Must I Really Love THAT Person? - Part 3

When my granddaughter was four, she asked if we could take a walk around the neighborhood. About halfway around the block she asked, "Why is the sidewalk different? It's crumbling and I can see little shells in it." Her question caused me to question the values of the company who sold an inferior product.

The Roman Empire was among the first to use concrete for their structures, and some of those structures are still standing twenty centuries later. What gives personal values the sustaining power to withstand the trials and storms of life? Values must be firmly grounded in a clear sense of what is right and wrong.

God has given us Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit and his word to guide our walk through this world. The presence of God in our lives strengthens our values by telling us to strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love and the strength to endure. Whenever anything that is not pure, honest and true gets mixed into our lives, it must be identified and cleaned out. With God’s help, you can do it.  

Must I Really Love THAT Person? - Part 2

Some people believe “loving your neighbor as yourself” is out-of-step with today’s reality. Whom do you consider to be your neighbor? Is loving your neighbor possible in any profession where production is the main objective? It’s easier to love those who love you, but Jesus asked this question, "If you only love those who love you, what reward will you get?"

Most people respond positively to friendship, love, kindness and goodness, but when Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself," he went beyond the easy group. He extended it outward to include the hard-to-love person, the one who is difficult to trust, and those with grumpy dispositions.

Tenacity means being resolved to do what is right even though struggles and temptations are ever-present. Someone summed it up this way, "There is no merit where there is no trial or when you dodged the hard, difficult issues of life.” Determination and resilience generate blessings when you choose to follow Jesus’ command to "Love one another as I have loved you.”  

Must I Really Love THAT Person? - Part 1

Jesus taught that “the second part of the greatest command to love God with all your heart, soul and mind was to love your neighbor as yourself.” A neighbor could be anyone who is difficult to love. Who would that be in your life? Remember, what Jesus commands, he makes possible.

In George Bernard Shaw's play, The Ideal Husband, one character proclaims, "To love yourself is the beginning of a life-long romance with yourself." Is this what Jesus’ intended in his command to "love your neighbor as yourself? Not if loving yourself means extreme self-indulgence and self-centeredness.

Jesus intends for you to value and care for yourself as God's property. Some people refuse to take this command seriously until there's a crisis or it’s too late to do so. Jesus also said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" for "I solemnly say to you, every time you do a good deed to one of these most insignificant people, you do it as a good deed for me." Something to think about and follow through on. 

Hero or Failure? Riding the Roller Coaster - Part 3

Living a good life depends on your personal values, which supply meaning and purpose to your life. They are the heart and soul of your existence. Values that are enhanced by the presence of Christ Jesus provide energy and power for staying focused when life becomes too difficult or too easy. It's during these times when your values may be discounted or suppressed, implying they are outdated and insignificant for what you now want to be and do. 

God's presence in our lives gives values the strength to endure. If you were asked, "What do you value most," what would you say?  David, described as a man after God's own heart, begged God to create in him a clean heart.

In this context, the word heart describes David’s conscience that yearned to be unshackled from failures in thoughts and deeds. God's word makes it clear that anyone who seeks him with a repentant heart will find him, regardless how deep into sin that person may have plunged. It's a significant choice and is necessary for reclaiming your faith and lost values. 

Hero or Failure? Riding the Roller Coaster - Part 2

Gideon served as a judge in Israel before there was a king. Hebrews 11 introduces him as a member of the Hall of Faith. God's call came as he was working to provide for his family, practicing values that were upright and honorable. He became a hero by defeating an entire army with just three hundred men because God was with him.

After this decisive battle Gideon demonstrated moments of moral failure. He failed to anchor Israel in faithfulness to God, for after his death the nation soon returned to idol worship. Abimelech, Gideon’s son whose mother was a concubine, had all but one of his half-brothers killed.

What's clear about Gideon is that he could be a hero one day and a moral failure the next. God's desire is that we develop and maintain values that reflect his presence in our lives. Yet by God's grace and mercy, he can and will use us despite our limitations and failures. Thank God for his unmerited favor that permits us to choose and serve him.  

Hero or Failure? Riding the Roller Coaster - Part 1

Consistency in practicing personal values requires time and commitment, in addition to thought-out, self-imposed boundaries. Gideon, the Old Testament judge, lived with two sets of values. Judges 8:31 identifies this duality. Gideon had a concubine who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.

The Life Application Bible has this comment: "The relationship between Gideon and a concubine produced a son who tore apart Gideon's family and caused tragedy for the nation.” Gideon's story illustrates that heroes in battle are not always heroes in daily life. No matter who you are, moral negligence is the pathway to sorrow and regret.

What causes moral laxness? Perhaps having too much self-confidence, or thinking you’re above failure? What seems like fun and pleasure may produce bitter consequences. Remember this warning: sin in haste and repent at leisure. Aren't you glad you can make choices that honor Christ Jesus? God's forgiveness is for anyone who earnestly seeks it. 

Keep Your Values in Focus - Part 3

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian, was murdered by the Gestapo near the end of World War II because he spoke against Hitler and the war. Bonhoeffer wrote about the "cost of discipleship" and "cheap grace." He gave his life for his values and for what he knew was God’s will for himself.

He could have been rescued by friends in Germany, England, and America, but he refused. It would have been impossible for him to have returned to the church and been a creditable leader if he had betrayed his values. Bonhoeffer chose costly grace and forfeited his life because he could not live by contradictory values and behaviors.

A businessman related that he had several sexual liaisons when he was out of the country and feared he had contacted AIDS. This man had created two worlds for himself which required two sets of values. God's word encourages us to be single-minded, to have the mind of Christ Jesus, for he gives us God's grace, costly grace.