Are you addicted to yourself?
Donald Miller describes this affliction in his book, “Blue Like Jazz.” He writes, “No drug is so powerful as the drug of self. No rut in the mind is so deep as the one that says I am the world, the world belongs to me, all people are the characters in my play. There is no addiction so powerful as self-addiction.”
The most difficult lie to contend with, Miller says, is this: “Life is a story about me.”
But life can conspire to give us that belief. When a baby is born, parents spend his first few years convincing him he is the center of his world. If he cries, warm milk, dry diapers and soft cuddles all seem to appear, as if by magic! He is certain to think, “Life is about ME!”
Finally that child goes to school and meets 19 other “Centers of the World.” Persuaded that having his way is a God-given right, he will demand it or throw a tantrum.
Like Jim Carrey’s character Truman Burbank in the movie “The Truman Show,” life is movie all about ME. It seems to be true because, everywhere you go, you are the only actor in that is every scene. And the theme of this movie is your comfort and your glory.
Other people seem to be just second-rate actors stealing our scenes. And when the other “actors” don’t do what we want, our natural response is to lash back at them in anger. We are confident we are right and they are wrong. “Don’t they know this life is about me?”
Our minds are like radios that receive only one station, the one that plays me: WMEE, all me, all the time. We may not put it in those words but that is the way we live.
“Well hold on just a minute! Why can’t people just get along?”
Because family feuds, civil wars, hateful speech, murderous rampages and polarized politics all come from self-addiction. It’s the same reason some people become irritable as they age.
Aging doesn’t have to make you cranky. It’s more likely a result of self-addiction. When we don’t get what we want we’re crabby. And aging makes us more of what we were all along.
The Bible identifies the problem when it says, “Where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice…. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?”
Thankfully the prescription follows the diagnosis: “Submit yourselves, then, to God.” We must humble ourselves, turn from our self-centered ways and accept God’s solution to the human condition he calls “sin.”
God’s solution is simple. The Bible says it begins by accepting forgiveness for our self-addiction through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. He died for our sin. But he rose again to give us a new joy-filled life. That’s the message of the Gospel.
Through Christ, God cleanses our conscience and gives us a new mind, a new way of thinking. Instead of addicted to self we become dedicated to serving God and others. J-O-Y comes from putting Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last.
God first and not self. That’s the way Jesus lived and it’s the secret to making life work. Read it for yourself in the New Testament of the Bible. Then remember that the Bible’s message isn’t just for our information but for our transformation!
Sadly some refuse to accept the cure. They know best. And they go on, like human wrecking balls, destroying lives, families, schools and even countries. Self-addicted.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Expiration Date
Ever notice that most products have an expiration date? What about people?
“Now hold on just a minute! How could people have an expiration date?”
Think about it. No one gets off the planet alive. How long do you think you’ll live? Forever?
Reader’s Digest recently conducted an interesting worldwide survey. They asked people if they’d like to live forever. The results were published in the May 2009 issue.
If you think a majority said, “Yes, I want to live forever” – you’d be wrong.
Not even the younger generation consistently chose immortality. The report found that more than 50 per cent of those younger than 45 in seven countries (including the U.S.A.) said they don’t want to live forever!
The Digest’s conclusion was “Most respondents…are just fine with their limited shelf life here on earth.”
As interesting as such surveys are they are pointless. Let’s face it folks—we don’t get to choose whether we die, do we?
The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (That kind of knocks reincarnation out of the game, doesn’t it?)
That’s the bad news. But there’s also good news. The Bible continues by saying, “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Some people avoid talking about death—as if ignoring life’s one certainty will somehow allow them to avoid it. But the Bible takes a better approach. It confronts one of our greatest fears head on and offers the only way to face death without fear.
The Bible reminds us that, after death, we will all live somewhere forever. And God wants every one of us to spend eternity with him.
Frankly, the other alternative, hell, doesn’t sound very people friendly.
Thankfully, God’s solution is simple. You must give up the idea that you can somehow be good enough to earn Heaven. If you doubt it, read the Ten Commandments (God’s standard for goodness) and see how you measure up. They’re in Exodus chapter 20 of the Bible.
Next you must recognize that God provided the solution through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. The Bible says that through faith in him, your sins will be forgiven and you will receive the gift of eternal life.
