If you can't do it right...

I hear the nagging words of my mother, "If you can't do it right, don't do it at all." I honestly can't say I remember a specific situation where I was given this command, and yet I have it somewhere in the back of my head. While many people use this as an excuse to avoid trying something new, or avoid something better, the truth is that there is definitely a time and place for this advice. Sword swallowing. Knife throwing. Those immediately come to mind. And why? For no other reason then our own safety and the safety of those around us.

I love the translation of Malachi 1 in The Message:

A Message. God's Word to Israel through Malachi: God said, "I love you." You replied, "Really? How have you loved us?" "Look at history" (this is God's answer). "Look at how differently I've treated you, Jacob, from Esau: I loved Jacob and hated Esau. I reduced pretentious Esau to a molehill, turned his whole country into a ghost town."

When Edom (Esau) said, "We've been knocked down, but we'll get up and start over, good as new," God-of-the-Angel-Armies said, "Just try it and see how far you get. When I knock you down, you stay down. People will take one look at you and say, 'Land of Evil!' and 'the God-cursed tribe!'

"Yes, take a good look. Then you'll see how faithfully I've loved you and you'll want even more, saying, 'May God be even greater, beyond the borders of Israel!'

"Isn't it true that a son honors his father and a worker his master? So if I'm your Father, where's the honor? If I'm your Master, where's the respect?" God-of-the-Angel-Armies is calling you on the carpet: "You priests despise me!

"You say, 'Not so! How do we despise you?'

"By your shoddy, sloppy, defiling worship.

"You ask, 'What do you mean, "defiling"? What's defiling about it?'

"When you say, 'The altar of God is not important anymore; worship of God is no longer a priority,' that's defiling. And when you offer worthless animals for sacrifices in worship, animals that you're trying to get rid of—blind and sick and crippled animals—isn't that defiling? Try a trick like that with your banker or your senator—how far do you think it will get you?" God-of-the-Angel-Armies asks you.

"Get on your knees and pray that I will be gracious to you. You priests have gotten everyone in trouble. With this kind of conduct, do you think I'll pay attention to you?" God-of-the-Angel-Armies asks you.

"Why doesn't one of you just shut the Temple doors and lock them? Then none of you can get in and play at religion with this silly, empty-headed worship. I am not pleased. The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is not pleased. And I don't want any more of this so-called worship!

"I am honored all over the world. And there are people who know how to worship me all over the world, who honor me by bringing their best to me. They're saying it everywhere: 'God is greater, this God-of-the-Angel-Armies.'

"All except you. Instead of honoring me, you profane me. You profane me when you say, 'Worship is not important, and what we bring to worship is of no account,' and when you say, 'I'm bored—this doesn't do anything for me.' You act so superior, sticking your noses in the air—act superior to me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies! And when you do offer something to me, it's a hand-me-down, or broken, or useless. Do you think I'm going to accept it? This is God speaking to you!

"A curse on the person who makes a big show of doing something great for me—an expensive sacrifice, say—and then at the last minute brings in something puny and worthless! I'm a great king, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, honored far and wide, and I'll not put up with it!"

The people of God had definitely put themselves in a situation where if they weren't going to do it right, they shouldn't be doing it at all. Their motives were wrong even if their actions were right.

Sometimes I worry that God is watching our generation and saying the same thing.

Finisher's Medal

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8, NIV)

The idea of a finisher's medal never really appealed to me until I found myself taking my last steps across a finish line, 12k from where I started 92 minutes and 41 seconds previously. Though I finished in the top 1/3 of females that day (7490 of 24,139), I hardly deserved an award for performance. True, my finishing time was about ten minutes faster than I had ever trained at home - thank you race day adrenaline - but it was hardly something I would brag about.

If on race day, they were only handing out awards for those who deserve it, very few would have received one; and if God's handing out awards for those who deserve it, none would receive it. You see, essentially, none of us are able to run the exact race we were intended to. We've fallen and failed along the way, but the joy is in getting back up and pushing on. God is a righteous Judge and sees our heart and our efforts.

