We last ended with a question: Do you think it’s possible to have a relationship with God? Many people, including myself, have struggled or currently do struggle with the concept of relating to God. Almost always, I find this struggle to spawn forth from a belief that God is angry, or disappointed at best. But, where does this belief come from? Traditional Teachings Most churches or Christian institutions will teach that man is sinful and God isn’t. And thus, there is a gap, an infinite chasm separating the creator from his creation. This would seem to imply that there is no relationship. Further, some have taught that God really doesn’t like bad people, and desires to remove himself from those who commit deeds of which he doesn’t approve. Now, if you grew up learning this, it would seem natural to believe that God doesn’t like you or that he is frustrated with you, because you probably realize you’re not perfect. Like me, perhaps you’ve done a few too many dirty deeds to be considered pure and good. It’s hard to not feel haunted by this. It’s hard to feel like that chasm between you and God could ever be closed. It’s hard to feel anything but heavy guilt. It might be easier just to stop believing in God. Redemptive Teachings As I mentioned, I totally get those feelings. In fact, it may be only rational to feel God is distant, or that he is angry at you if you’ve grown up with such teachings. However, I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t buy this view of God. When I study the bible as a whole, I see a more hopeful, redemptive nature to him. For instance, here is a passage I read a few weeks ago. As you read it, try asking, “What is being implied about God?” When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; and you forgave the guilt of my sin. [1] This author, David, seems to be feeling some pretty heavy guilt. And he even attributes God as the source of his guilt—“your hand was heavy upon me”. God’s ‘hand’ seems to be crushing David’s conscience. Perhaps David is offering a similar experience of God as I described before—God doesn’t like me, or he is severely upset with me. But, what if we slow down… I wonder if we’ll notice a different narrative. First, why do you think God is crushing David’s conscience? It seems as though God is making David sensitive to harmful conduct. More specifically, his own harmful conduct. What if this is a good thing? I think it might sound pretty gracious. God wants us to be sensitive to how our conduct damages others and ourselves, so much so that he steps in and does something about it. Secondly, he steps in and does something about it. He draws near to us; He touches us. This is such a different picture than what many of us imagine. Instead of an angry God who turns his back when we sin, we have a God who comes even closer. Because, like a good shepherd, I think he doesn’t want to lose us. To me, the bible is full of hopeful implications about God’s character. Sometimes it’s not always clear, but if we slow down and read between the lines, I think it gets easier to see his interest in humanity. God really does like us, despite our imperfection. In fact, as we saw, it is because of our imperfection that he gets closer. He wants a relationship. He is within an arm’s reach. ———————————————————————————————- [1] Psalm 32:3-5 (NASB) View high resolution

We last ended with a question: Do you think it’s possible to have a relationship with God? Many people, including myself, have struggled or currently do struggle with the concept of relating to God. Almost always, I find this struggle to spawn forth from a belief that God is angry, or disappointed at best. But, where does this belief come from?

Traditional Teachings

Most churches or Christian institutions will teach that man is sinful and God isn’t. And thus, there is a gap, an infinite chasm separating the creator from his creation. This would seem to imply that there is no relationship. Further, some have taught that God really doesn’t like bad people, and desires to remove himself from those who commit deeds of which he doesn’t approve.

Now, if you grew up learning this, it would seem natural to believe that God doesn’t like you or that he is frustrated with you, because you probably realize you’re not perfect. Like me, perhaps you’ve done a few too many dirty deeds to be considered pure and good. It’s hard to not feel haunted by this. It’s hard to feel like that chasm between you and God could ever be closed. It’s hard to feel anything but heavy guilt. It might be easier just to stop believing in God.

Redemptive Teachings

As I mentioned, I totally get those feelings. In fact, it may be only rational to feel God is distant, or that he is angry at you if you’ve grown up with such teachings. However, I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t buy this view of God. When I study the bible as a whole, I see a more hopeful, redemptive nature to him. For instance, here is a passage I read a few weeks ago. As you read it, try asking, “What is being implied about God?”

