"Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." - Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up..." - Galatians 6:9
As a college student, I'm more than accustomed to skipping a class, especially at 8 in the morning, if I don't feel up to going to it. I think the idea of an emotional health day, as ridiculous as some may call it, is one of the most ingenious phrases a man ever coined. When we feel like we've had enough of something, we give up and either take a break for a bit or move on to something else. It's like we have this constant desire for a change. No matter how much we like structure and schedules and habits, no one likes monotony. Especially if it involves effort.
I learned in a class last week about a "bliss point", the optimal point in any task where we get the most reward from the least effort. And no matter what the ratio is, we would rather put in less effort to get less reward than more effort to get more reward, and stay as close to our bliss point as possible.
We do this with Christianity. We get to the point where we're tired of doing the same thing time after time, tired of the effort that we put into it to receive what we perceive as minimal reward. We get this mindset that it's okay to take a day off from our faith...we don't have to work as hard today because we deserve some time to just settle. We don't overcome this obstacle with stronger faith and more prayer and an increase in Bible reading, but we rationalize that we won't lose our faith by taking the day off from trying so hard. Jesus will still love us, right?
Yes, He will.
He may not like the fact that we're giving up so easily, as seen in the above Bible verses. But He'll still love us. We're still Christians.
I know it's hard to continually put all of ourselves into something, even something that gives back, like our faith in Christ. And there are always going to be days when we don't want to keep going: we just want to take a break, a day off, or we just want to receive the reward without putting in so much effort. But we can keep going. We can handle it. We've been promised not only the continual presence and love of our God, but a great inheritance to be received. And we'll get it. We're assured of it.
"The permanence of God's character guarantees the fulfillment of his promises." - Arthur W. Pink
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Value of Identity
I've come to be quite fond of this blogging assignment, if solely for the fact that it provides me an excuse to come to the coffee shop once a week and indulge my caffeine addiction. I feel like I'm fitting into the whole coffeehouse stereotype, sipping my medium Peruvian coffee with cream and sugar (boring order today) while reflecting on my life and accomplishing something of purpose.
We all like to fit into something. Whether it be a group of people, or a label/title of some sort, or even to just blend into the background of a certain place, there is a part of us all that enjoys identifying ourselves with something or someone. We want to feel accepted. We want to feel like we belong. Not that we're trying to give up a sense of personal identity, but we want to know that our identity has a meaning, has an agreeableness to it that unites us with fellow human beings. Even nonconformists, the ones who go out of their way to prove that they are not like others, find their niche somewhere. They still have friends, they still have that camaraderie with other where they have decided to stand up to stereotypes or social expectations. No one is truly unique in the sense that no one else thinks or acts like they do. And although that statement seems a bit tragic, I think that we all take comfort in the fact that our need for social interaction and fellowship can be met at any point, within a wide variety of groups.
I can identify myself quite easily with a radical international group that is devoted to social justice and change. We're quite the sight, you know. We dress funny, all in a uniform fashion, looking quite uncomfortable and ready to take on an unseen enemy, seemingly militaristic, if you will. We go out into our neighborhoods, and sometimes overseas, talking to anyone who will listen about the way that we've come to identify ourselves with this group, and all of the reasons why you too can be a part of this group. We promise that you'll be loved, that you'll be accepted, that life will somehow be intrinsically better, and maybe you can even have this cool-looking outfit! We proselytize as much as we can, having recently adopted a new slogan in Come Join Our Army! We encourage membership, sometimes even blindly so. We sometimes target youth, in the hopes that their open minds and believing spirits will keep them joined to us as they grow. Catch them while they're young, right? We also go after the vulnerable people, the ones who seem to need the most reassurance of personal value. When we meet, we sing songs that only members know, we sit and stand at request, and we take a lot of what our leader says without question, trusting in the sacred book that he reads from.
Sounds like a cult, right? Sounds like something that only a fool could adhere to. No one with a right mind and sound judgment would fall for something so blatantly conniving. Well, The Salvation Army isn't a cult (no matter what some people tell you). We're part of the Christian church, not just a thrift store. We believe in the Bible as the Word of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, salvation through faith, justification and sanctification, the dual divinity and humanity of Christ, heaven and hell. We wear a uniform to set ourselves apart, making us easily recognizable and encouraging questions in order that we can share our faith. We outreach so fervently because we believe that everyone has access to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and we want as many people as possible to know His love and grace, so we go out and preach it to whoever will listen.
Now, you can argue with me all you want that the way the Army goes about ministry is wrong, that the Army has some screwed up beliefs systems, that there is no God, and that such radical ideals give Christianity a bad name, whatever. But I get a sense of personal value from identifying myself as a child of God, as a prized daughter of the Almighty who He loves and cherishes, protects and for whom He provides. And not only that, but the Army also provides me with a sense of identity. I fit in to a large body of believers who share my faith. I can walk into any Army meeting hall wearing my uniform and be instantly accepted. We share a bloodline. My brothers and sisters in Christ welcome me in to their lives as Christ would Himself.
