagreement with respect. So maybe what we don’t understand is respect. What we need is respectful disagreements.  

I go immediately to social media. There are all sorts of things to disagree with, from politics to parenting. That’s not the only place where this is an issue. It just seems to be the go to for a lot of people. These are the problems I see, though.

1.  Our sources - What happened to primary and secondary sources? We work from sources where we read someone else’s opinion on what they read. If we really care, we need to really take the time to educate ourselves.

2.  Our locations - If an issue is important to you, address it in person. Even a phone call or letter is better than a social media comment.

3.  Our audience - Truth is, a disagreement doesn't need an audience. If you have one, you are probably not disagreeing. You are probably spouting off.

4.  Our impersonal processes - The internet has a sense of anonymity, and we hide behind it. I hate to the tell you (or maybe I don't), but name calling on the internet strikes me as cowardly. (Feel free to disagree.)

5.  Our techniques - A quick comment is not a disagreement. It's a knee-jerk reaction. Too often, we react and look away.

I feel like we can do better. I don't think my blog will change the world, but it is a good reminder for me about how to treat others. I hope it can do the same for others.

So here are my tips on

How to disagree:

1.  Start by realizing you might be wrong. Really. When was the last time you admitted you were wrong?

2.  Educate yourself. If you are in a disagreement with someone, use your ears and eyes to educate yourself. Listen to their perspective. Read and see what they see. Be willing to learn. Disagreements are learning experiences.

3.  Disagree by sharing your opinions on the issue. Way too often we spend more time sharing our opinions of the person. Most of those opinions are our way of venting and expressing anger. They are hurtful and do not have a place in a disagreement. They have a place in a spitting match. We need to stop defining people based on the things we disagree about. Too many times, because someone disagrees with us, we draw conclusions about their humanity and personality.

4.  Along those same lines, stick with statements like, “In my opinion. . .”, “I disagree with that statement.” Stay away from things like, “What an idiot!”, “I can't believe you think that.”, and “You would have to be a fool to believe that.”

5.  Go back to the basics -- those cliché statements that have golden nuggets of truth.
     * Treat others the way you want to be treated.
     * Walk a mile in their shoes.
     * Don't judge a book by its cover.

6.  Be grateful for different opinions. Be grateful everyone doesn't think like you or only like me. Be grateful for diversity.

7.  Understand that not every difference of opinion has to become a disagreement.

If you disagree with me, that’s okay. This isn’t my way of disagreeing with someone and venting through a blog. I think we have a responsibility to train up the next generation as a people who truly know how to demonstrate respect, and don’t lose their humanity because of the lack of direct human interaction. I believe we start through our own example, and I start with me.