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; and you forgave the guilt of my sin. [1]

This author, David, seems to be feeling some pretty heavy guilt. And he even attributes God as the source of his guilt—“your hand was heavy upon me”. God’s ‘hand’ seems to be crushing David’s conscience. Perhaps David is offering a similar experience of God as I described before—God doesn’t like me, or he is severely upset with me. But, what if we slow down… I wonder if we’ll notice a different narrative.

First, why do you think God is crushing David’s conscience? It seems as though God is making David sensitive to harmful conduct. More specifically, his own harmful conduct. What if this is a good thing? I think it might sound pretty gracious. God wants us to be sensitive to how our conduct damages others and ourselves, so much so that he steps in and does something about it.

Secondly, he steps in and does something about it. He draws near to us; He touches us. This is such a different picture than what many of us imagine. Instead of an angry God who turns his back when we sin, we have a God who comes even closer. Because, like a good shepherd, I think he doesn’t want to lose us.

To me, the bible is full of hopeful implications about God’s character. Sometimes it’s not always clear, but if we slow down and read between the lines, I think it gets easier to see his interest in humanity. God really does like us, despite our imperfection. In fact, as we saw, it is because of our imperfection that he gets closer. He wants a relationship. He is within an arm’s reach.

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[1] Psalm 32:3-5 (NASB)

Summum Bonum. It’s an old philosophical expression meaning: “The supreme good from which all others are derived.” Philosophers would use this term for daily discourse as they pondered the chief purpose of man. It was a question of destiny, of cosmic significance… “Why does man exist?” Or “What is the meaning of life?” Today we live in a society where our thoughts are strongly influenced by existentialism [1]. Such a question, which begs some type of pre-determined destiny or theology, seems to be out of place in our modern time. But is it? I would claim that we all ask this question to some extent, perhaps even with hungry passion. We want our lives to be weighty; we want profoundness; we romanticize destiny. Without an answer to this question, we are left in want, longing for affirmation. As typical, I want to ask, “What would God say?” What is the Biblical idea of Summum Bonum? Some might say, “To live righteously” or “To obey God” or even “To follow Jesus”. I’m not going to say those are wrong, but I don’t think they help us understand the bigger reason. Why live righteously? Why obey God? Why follow Jesus? These are the questions up for grabs in our lives, and unless we can answer them adequately, we will never desire to orient our Summum Bonum around such ideas. So what is the root of it all? You will make known to me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; In your right hand are pleasures forever. [2] But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. [3] Did you hear that last one? “The nearness of God is my good.” The psalmist may as well have said, “The nearness of God is my Summum Bonum.” He is stating that the whole point of life, all of its meaning, is to be near God—to be in relationship with him. That’s the biblical perspective of human purpose, of summum bonum. It’s not to be the kindest, or the most generous, or the most influential. It is simply to be with God. Of course, being with God should very well imply interest toward such things as kindness and generosity. But, if we only want those things—if we only gather around God for it—we are just using him. That’s not the same as desiring him as an end in itself. So now we come to a bottle neck in answering the Summum Bonum question ourselves. We can read what the bible says, but that doesn’t mean we believe it. We have to ask ourselves two questions: 1. Do I think it’s possible to have a relationship with God? 2. Do I want to have a relationship with God? What do you think? ———————————————————————————————————— [1] Existentialism is the philosophical belief that each person is responsible to define and/or create his/her own purpose or meaning in life. [2] Psalm 16:11 (NASB) [3] Psalm 73:28 (NASB) View high resolution

Summum Bonum. It’s an old philosophical expression meaning: “The supreme good from which all others are derived.” Philosophers would use this term for daily discourse as they pondered the chief purpose of man. It was a question of destiny, of cosmic significance… “Why does man exist?” Or “What is the meaning of life?”

Today we live in a society where our thoughts are strongly influenced by existentialism [1]. Such a question, which begs some type of pre-determined destiny or theology, seems to be out of place in our modern time. But is it? I would claim that we all ask this question to some extent, perhaps even with hungry passion. We want our lives to be weighty; we want profoundness; we romanticize destiny. Without an answer to this question, we are left in want, longing for affirmation.