So now the issue is no longer your goodness or badness. The issue is what will you do with Jesus Christ? Will you accept him as the Son of God and obey him as your Lord? That one decision determines your eternal destiny.
God doesn’t play games with our future. Here’s what the Bible says: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Then it adds this: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Not “hope” you have it. “Know” you have it.
So here are the facts of death: Regardless of your expiration date, through Jesus Christ you can receive an eternal extension. The only condition is that you must ask God for it to receive it.
How’s that for simplicity?
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
“Now hold on just a minute! How could people have an expiration date?”
Think about it. No one gets off the planet alive. How long do you think you’ll live? Forever?
Reader’s Digest recently conducted an interesting worldwide survey. They asked people if they’d like to live forever. The results were published in the May 2009 issue.
If you think a majority said, “Yes, I want to live forever” – you’d be wrong.
Not even the younger generation consistently chose immortality. The report found that more than 50 per cent of those younger than 45 in seven countries (including the U.S.A.) said they don’t want to live forever!
The Digest’s conclusion was “Most respondents…are just fine with their limited shelf life here on earth.”
As interesting as such surveys are they are pointless. Let’s face it folks—we don’t get to choose whether we die, do we?
The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (That kind of knocks reincarnation out of the game, doesn’t it?)
That’s the bad news. But there’s also good news. The Bible continues by saying, “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Some people avoid talking about death—as if ignoring life’s one certainty will somehow allow them to avoid it. But the Bible takes a better approach. It confronts one of our greatest fears head on and offers the only way to face death without fear.
The Bible reminds us that, after death, we will all live somewhere forever. And God wants every one of us to spend eternity with him.
Frankly, the other alternative, hell, doesn’t sound very people friendly.
Thankfully, God’s solution is simple. You must give up the idea that you can somehow be good enough to earn Heaven. If you doubt it, read the Ten Commandments (God’s standard for goodness) and see how you measure up. They’re in Exodus chapter 20 of the Bible.
Next you must recognize that God provided the solution through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. The Bible says that through faith in him, your sins will be forgiven and you will receive the gift of eternal life.
So now the issue is no longer your goodness or badness. The issue is what will you do with Jesus Christ? Will you accept him as the Son of God and obey him as your Lord? That one decision determines your eternal destiny.
God doesn’t play games with our future. Here’s what the Bible says: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Then it adds this: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Not “hope” you have it. “Know” you have it.
So here are the facts of death: Regardless of your expiration date, through Jesus Christ you can receive an eternal extension. The only condition is that you must ask God for it to receive it.
How’s that for simplicity?
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Double Agents
Secret Agent movies were very popular when I was a student. The James Bond 007 franchise is still a success today, 40 years later.
Over the years there have been many movies and television shows about spies and secret agents. (“Mission: Impossible” and “Get Smart” come to mind.) All glamorize or make light of a very serious part of international affairs--espionage.
Even the Bible records the use of spies to check out enemy defenses in the Promised Land.
One of the most feared and dangerous roles in the spy business is the double agent. A double agent secretly works for both sides. But his allegiance is usually to one side alone.
Sometimes a double agent’s allegiance is only to himself. He is in it for what benefits him.
Sort of like some people who attend church.
“Now hold on just a minute! Churchgoers as double agents? Isn’t that a little outrageous?”
Maybe, but it’s also true. At least for some.
They look like they fit in. They dress the part, talk the talk and even donate money. But when they attend church, they are just putting on a show. They do it to convince others and themselves that they’re Christians. But their allegiance is only to themselves.
While double agents make a great plot element in a movie, their presence in a church can be devastating—both to the organization and to themselves.
Why? Because they have a different mission than Christ or his church.
Jesus made it clear that he came “to seek and to save the lost.” His passion is to have a personal faith relationship with each member of the human race. To bring forgiveness, peace and hope to us through his death on the cross.
The mission of the church is to take the gospel, the good news about Christ, to the world. It’s a very simple message that can be summed up in ten words: “Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.” Everyone who believes in him is forgiven and receives eternal life.
The church is not here to be a rule-enforcing police department, a political action committee or a theater with the best show in town. Its main mission is not social justice. It is here to point people to Jesus Christ. People who will worship and serve him alone.
When power-seeking, self-centered or greedy individuals infiltrate the church, they can do immeasurable harm to it. Especially if they become church leaders and substitute a “shadow mission” (their own agenda) for what Jesus asked the church to do.
