When to Worry

 When friends or family go through loss, illness, difficulties in health, job security, or relationships, I pray for them. And I worry. But I realized the other day that my biggest worries are never for those who I know are strong in their faith. The ones who live their life depending on God for their strength suffer the same as everyone else but there is hope in their hearts that they depend on for strength. I know they will come out on the other side stronger in their faith than they were before. Deep down, this is truth. 

It is those who never speak of their faith, who never spend quality time learning about Christ, who focus on this finite world and never the eternal next, who worry me the most. How will they withstand the storms of this difficult life? What happens when the bootstraps they pull themselves up by, break? I worry because I know how weak I am. I know my own lack of strength. I know that sometimes life gives me more than I can handle. I worry that they will not know how to ask the Savior to rescue them because they have never prepared their hearts for this. I worry because it is so hard to watch loved ones make the wrong choices knowing there is nothing I can do. 

But then I remind myself that the loving God I know, loves them with an intensity that puts mine to shame. And I know He does have the power to do something about their needs. And I know that He knows exactly the perfect next move for them in this complex chess game of life. He plays chess while my mind plays checkers. I know He welcomed the Prodigal son. I know He calmed the sea. I know He healed the lepers. I know He will leave the 99 sheep to look for the lost one. 

So the answer to the question about when to worry is NEVER. God is in control. 

Uniquely Gifted

 

What gift do you bring to the table? God has blessed our lives on earth with many gifts or skills. We need to stop and take some time to appreciate this and realize there is no gift too little or invaluable. So to get folks thinking, I brainstormed the following list. All of them come from what I have seen in my friends and family. I hope this list will give you a few grins. I also hope you will spot some of your gifts and some the gifts of others as you patiently read my list. And I hope you thought of many gifts that I left off of this list. 

• Changing a diaper without gagging
• Navigating new places without GPS
• Making a killer charcuterie board
• Cake decorating
• Writing poems to express your thoughts and emotions
• Prompting people to talk while you listen attentively
• Making friends with total strangers anywhere you go
• Noticing details that everyone else misses
• Maintaining a gorgeous lawn 
• Finding a bargain
• Explaining difficult concepts in a way that is understandable
• Frying an egg over easy without breaking the yolk
• Encouraging the discouraged
• Gift wrapping
• Telling great stories
• Making people laugh
• Having a contagious laugh
• Forgetting grievances
• Finding new ways of doing things
• Discerning lies
• Recognizing manipulation and not giving in to it
• Only making positive social media posts
• Being supportive of positive posts on social media
• Scrolling past negativity on social media
• Making phone calls or texts to check on folks
• Inviting people to join you in fun endeavors
• Catching fish or hunting
• Making a great meal from only the stuff left in the pantry
• Picking good movies
• Reading
• Unhurriedly stopping to listen 
• Praying for others
• Praying for your enemies
• Caring for animals
• Playing board games or card games with friends
• Playing video games
• Driving with ease and confidence 
• Smiling
• Hugging
• Keeping disorganized people organized
• Caring for people who are ill
• Understanding nutrition
• Dog training
• Training little people
• Making learning interesting
• Caring for the elderly
• Understanding and explaining laws
• Finding the good in a bad situation
• Having a naturally sunny disposition
• Knowing when to quit
• Knowing when to get busy
• Loving work
• Loving staying at home
• Loving to travel
• Reading great literature
• Loving to learn
• Fixing technology
• Enthusiasm about exercising
• Loving music
• Being at home in the great outdoors
• Spotting the fingerprints of God in an ordinary day
• Spotting the fingerprints of God during bad days
• Dancing
• Balancing a budget
• Keeping plants alive…green thumb
• Learning then applying that new knowledge to improve
• Accepting others as they are 
• Speaking more than one language
• Cleaning anything to a shine
• Organizing a closet
• Creating great outfits on a budget
• Talking folks off the figurative ledge
• Decorating on a budget
• Following instructions
• Filling in when there is a need
• (Keep this list going in your head)

What can we do with all these gifts? Here are a few take-aways. 

Recognize that we need each other because we can’t be all things and value what you have to give and what others have given you. Appreciate that this list is endless and there is enough for everyone so criticism and jealousy are a scarcity mindset that must be eliminated because we need other folks to do what we can’t. And understand that any gift on this list can be shared to develop the relationships in our life because God works through relationships. 

Skibidi Ohio and Doo Wop

 I once heard a story of Oprah that said she quit following the Christian faith when she read scripture that said God is a jealous God. She said that she couldn’t follow anyone who said they were jealous. I have no idea if this story is true but I get it. No one would want to follow a God that was jealous in the sense of the word that we currently understand. But if this story is true, what she didn’t consider was the meaning behind the interpreted word, jealous.

Much like the title of this blog, jealous is an easily misunderstood stump-the-band kind of word. And to make it more difficult, this same English word bears different meanings in different parts of the Bible. Its use in describing God in Exodus and Zechariah is very different from its use in 1 Corinthians that tells us love is not jealous.

Our present day understanding of jealousness bears the following synonyms.

envious, covetous, resentful, begrudging, bitter, malicious, spiteful, greedy, selfish

This is not my understanding of God! After a bit of searching, I found the biblical meaning in a footnote in the Amplified version of the Bible.

“There is no implication of envy in the ‘jealousy’ of God, but rather the boundless enthusiasm of the Lord which loves holiness, hates sin, brings judgment upon sinners, and intervenes on behalf of His godly ones.” ~Charles Feinberg, God Remembers.

Am I adept in ancient Hebrew? Do I have a degree in theology? No and no. I simply listened to the Voice that told me my current-day understanding was wrong and investigated using tools that anyone can access today. I stopped reading and searched these tools. I didn’t leave this passage until I found the answer from a trusted source that was in line with the God that I know. 

As I understand it, interpreting ancient texts is nothing like translating from one language to another present day language. When my understanding of new Gen Z terms like “skibidi Ohio” is sketchy, how can text from over 3000 years ago be easy to decipher? Imagine how someone 2000 years from now would understand the title of this article.

I must rely on people who study this ancient language for a living. One theologian (I can’t remember who), said that the Bible was a collection of works by inspired authors about their view of God from their place in history, each like a facet of a gemstone. So to understand scripture I must immerse myself in the culture of the author and read it from that perspective. 

Reading the Bible is not like reading a novel, although some parts like Esther are more readable than others. It is rather, a seeking-type reading. I must be careful not to pluck scripture out of context of the culture in which it was written and apply it to support my opinion. I am sure I have done this in my lifetime and I believe that those who do this publicly on social media will be held accountable for this someday, even if it is a click-of-the-button repost. 

I have an understanding of the character of God that came about over 65 years of sermons, prayers, Bible lessons and experiences. But I still need to slow down when I read the Bible. I still need to seek out meaning and not take everything at face value. I still need to listen to scholars who study the ancient text. But most of all, I need to listen to the Voice that tells me when I am getting it wrong and approach the Bible with an open heart and prayer.