As typical, I want to ask, “What would God say?” What is the Biblical idea of Summum Bonum? Some might say, “To live righteously” or “To obey God” or even “To follow Jesus”. I’m not going to say those are wrong, but I don’t think they help us understand the bigger reason. Why live righteously? Why obey God? Why follow Jesus? These are the questions up for grabs in our lives, and unless we can answer them adequately, we will never desire to orient our Summum Bonum around such ideas.

So what is the root of it all?

You will make known to me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; In your right hand are pleasures forever. [2]

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. [3]

Did you hear that last one? “The nearness of God is my good.” The psalmist may as well have said, “The nearness of God is my Summum Bonum.” He is stating that the whole point of life, all of its meaning, is to be near God—to be in relationship with him. That’s the biblical perspective of human purpose, of summum bonum. It’s not to be the kindest, or the most generous, or the most influential. It is simply to be with God. Of course, being with God should very well imply interest toward such things as kindness and generosity. But, if we only want those things—if we only gather around God for it—we are just using him. That’s not the same as desiring him as an end in itself.

So now we come to a bottle neck in answering the Summum Bonum question ourselves. We can read what the bible says, but that doesn’t mean we believe it. We have to ask ourselves two questions:

1. Do I think it’s possible to have a relationship with God?

2. Do I want to have a relationship with God?

What do you think?

————————————————————————————————————

[1] Existentialism is the philosophical belief that each person is responsible to define and/or create his/her own purpose or meaning in life.

[2] Psalm 16:11 (NASB)

[3] Psalm 73:28 (NASB)

lean on who?

So far these posts have been rather optimistic in nature. Sort of like nice, neat packaged thoughts, with little sign of confusion. And although I wish all my thoughts were neatly settled, there still remains confusion for me.

If nothing else, I think what bonds young adults (and many older adults too) is an overwhelming sense of confusion. What is life about? What is my purpose? What should I really be doing, ‘cause this job is so pathetic and boring! Unfortunately, few people I know are actually able to ask such things aloud. There is a fear that nobody wants to listen and help, or that they even could help. It makes me sad to see that many people have nobody to lean on.

Last year I spent a day re-uniting with some old college friends during a sporting event. I spoke to many of them one-on-one, receiving updates on their lives. Would you believe it, each one of them had some strong sense of confusion and dissatisfaction. And each spoke as if they didn’t know whom to confide in. I felt honored that they would trust me with their thoughts, but still I was crushed because they had no community to hear them—no friend to help them process.

Are we left alone to work out these deep dissatisfactions? Where is the friend, the listener, the comforter of this age? As long as we are imperfect, I think we will always need help to wade through such troubling waters—waters that tempt to buckle our knees and drown us in a sea devoid of hope.

I have lots of questions to process, but I don’t know who to ask. I don’t know who would be eager to help me process.

freedom from anger

When we are wronged by others, when injustice is done against us, we are hurt. Period. Objectively, it is these wrong-doers who are guilty and probably even deserve retribution. This is where anger comes into play. It stimulates the desire for retribution, for exacting a punishment to the crime committed. And it’s terribly frustrating when we can’t make this happen.

Yet, like I submitted before, I believe there will always be times where we cannot cause justice—we do not wield such power. So, the question is how can we take the blow of being hurt, yet not feel an intense need for immediate retribution? 

Objectively speaking, justice cannot be turned aside for the sake of mercy or love. That would mean to ignore goodness. For if there is no justice, then goodness, or rightness—what is right—loses value. For example, if someone commits murder it would never be acceptable for a judge to simply excuse the murderer on the basis of mercy, saying, “You are forgiven.” The judge must establish order of good and evil, punishing wrongdoing and upholding justice.

However, being personally hurt by someone’s injustice is another story. We hold the power to forgive, to show mercy when wrong or evil is done toward us. If I think it’s my job to uphold my importance (enforcing the rule that good must always be done toward me), then I could never forgive, I could never show mercy. But if I don’t need to uphold my importance—If I’m humble—then I will be able to give mercy and forgiveness. I forsake the right to establish my value in the hearts of my enemies.