A sense of identity can come from many things. Whatever you belong to, the people around you can make you feel like you're worth something. But unless you know the value that is ascribed to you by your Heavenly Father, the Creator who made you with all of your features and talents and who loves you to no end, unless that worth is felt from Him to whom you belong, then what good is any other social identity? And if the Christian church, in any and all of its aspects, isn't perpetrating the Truth of personal value found in the personal relationship with God, if we're not showing the love of God, then what good are we? I see so many people -myself included - fall into the trap of thinking of themselves as worthless. They go after identity and value in so many things that will end up leaving them empty and longing for more. Christ, in whom we live and move and have our being, is our primary source of self-value. No, it's not always easy to think of yourself as highly regarded, as worthy of something so great as salvation or love. But it's the Truth. It's the rock on which we can lean when we feel like no one else cares; when we feel like we're alone and without any purpose. No value. That's where we can remind ourselves of our Father's love, and how He thinks we're awesome. And that's especially where we need to spread the information of the existence of that identity to those who don't know it's there for them. Make sense?
We all like to fit into something. Whether it be a group of people, or a label/title of some sort, or even to just blend into the background of a certain place, there is a part of us all that enjoys identifying ourselves with something or someone. We want to feel accepted. We want to feel like we belong. Not that we're trying to give up a sense of personal identity, but we want to know that our identity has a meaning, has an agreeableness to it that unites us with fellow human beings. Even nonconformists, the ones who go out of their way to prove that they are not like others, find their niche somewhere. They still have friends, they still have that camaraderie with other where they have decided to stand up to stereotypes or social expectations. No one is truly unique in the sense that no one else thinks or acts like they do. And although that statement seems a bit tragic, I think that we all take comfort in the fact that our need for social interaction and fellowship can be met at any point, within a wide variety of groups.
I can identify myself quite easily with a radical international group that is devoted to social justice and change. We're quite the sight, you know. We dress funny, all in a uniform fashion, looking quite uncomfortable and ready to take on an unseen enemy, seemingly militaristic, if you will. We go out into our neighborhoods, and sometimes overseas, talking to anyone who will listen about the way that we've come to identify ourselves with this group, and all of the reasons why you too can be a part of this group. We promise that you'll be loved, that you'll be accepted, that life will somehow be intrinsically better, and maybe you can even have this cool-looking outfit! We proselytize as much as we can, having recently adopted a new slogan in Come Join Our Army! We encourage membership, sometimes even blindly so. We sometimes target youth, in the hopes that their open minds and believing spirits will keep them joined to us as they grow. Catch them while they're young, right? We also go after the vulnerable people, the ones who seem to need the most reassurance of personal value. When we meet, we sing songs that only members know, we sit and stand at request, and we take a lot of what our leader says without question, trusting in the sacred book that he reads from.
Sounds like a cult, right? Sounds like something that only a fool could adhere to. No one with a right mind and sound judgment would fall for something so blatantly conniving. Well, The Salvation Army isn't a cult (no matter what some people tell you). We're part of the Christian church, not just a thrift store. We believe in the Bible as the Word of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, salvation through faith, justification and sanctification, the dual divinity and humanity of Christ, heaven and hell. We wear a uniform to set ourselves apart, making us easily recognizable and encouraging questions in order that we can share our faith. We outreach so fervently because we believe that everyone has access to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and we want as many people as possible to know His love and grace, so we go out and preach it to whoever will listen.
Now, you can argue with me all you want that the way the Army goes about ministry is wrong, that the Army has some screwed up beliefs systems, that there is no God, and that such radical ideals give Christianity a bad name, whatever. But I get a sense of personal value from identifying myself as a child of God, as a prized daughter of the Almighty who He loves and cherishes, protects and for whom He provides. And not only that, but the Army also provides me with a sense of identity. I fit in to a large body of believers who share my faith. I can walk into any Army meeting hall wearing my uniform and be instantly accepted. We share a bloodline. My brothers and sisters in Christ welcome me in to their lives as Christ would Himself.
A sense of identity can come from many things. Whatever you belong to, the people around you can make you feel like you're worth something. But unless you know the value that is ascribed to you by your Heavenly Father, the Creator who made you with all of your features and talents and who loves you to no end, unless that worth is felt from Him to whom you belong, then what good is any other social identity? And if the Christian church, in any and all of its aspects, isn't perpetrating the Truth of personal value found in the personal relationship with God, if we're not showing the love of God, then what good are we? I see so many people -myself included - fall into the trap of thinking of themselves as worthless. They go after identity and value in so many things that will end up leaving them empty and longing for more. Christ, in whom we live and move and have our being, is our primary source of self-value. No, it's not always easy to think of yourself as highly regarded, as worthy of something so great as salvation or love. But it's the Truth. It's the rock on which we can lean when we feel like no one else cares; when we feel like we're alone and without any purpose. No value. That's where we can remind ourselves of our Father's love, and how He thinks we're awesome. And that's especially where we need to spread the information of the existence of that identity to those who don't know it's there for them. Make sense?
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