Such “double agents” also suffer personally. They suffer because they miss out on a personal relationship with God and the forgiveness, joy and peace he offers them through faith in Christ.
They think the church is just another service organization and see membership as a way to improve their standing in the eyes of others. Or maybe as a way to control other people.
What to do? Well, if you’re a churchgoer ask yourself, “Am I on Jesus’ mission or my own?”
Are you following Jesus and serving him or are you only attending for what you get out of it? Does your life encourage others to follow Christ or discourage them?
The Apostle Paul wrote in the Bible, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Paul was not a “secret agent” Christian or a “double agent.” He was a real Christ follower.
When you get to the end of your life, all the thrills, power and wealth you’ve gained will mean nothing. Only your faith in Christ and the people you pointed to him will matter in eternity.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
Over the years there have been many movies and television shows about spies and secret agents. (“Mission: Impossible” and “Get Smart” come to mind.) All glamorize or make light of a very serious part of international affairs--espionage.
Even the Bible records the use of spies to check out enemy defenses in the Promised Land.
One of the most feared and dangerous roles in the spy business is the double agent. A double agent secretly works for both sides. But his allegiance is usually to one side alone.
Sometimes a double agent’s allegiance is only to himself. He is in it for what benefits him.
Sort of like some people who attend church.
“Now hold on just a minute! Churchgoers as double agents? Isn’t that a little outrageous?”
Maybe, but it’s also true. At least for some.
They look like they fit in. They dress the part, talk the talk and even donate money. But when they attend church, they are just putting on a show. They do it to convince others and themselves that they’re Christians. But their allegiance is only to themselves.
While double agents make a great plot element in a movie, their presence in a church can be devastating—both to the organization and to themselves.
Why? Because they have a different mission than Christ or his church.
Jesus made it clear that he came “to seek and to save the lost.” His passion is to have a personal faith relationship with each member of the human race. To bring forgiveness, peace and hope to us through his death on the cross.
The mission of the church is to take the gospel, the good news about Christ, to the world. It’s a very simple message that can be summed up in ten words: “Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.” Everyone who believes in him is forgiven and receives eternal life.
The church is not here to be a rule-enforcing police department, a political action committee or a theater with the best show in town. Its main mission is not social justice. It is here to point people to Jesus Christ. People who will worship and serve him alone.
When power-seeking, self-centered or greedy individuals infiltrate the church, they can do immeasurable harm to it. Especially if they become church leaders and substitute a “shadow mission” (their own agenda) for what Jesus asked the church to do.
Such “double agents” also suffer personally. They suffer because they miss out on a personal relationship with God and the forgiveness, joy and peace he offers them through faith in Christ.
They think the church is just another service organization and see membership as a way to improve their standing in the eyes of others. Or maybe as a way to control other people.
What to do? Well, if you’re a churchgoer ask yourself, “Am I on Jesus’ mission or my own?”
Are you following Jesus and serving him or are you only attending for what you get out of it? Does your life encourage others to follow Christ or discourage them?
The Apostle Paul wrote in the Bible, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Paul was not a “secret agent” Christian or a “double agent.” He was a real Christ follower.
When you get to the end of your life, all the thrills, power and wealth you’ve gained will mean nothing. Only your faith in Christ and the people you pointed to him will matter in eternity.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Living Words
Is the Bible just empty words--or do its pages point us to a path leading to eternal life?
There is no doubt the Bible is unique. It is the only book ever written where you need to know the author for it to make sense!
You can read it and understand the history. But you have to meet the author in the person of Jesus Christ for it to change your soul.
“Now hold on just a minute! How can you meet Jesus? Didn’t he live 2,000 years ago?”
You meet him in the New Testament of the Bible. He changes your life when you personally accept him for who he claimed to be: the divine Son of God and the Savior of the world.
Unfortunately not everyone who reads it believes it. In fact there have been people who memorized much of the New Testament but never met Jesus or believed in him.
On February 11, 1962, Parade Magazine published a brief article about such a person called “Still Munching Candy.”
“At the village church in Kalonovka, Russia, attendance at Sunday school picked up after the priest started handing out candy to the peasant children. One of the most faithful was a pug-nosed, pugnacious lad who recited his Scriptures with proper piety, pocketed his reward, then fled into the fields to munch on it.”
“The priest took a liking to the boy and persuaded him to attend church school. This was preferable to doing household chores from which his devout parents excused him.”