You may say, “That sounds nice and all, but how do we live like that?” Well, I have the same question. And although I’m not sure I have it all figured out yet, I do think it has to do with being secure. And here is where I have to appeal to the Christian teaching of being secured by God himself…

Christianity says you can be humiliated, you can be abased, you can suffer the reproach of many, because God is near and he is taking care of you. Christianity is the only religion where God himself (Jesus) was humiliated, abased, reproached. He suffered, he died a torturous death. Why? Because he loves his creation. Christianity teaches that God (Jesus) took on our punishment for all the injustices we’ve done, and if we’re honest, we know we’ve done many. He takes on the job of judge to uphold objective good, punishing what is evil. And he took on the punishment. That is the story of Jesus. That is the story of God pursuing man. When we read ourselves into that story it changes us. We no longer see ourselves as needing to establish our value in the eyes of others. Jesus has established it in the most profound and lasting way. And, we are embraced by a God who cares for us, who will ultimately uphold good and punish evil. We are humbled. We are secured. We can forgive. We are free, even from anger.

angry birds

Anger is an interesting emotion to me. On one hand, it is probably good to be angry at injustice—the dominating bully, the tyrannical boss, the unfaithful spouse. Yet, on the other hand, anger can spark so much destruction—that one punch you wish you could retract, that one remark you wish you could take back, that bullet fired in hasty passion. Anger is both a strength and flaw of the human heart, spawning both redemption and destruction. However, the core of anger, I believe, is our desire to right wrongs—to vindicate the innocent. The problem occurs when we come up with horrible (sometimes completely selfish) ways to bring forth such vindication. Or, when the injustice was so trivial but we think too much of ourselves to let it go.

Why do I mention this? What does it have to do with hope? Well, as someone who consistently deals with his own anger, I believe there is hope in humility and trust—the anger-fighting agents.

Unfortunately, we cannot fix all the injustices in the world. Heck, we can’t even mend all the injustices we ourselves experience. (I do not mean to say we should give up on everything—certainly not! I only mean that some injustices will be out of our control.) And so, there are many times where we will find our anger falling short. It never can produce what we want it to—justice for all—and the weight only piles on our back.

What then do we do with this weight? We have to let it go, otherwise we will be crushed by it. But, how do we let it go? The only rational way I see is to do one of two things: either we decide the injustice was not so unjust after all, or we decide that someone else—perhaps someone with more power—will take care of it. Let’s call option one, Humility & option two, Trust. The only question left is how to acquire such character traits, and, in the case of trust, whom to direct it towards.

what did he say?!

Up on top of a hill, he stood and spoke. His very tone of conviction and confidence caused the crowd to wonder, “Who even talks like this?” Was it delightfully intriguing, or maybe frustratingly complicated? One thing I think is for sure…Jesus didn’t speak a simplified list of rules for good living. He went much deeper—he instead taught about a complete change of heart and perspective.

It is this subtle profoundness of Jesus’ words that I think too often goes overlooked. Consider him here…

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? [1]

Somehow this gets interpreted as “Try really hard to not get upset at those people who don’t like you.” Or, “Make sure you smile even though someone just pulverized your heart and sense of worth.” Yet at this point we will have oversimplified a great ordeal of Jesus’ teachings, and it might cause us to miss the crux of his message.

I don’t believe it’s that simple. I don’t believe living this way can be added onto or adapted to our normal lifestyle. I believe the honest response will say: “That sounds nice and ideal, but definitely not possible or practical.” And we probably all have a list of people who we could never love this way. This is why in Christian circles you might hear people ask for prayer to put up with their boss, or just get through the week without blowing up at their coworker. It’s an attempt to cope with a belief that what Jesus said is not possible, leaving us with: “God, just help me not to kill anyone this week!”

The truth is, love is probably the most difficult attribute to take on. It’s not going to work with simple charisma or charm. It can’t be put on as a mask, then taken off in private. Real love is genuine. And if it’s not, everyone will see right through it.

