Food Fight

For many Americans, Thanksgiving Day is more a time of stress than giving thanks.

Almost half of Americans say family is what they are most thankful for. However, of those that find Thanksgiving stressful, about a third identified family as the source of that stress.

“Now hold on just a minute! What’s going on here? Can’t families get along for one day?”

Apparently not.

In a recent poll, 68% reported there will be a “gobble squabble” --a family fight--before dinner is even served! 37% of Thanksgiving hosts think their role is very stressful and 20% dread it. Among all respondents to the poll, 13% dreaded Thanksgiving.

What are we so upset about? People admit to arguing about ex-family members, how they think their family should live their lives and whose favorite football team is the best. Others disagree about family members that are not present. Some argue over whose illness is worse.

Holiday happiness may unravel because of our expectation assumptions. If you’re hosting the dinner, you want the day to be “perfect.” Good food, nice weather, happy family and friendly conversation. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble and family members owe it to you to behave well.

If you’re attending, maybe you’ve traveled a great distance and traffic was awful. Or people at the airport were rude and your flight was delayed making you late. So you assume your family will understand your grumpiness and you expect them to be nice.

Perhaps the real reason Thanksgiving can be so stressful is we’ve forgotten the day’s purpose. It’s more than just going around the table and coming up with one thing to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving is about an attitude of gratitude. It’s about wanting to give thanks to God.

That’s not my idea. It’s what our leaders have said in establishing a day for Thanksgiving.

President George Washington proclaimed our first national day of Thanksgiving was to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.” President Lincoln referred to America’s blessings as “gracious gifts of the Most High God.”

In his 2009 Thanksgiving proclamation President Obama continued the practice and referred to America’s tradition of thanking God for our blessings.

In good times and bad, peacetime and war, America has reached out to thank God. And that is the key to a happy Thanksgiving celebration. To thank God.

It’s not enough, as some say, to just “be thankful.” To truly give thanks requires someone to whom we give thanks. Yes, I know—we’ve worked hard for all we have and think we deserve it. But who gave you your health, strength and abilities? Every good thing is a gift from God.

The Bible warns us that prosperity can lead to an ungrateful heart that forgets God. In order to avoid that, it encourages us to “give thanks to him and praise his name.”

This week as we gather in our homes and places of worship to thank God for his many blessings I encourage you remember how God has blessed you. Do you have a place to live? Family? Food on your table? Clothing to wear? Then that is enough for which to give thanks.

And while you’re at it, thank God that he is a God of love, mercy and forgiveness.

Yes, I know it’s hard work. It’s much easier to complain and whine. But to avoid a food fight, to prevent a “gobble squabble,” cultivate an attitude of gratitude in your heart.

Then “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Losing My Religion

Religion is too hard. So I’m giving it up.

You might think I’m losing my sanity but I’m not. I’m just losing my religion.

And I’m not alone. Recent surveys reveal that many people have given up on organized religion. They still consider themselves spiritual but have quit their church, temple or synagogue.

Why give up on religion? Too many rules to remember. Too many toes to avoid stepping on.

“Now hold on just a minute! Aren’t you a pastor? Why would you give up on religion?”

Because I’m giving up man-made religion to follow Jesus Christ. I want to be part of a church that follows Jesus and shares his mission to serve and to seek and save the lost.

Giving up man-made religion sounds noble. How does someone, steeped in religion do it?

By listening to Jesus. Like the time he spoke about some of the most religious people of his day. He said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus’ words shocked his listeners. Why? The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were well-respected religious leaders. Ordinary people looked up to them.

To be fair, all faith or belief systems could be described as a ‘religion.’ But what I’m talking about is man-made religion as opposed to the kind of faith in God Jesus described.

Man-made religion is more about manipulating God than pleasing him. Jesus used the words of the Prophet Isaiah to describe it. He said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

Rules taught by men are what we end up with when we take away from what God has said or add to it. And God is not impressed with our attempts to ‘improve’ his words.

Some of Jesus’ most scathing criticism was leveled at religious leaders who didn’t understand God’s sense of justice and his passion to help those who were powerless, helpless and lost.

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Jesus wasn’t against pious people. It was those who demonstrated false piety that angered him. He called people hypocrites that were in religion for the recognition, power and wealth.

So what was Jesus’ point? That connecting with God involves so much more than rituals, right interpretations and rule keeping. Since the Garden of Eden, God has sought to have a personal relationship with men and women.

As Timothy Keller points out in his book, “The Prodigal God,” Jesus did not come to promote religion or the lack of religion. He came to show us a third way. A way to have a personal, one-to-one, heart-to-heart relationship with our Creator-God through his Son, Jesus Christ.

So when I say I’m losing my religion, what I want to do is abandon the European religious model. The model of the holy man, the holy place and the holy ritual as the way to please God.

What I’m calling for is a return to the simple, pure message of Jesus: That God loves us and wants us to love him. That he (Jesus) is the only way to God through faith in what his death, burial and resurrection accomplished for us. And that our job is to take that good news to others.

One day some people asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

The answer to life’s problems is not more religion. The answer is to lose our man-made religion and follow Jesus Christ. That is a proven path to peace with God and a life worth living.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Getting Along

Do you get along well with others?

I can remember when “Gets along well with others” was an evaluation on my school report card. And I remember how proud I was to show my parents when it was checked off as a positive statement about my behavior.