“By offering other inducements, the priest managed to teach the boy the four Gospels. In fact, he won a special prize for learning all four by heart and reciting them nonstop in church.”
“Now, 60 years later, he still likes to recite Scriptures, but in a context that would horrify the old priest. For the prize pupil, who memorized so much of the Bible, is Nikita Khrushchev, the former Communist Premier.” [Khrushchev died in 1971, nine years after the article was written.]
As this story illustrates, the “why” behind learning is just as important as the “what” that is learned. The same Nikita Khrushchev who mouthed God's Word as a child, later declared God to be nonexistent -- because his cosmonauts had not seen Him.
Khrushchev memorized the Scriptures for the candy, the rewards and the bribes, rather than for the meaning it had for his life. Artificial motivation produced artificial results.
Sadly, Nikita didn’t believe what he read in the Bible. For him it was dead words.
But Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are life.” So what happened to Nikita?
Jesus once compared the good news of the Gospel to seed. Even though seed resembles an inanimate object (like a pebble), it contains life.
For the life to show itself, the seed must be planted in good soil. If you put seed in a rock garden it will never take root or bear fruit.
A receptive mind seeking truth is good soil for God’s word. When a person hears the good news that Jesus died on the cross for their sin and rose from the dead to give them new life, the seed is sown. When they believe it and trust it to be true, new life takes root in their soul.
“Believe” is the key word. The reader must personally believe Christ died for him or her and trust in him. When they do, God forgives their sin and gives them the gift of eternal life.
This is why the Scripture says, “For the word of God is living and active.” Far from being dead words, the Bible is the only book in the world that can bring hope and life to the hopeless.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
There is no doubt the Bible is unique. It is the only book ever written where you need to know the author for it to make sense!
You can read it and understand the history. But you have to meet the author in the person of Jesus Christ for it to change your soul.
“Now hold on just a minute! How can you meet Jesus? Didn’t he live 2,000 years ago?”
You meet him in the New Testament of the Bible. He changes your life when you personally accept him for who he claimed to be: the divine Son of God and the Savior of the world.
Unfortunately not everyone who reads it believes it. In fact there have been people who memorized much of the New Testament but never met Jesus or believed in him.
On February 11, 1962, Parade Magazine published a brief article about such a person called “Still Munching Candy.”
“At the village church in Kalonovka, Russia, attendance at Sunday school picked up after the priest started handing out candy to the peasant children. One of the most faithful was a pug-nosed, pugnacious lad who recited his Scriptures with proper piety, pocketed his reward, then fled into the fields to munch on it.”
“The priest took a liking to the boy and persuaded him to attend church school. This was preferable to doing household chores from which his devout parents excused him.”
“By offering other inducements, the priest managed to teach the boy the four Gospels. In fact, he won a special prize for learning all four by heart and reciting them nonstop in church.”
“Now, 60 years later, he still likes to recite Scriptures, but in a context that would horrify the old priest. For the prize pupil, who memorized so much of the Bible, is Nikita Khrushchev, the former Communist Premier.” [Khrushchev died in 1971, nine years after the article was written.]
As this story illustrates, the “why” behind learning is just as important as the “what” that is learned. The same Nikita Khrushchev who mouthed God's Word as a child, later declared God to be nonexistent -- because his cosmonauts had not seen Him.
Khrushchev memorized the Scriptures for the candy, the rewards and the bribes, rather than for the meaning it had for his life. Artificial motivation produced artificial results.
Sadly, Nikita didn’t believe what he read in the Bible. For him it was dead words.
But Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are life.” So what happened to Nikita?
Jesus once compared the good news of the Gospel to seed. Even though seed resembles an inanimate object (like a pebble), it contains life.
For the life to show itself, the seed must be planted in good soil. If you put seed in a rock garden it will never take root or bear fruit.
A receptive mind seeking truth is good soil for God’s word. When a person hears the good news that Jesus died on the cross for their sin and rose from the dead to give them new life, the seed is sown. When they believe it and trust it to be true, new life takes root in their soul.
“Believe” is the key word. The reader must personally believe Christ died for him or her and trust in him. When they do, God forgives their sin and gives them the gift of eternal life.
This is why the Scripture says, “For the word of God is living and active.” Far from being dead words, the Bible is the only book in the world that can bring hope and life to the hopeless.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
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