So, to return to what Jesus said, we may rightly find ourselves debating whether or not he was serious—whether or not he realized how hard it would be to love—care for, appreciate, serve, enjoy—someone who downright does not like us. Once again, I think the honest person must admit such disagreement and frustration, until he/she finds himself/herself to say: “I would need a change of heart—a change of perspective to do such a thing. Even more, I would need a sense of security and worth that my fear has not allowed me to have. I would need to be freed from all these things if I were to love this way.”

And it just so happens that Jesus continued to speak,  saying, You’re right. So, here’s the real deal…“If [I] make you free, you will be free indeed.” [2]

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[1] Matthew 5:43-44, 46 (NASB)

[2] John 8:36 (NASB)

true harmony

“Hi. I’m keeping a book of questions that I ask people. I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions and write down your response.”

This is me at a local coffee shop last week. Yes, I am that weird guy who makes conversations with you when you’re sitting alone. But, I have a good reason. I want to spur discussion where I see no discussion today; I want to engage people in thoughts that are too often avoided.

One question that has been a favorite lately is: “What is one belief you hold that a popular majority (or even your own friends) may disagree with?” Typical answers include categories of politics, social issues, and religion. But last week I got an atypical answer that seemed interesting to me… “I don’t know,” replied the young woman. “My friends and I never talk about that kind of stuff. But, I am curious to find out.” Her words couldn’t be more right. We don’t talk about this kind of stuff today. Why is that?

Our friendships are made with people who share some similar values and/or interests, with all other interests/values set aside. But shouldn’t our friendships also consist of challenging one another? Not quarreling and biting at each other—i.e. “you’re stupid for believing that!”—but comparing differing convictions and challenging each other to really understand life. I fear that we may be giving up on this for the sake of “harmony”.

We do live in a passive-aggressive age. In my generation especially, you are cool if you are open-minded, accepting of everything. And, I will say, this has many positives. People do need to be open-minded, and genuine respect should never be thrown out of the equation. Yet, I can’t help but think that our passive acceptance—“to each their own”—way of thinking leaves our relationships incomplete. It gives us a false sense of harmony. Because, in the end, nobody believes everything is okay. Everyone has some convictions on what is good, what is bad, and what is important. And, when we don’t share these thoughts, we miss out on expanding and shaping our worldviews.

With good sense of humility and genuine respect, challenging each other could be a step towards intimacy. Rather than disrupting the false harmony between friends, it can create a true harmony, for we will truly understand each other.

science vs faith

If you ever ask me what some of my pet peeves are, this is one of them: the common juxtaposition of science and faith. I typically cringe when I hear the pomp of a pastor beating on “science”, or the scientist criticizing anyone with “faith”. In my mind, they both employ science and faith daily to understand life.

What is Science?

Let’s go back to middle school for a moment. I still remember the one day in science class where we covered “The Scientific Method”. It outlines a step-by-step way of testing and confirming hypotheses…1.Observation 2. Hypothesis 3. Test 4. Theory 5. Test 6. Law. It all sounds very intuitive, right? I see this everywhere, not just in labs—it’s ingrained in our society. Whenever we troubleshoot a malfunctioning computer, a leaky faucet, or an inoperative car, we employ The Scientific Method. We may not pursue it all the way to derive a new Law of Physics, but we are nonetheless scientists.

What is Faith?

Faith, on the other hand, is, as the author of Hebrews says, “the conviction of things not seen.” [1]. We employ faith to be assured of that which we cannot verify. So, it is a leap, no doubt. But, it is a committed, educated leap that results in conviction and maybe even certainty.

I sometimes wonder if science and faith have been separated too hastily. After all, what can we prove with certainty through the scientific method alone? There’s always something unknown; we’ll always have to admit that our logic and understanding as human beings cannot account for everything. At best, it drives us close to belief, and then faith parks us into conviction. For instance, let’s say I tell you about the law of gravity, how objects of mass are attracted to each other, and that this attraction has always existed and always will. You can test this by employing the scientific method, and based on your testing you will probably feel very confident in believing me. But, you can never be assured that this law existed 2,000 years ago, or that it will exist tomorrow. You will need faith to have that assurance. Educated faith, but faith nonetheless. And, in the end, all faith must be educated. For we are creatures of reason.