Years later Rodney King echoed that evaluation in Los Angeles when he asked, “Can we all get along?” Last week his words were quoted following demonstrations in Oakland, California.

Let’s face it—one of our biggest problems in life is getting along with other people. It begins when we’re born and goes downhill from there.

Early in life we discover that others don’t always do what we want. So life becomes a quest to manipulate them so they will. But, at the same time, they’re trying to control us.

At some point frustration kicks in and an emotional meltdown can follow (“temper tantrum”).

The sad part is we all have the problem and few know the solution. We’re experts at conflict (“He knows how to push my buttons.” “She makes me so angry!” “I hate you!”).

Unfortunately human nature doesn’t come with a peacemaking program. The result for many is a nightmare of disappointment, despair and depression.

Some turn violent. Others end up like James Thurber’s Walter Mitty: outwardly meek but living an inner life of fantasy adventures. Perhaps that’s why video games are so popular.

But most become part of the “mass of men” Henry David Thoreau described as leading “lives of quiet desperation.” Thoreau observed, “What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.”

There are bright spots--love, marriage and family. But eventually babies turn into two-year-olds and teenagers--and then conflict begins all over. Even the joy of romance fades with time.

“Now hold on for just a minute. This is depressing! Can I change the channel, please?”

Actually, that’s a good idea. As long as we stay stuck on channel WMEE (all me all the time), things won’t change much. But be careful which channel, which solution, you choose.

What we need is something proven to work with people problems. Something effective. And since you can’t change others, there’s only one solution: A New You. Not “turning over a new leaf” but getting a new heart and a new mind. Lasting change happens from the inside out.

God diagnosed our problem a long time ago. When people kept disappointing him, the Bible reports he said to them, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.”

But good advice (even God’s) only works if you follow it. And the Bible is full of good advice about life. For instance it says, “Don’t show favoritism” to others. In other words, get rid of your prejudices. Now that’s easier said than done. What you need is a mind to obey.

That’s why Christians talk about being “Born Again.” When people come to Jesus Christ and receive him as Lord and Savior, a change happens. God forgives their sin and gives them a new “heart”—a new mind and attitude. It’s a completely new way of looking at life.

For the first time, they are at peace with God and want to obey him.

After receiving unconditional forgiveness in our lives, we become peacemakers by pointing others to that same forgiveness. And that has helped people get along for 2,000 years.

The path to inner peace and peace with others goes past the foot of Jesus’ cross and his empty tomb. Faith in the Christ who died for our sins and rose from the dead is the only way to a new heart and new relationships with other people. In Christ we CAN all get along.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Spin Factor

When I was a boy a gyroscope was one of my favorite toys.

To get a gyroscope going, I wrapped a string around the shaft or spin axis and pulled it. As long as the disk was spinning, it stood by itself. When it stopped spinning, it fell down.

For me it was just a toy. Real life gyroscopes are used for navigation and stability on aircraft and satellites in space. But when a gyroscope stops spinning, it’s useless.

Kind of reminds me of television opinion shows and commercials during an election!

Many channels run ads and employ commentators to spin facts about the candidates. But when they stop spinning they’re useless, leaving more questions unanswered than answered.

For some people the spin is enough. They’re glad to let someone else do the thinking for them. It’s too much trouble for them to check out a candidate and compare positions on issues.

In his book, “The Curate’s Awakening,” George MacDonald describes a college student with this quality. He wrote, “She never had an original thought. She thought a great deal of other people’s thoughts, thinking they were her own.”

My first thought was, “I know people like that!” My second thought was, “I hope that doesn’t describe me!” Does it describe you? It can happen so gradually you don’t realize it.

For weeks we’ve been overwhelmed by opinions and pressured by pundits, prognosticators and prophets. Believe this. Think that. Vote for this candidate to fix America.

It takes a while, but after an election we gradually realize new politicians can’t fix it either.

What’s the solution? Stop thinking politics or a politician can save the world. If only our politicians would remember the first rule of medicine: “First do no harm.”

Well hold on just a minute! Can’t an election make things better?

It may change some things, but if you think our problems are over, I’ve got news for you! Politicians can’t issue proclamations and change things at will. They must work within the law.

Besides that, belief in the ability of one person or a political party to fix what’s wrong in America is misplaced faith. If it were possible, we would have solved most of our problems by now. The history books are full of leaders who tried their best--but to no avail.

The real solution goes back beyond the founders of our country to the founder of our faith. Jesus had the answer when he said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

We’ve all heard politicians quote that. But Jesus wasn’t talking about political truth or truth in general. He wasn’t speaking of political freedom. He meant the truth leading to salvation and freedom from sin. He added, “If the Son [Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

What Jesus said is honest truth, not spin. Although politicians promise security and a better life, it is impossible for them to deliver. Jesus, however, can and does deliver.

Faith in Christ is the only solution that can save us from the mess we’re in. Because if history proves anything, it demonstrates that people let us down. Big time.

Presidents, senators, congressmen and governments will eventually fail us. Even military power doesn’t guarantee safety. But those who trust in Christ know that Jesus never fails.

So as you listen to the post-election analysis, skip the media’s spin. Listen to God first. He doesn’t spin the truth.

Regardless of who runs the government, God is still in charge. What does he recommend? He said of Jesus, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” And that’s no spin.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!