So, maybe a finisher's medal is cool to me now, because I have one. Or maybe it's because I know I am still in the middle of a race, one that will eventually award me an even cooler finisher's medal, the crown of righteousness.

Boyscouts

One day about a year and a half ago, upon seeing the boyscout group at our local park, I asked Jacob if he'd like to be a boyscout. Adamantly, he answered he did not. He had developed some very strong feelings about them, which I thought was interesting since I don't know any boyscouts and I didn't think he did either. Fast forward to last week when I picked up Jacob from school. There were boys dressed in their uniforms, ready to go to their meeting. It all made sense now. He had obviously had an encounter or learned the reputation of one or more of the boyscouts at his school.

A few bad apples, right?

So many times I hear of the reputation many so-called Christians have earned for those of us earnestly trying to follow God. Christians are often stereo-typed for the wrong doings of those who called themselves something they never really were.

Or worse: sometimes Christians are exactly what the masses are perceived as, but we are too self-righteous to see it, humble ourselves, and ask God to change us.

Sympathy

So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (1 Corinthians 12:25-26)

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15)

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8)

In the past month, I've had two eye opening experiences that have taught me I need to be more sympathetic.

Experience 1:
My oldest son, Jacob, is eight years old and has had vary levels of speech therapy since he was five. After three years he is much better then when started. I remember distinctly telling the first therapist we met with that most of the time when he talks I had to translate because people who didn't talk to him everyday literally could not understand him. We started with two one hour therapy sessions each week, and Jacob now only has to go once a week for thirty minutes at a time. Here we are years later, and my younger son, Josiah, who is now four has begun to show many of the same sign. We've had him tested, and sure enough, he will begin to have speech therapy in the fall when school resumes. But meanwhile, Jacob gives Josiah such a hard time about the way he talks. It would be one thing if he was correcting him to help him say things correctly, but sometimes he is just being mean. Of all the people that should be sympathetic to Josiah's situation, it should be Jacob, right?

Experience 2:
A few weeks ago, for several days when I leave Josiah at my mom's house, Ty (another little boy who she watches, who is only 1) would cry. I know Ty likes me, but it's not enough that my leaving each day would make him cry. It really feels like he is trying to experience the pain that Josiah should feel (and who incidentally could not care less when I leave... lol). What a sweet expression of sympathy and compassion!


So where are you? If you're anything like me, you have far too many days when you are not sympathetic toward someone experiencing difficulty. Shame on me for those times, especially when it's an experience I've already come through.

Any size you want

You're going to read a phrase a lot in this one: Completely Honest.

If I asked you to pick the clothing size you want to be, what would you say? Let's be completely honest - most people would pick a size smaller than they are. However, I propose that the size you are IS the size you want to be. You may dream of being a smaller size, but that is different. What do I mean? Even if you are completely unhappy with your clothing size, you are that size because you want it more or less than something else. Your size is a direct result - albeit confusing and mysterious at times - of the effort you put into it.

Tangent Alert: I'm not denying that there often genetic issues that are completely out of our control, causing a person to be thinner or larger. However, if we're being completely honest, in the majority of situations size is a direct result of diet, exercise, and social influence. Agree?

Ok, back to my last pre-tangent thought: The effort you put into it. When I am able to eat healthy and exercise frequently I find that my fat reduces and my muscle increases. Not necessarily rapidly or consistently, but there are definite changes in my body that do not occur when eating without regard and not staying active. Furthermore, I continue to read that eating healthy makes you want to exercise and vice versa.

So I am here to say that your faith, also, can be any size you want. Do you want to live a pseudo-Christian life? Though if we are going to be completely honest, is there really such a thing as pseudo-Christian? It's the religious equivalent of being half-pregnant. You either are, or you aren't.

Putting aside for a moment the items that you are pre-disposed to - a short temper, addiction, worry, or really anything that draws you away from God - what do you chose to do with your faith? Will you exercise it for the muscle it is and make it grow? Or will you feed the sinful nature that wants so many things that will ultimately lead to death?

As with diet and exercise, when you have victories in your faith over the little trials it is so much easier to be victorious over the big ones.