Perhaps I’ve oversimplified the profoundness of this topic. However, I would propose that faith and science are companions. And, as humans we employ both as tools to understand life.

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[1] Hebrews 11:1 (NASB)

let’s talk about life.

When I started this blog, I knew I wanted to focus on a new understanding of work, asking God what he thinks. At the same time, I had a hunch that it might not be appropriate to segregate the topic of work from life and human purpose. Now, a few books later, and after many hours of thoughtful reflection, I am even more convinced that work is intrinsic to the human being. Separating our understanding of work from our understanding of human purpose is like trying to understand the flight of an aircraft without understanding the dynamics of the air it flies through—they just aren’t meant to be separated.

Because work and human purpose are so symbiotic—in my mind, at least—perhaps it would be good to branch out and start talking about other aspects of life that affect our goals, intellect, emotions, theology, religiosity, and hope. If nothing else, it’ll definitely make this blog more interesting to read, right?

In the end, I do strongly believe everything comes back to hope. And that is the central focus of this blog anyway. So, let’s start discussing life. First up, Science & Faith…

don’t be distracted

In the last post, I mentioned the possibility that work exists for us to love God and love others. If work was only for producing goods—being productive and efficient—then it would probably be alright for us to ignore anyone who stood in the way of our productivity (maybe even commendable). But if the purpose of work is love, then this sort of disposition could distract us from what really matters. Let me give an example…

These last few weeks were really stressful for me at work. I was faced with deadlines that were nearly impossible to meet, and I overworked myself trying to meet them. I showed up early, worked through lunch, avoided conversation, and left late (then came back for more on the weekends). Anxiety is kind of obvious when you live like this. My anxious attitude was driven by a motivation to be productive and to meet expectations. This distracted me so much that it became my ultimate reason for showing up each day. Of course, productivity is a great thing, and important to strive for—it just may not be the ultimate reason for why we work.

Earlier this week I recalled a conversation Jesus once had with someone in a similar situation as me. You may be familiar with this story. It’s about a woman named Martha who was anxiously busy at her job, where her whole focus was on getting tasks done [1]. Her sister, Mary, was sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to him instead of working with Martha. Jesus commented on Martha’s anxiety by telling her the following:

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things: but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” [2]

For me, these words really hit home this last week. It seems like Jesus is suggesting work can be a distraction from something more important, something more necessary. The passage doesn’t completely explain what Jesus means by “one thing necessary”, but I agree with Charles Spurgeon when he says that sitting at Jesus’ feet implies discipleship [3]. It implies a desire to listen to his wisdom and to enter into relationship with him. I don’t think it implies avoiding productivity, but rather debunks it as the ultimate thing, replacing it with loving Jesus and loving others [4].

It was refreshing for me to be reminded of this…God invites us to experience freedom from anxiety, where knowing him becomes the ultimate thing, and loving others is something we do with him. I find this drastically changes my perception of work, since it doesn’t feel like work should be a list of tasks for me to accomplish (although that’s the tangible result). Instead, maybe work acts as a tool for me to accomplish something else, something more ultimate—love.

What does this mean? In the case of my story, I think this means I can show up to work with a different focus that isn’t so single-minded. I’m thinking I can start to show up to love others. This begins with my tasks given to me by my supervisor, but becomes much more broad and adventurous as I interact with the various people around me.

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[1] From what I understand of 1st Century Judaism, the cultural job of women was to maintain their house, take care of their family, and take care of guests. Because of this, I think it helps our understanding of this story if we see what Martha was doing as her actual “job”, rather than simply hosting some friends on a weekend.

[2] Luke 10:41b-42 (NASB)

[3] Spurgeon, C.H. “The One Thing Needful.” Blue Letter Bible. http://www.blueletterbible.org/commentaries/comm_view.cfm?AuthorID=10&contentID=3620&commInfo=16&topic=Sermons&ar=Luk_10_42. (Delivered on October 15, 1871).

[4] I find this theme all throughout the bible. Psalm 73:28 & Matt.22:34-40 are some favorite examples.