wisdom

Trust, But Verify

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 148, Daniel 6:1-15, 2 John 1-13, Luke 5:12-26

A dedicated employee – or more specifically an overly-dedicated employee – can be a red flag to fraud investigators. That accounts payable manager who never takes vacation and works nights and weekends to make sure checks are getting cut may be doing those things so no one has a chance to notice the details. Such activity can go on for years until a change in pattern – such as a forced vacation – exposes the truth.

Former con-man and current FBI consultant Frank Abagnale Jr., whose story inspired the movie Catch Me If You Can and television show White Collar, pulled off many of his cons by presenting people what they expected or wanted to see. We expect someone in a pilot’s uniform (one of Abagnale’s many impersonations) to be a pilot. We don’t expect a long-time, dedicated employee to be a thief. Even if we are naturally skeptical, if we aren’t regularly practicing or studying deception, we probably aren’t skilled at anticipating it.

The Persian King Darius wasn’t anticipating deception from his appointed presidents and satraps (governors), but they were jealous of Daniel’s distinguished and reputable service. They trapped Daniel by flattering the king and convincing him to forbid, upon pain of being devoured by lions, that any of his subjects pray to any god or deity but Darius for the next thirty days. The conspirators knew Daniel would keep praying to God, so they reported him to Darius, who was reluctant but bound by his own law.

When Jesus sent his disciples out to spread the gospel, he advised them to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” It doesn’t take much wisdom to be skeptical of people we don’t like or agree with, but it takes some to determine at what level we should place our bar for “too good to be true.” Let’s avoid the trap Darius and Daniel fell into by not letting people or organizations exploit our ego, faith, or desire, perhaps by keeping in mind the Russian proverb: “trust, but verify.” We must love people, but that love is only blind when we close our eyes.

Comfort: You are allowed – even morally obligated – to think for yourself.

Challenge: No matter how much you respect someone, don’t trust them more than your conscience or your God.

Prayer: Loving God, teach me to find the balance between love and wisdom. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever fallen for a con because someone said what you wanted to hear?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group  or visit comfortandchallenge.tumblr.com. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Eggs and Scorpions

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 122; 149, Micah 7:1-7, Revelation 10:1-11, Luke 11:1-13

What is the difference between being persistent and being stubborn?

Jesus told his disciples a parable about a man who went to his friend’s house in the middle of the night to ask for three loaves of bread to share with an unexpected visitor. Because it was so late, the friend tried many excuses to turn the man away and stay in bed. In the end, Jesus said, the man got his bread not because of friendship but because of persistence. Jesus continued to say:

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Taken alone that last bit almost seems like a magic formula – just ask for what you want, and you’ll get it. Of course we know it doesn’t work out that way in real life. But just because we don’t get something right away doesn’t mean we should stop asking. Yes, God hears you the first time, but your persistence isn’t about changing God: it’s about changing you.

Jesus tells his disciples that when a child asks for an egg or a fish, a good parent doesn’t give them a scorpion or a snake. Better and more holy than the best of parents, God wants us to have things that are good for us. But what if the child, not knowing what adults know, asks for a scorpion? Or grabs for it? The good parent doesn’t allow it to happen. Eventually the child either grows more wise or gets stung.

And therein lies the difference.

With persistence comes growth and wisdom. God does not change, but our understanding does. Maybe we aren’t ready, maybe we don’t need it, and maybe we learn to live with not knowing. With stubbornness there is no change. We keep insisting on getting we want, and never learn to ask if we should. Both may result in getting what we ask for, but is it the egg or the scorpion?

Comfort: God wants only good for you.

Challenge: Make a list of the things you are asking God for, but have not yet received. Honestly evaluate whether you are being stubborn or persistent about each.

Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

Discussion: Today’s reading from Luke begins with a short version of The Lord’s Prayer. How do you think this is related to today’s topic?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Unlearning

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 65; 147:1-11, Micah 3:9-4:5, Revelation 8:1-13, Luke 10:17-24

It can be hard to tell when Jesus is paying you a compliment. Consider, for instance, these words he had for the disciples: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”

“Infants?” That must have drawn a little disciple side-eye. Jesus kept a supply of sharpened irony in his rhetorical toolbox.

The disciples had divested themselves of worldly interests and possessions and were following an itinerant, nearly homeless preacher endorsing a love so radical it bordered on naivety; they were about as far as you could get from the sophisticated and elite leaders of the world. The sophisticated and elite sought and held tightly to power – social, financial, and religious – in the vain hope it meant something. Our material successes will be meaningless and ultimately unfulfilling if we don’t understand them as means to serve a greater good, specifically the Kingdom of God. The greater our resources, the harder we must work to remain humble about their purpose and employ.

Jesus wasted no time tearing out any hint of worldly wisdom before it could take root in his disciples’ hearts. When they delighted in their own power to cast out demons, he told them: “Do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” A little earlier he’d had to set them straight about arguing over who among them was the greatest. Becoming truly wise and intelligent was a matter of unlearning what the world had taught them.

Of course not everyone who achieves worldly success is by default a spiritual failure. The ministry of Christ and his disciples depended in part on the support of people who had resources to spare. Homeless shelters and food banks need cash as much as they need volunteers. Wisdom knows our true joy, regardless of circumstance, is found in being citizens of God’s Kingdom. That joy frees us from worrying about looking wise or intelligent to the world, because we are children of God.

Comfort: You are not defined by your worldly status.

Challenge: Let yourself be a fool for Christ.

Prayer: Loving God, clear my head of the world’s ways, and fill it with Yours. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever held onto something that was bad for you, because letting it go might seem like failure?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Learn and Live

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 84; 148, Judges 9:1-16, 19-21, Acts 4:13-31, John 2:1-12

Many cultural commentators bemoan the rise of anti-intellectualism in America. While they do raise legitimate concerns, is it possible the underlying problem is not simply that some people distrust higher education and ignore science, but that we succumb to increasing pressure from media, political, and other forces to define ourselves in ever-widening opposition to each other? Once the idea of academic education became strongly associated with liberal values, many conservatives distanced themselves from it and many liberals began to address social conservatism as a cognitive deficit. Yet both the conservative and liberal movements contain intellectual powerhouses as well as people all across the intelligence scale; people of deep integrity and utter con artists; altruists and narcissists. Whether or not one has had the opportunity to choose specific forms of education is no indicator of morality or intelligence.

Of course this isn’t a new phenomenon. When Peter and John taught boldly in the public square, the rulers and elders of Jerusalem were astonished that “they were unschooled, ordinary men.” They were however fishermen, and successful fishermen had business savvy, an understanding of the elements, fluency in two or more languages, and various other knowledge that high priests may not have recognized or valued; moreover, they had qualities that Jesus valued. Because of their first-hand experience as disciples, Peter and John had wisdom to share with the people, and its truth trumped any class structure.

We need people with an education; specifically we need educated people who recognize their knowledge is not a weapon of class warfare, but a tool for service. We also need people whose knowledge and wisdom is grounded in something other than academia; people who have expertise in common sense – and enough common sense not to vilify or ridicule an academic education. Most of all we need people of all stripes who seek and appreciate the wisdom of people different from themselves.

Christ welcomes the noble and the peasant, the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor. He teaches us God values and loves each of God’s children equally. He invites us to do the same.

Comfort: You are not defined by what others have.

Challenge: Pick a topic that you don’t know  much about (and even better one that intimidates you a little) and talk to someone who is knowledgeable about it.

Prayer: God of Wisdom, teach me to see the diversity of your gifts in all people. Amen.

Discussion: When have you learned something from an unexpected source?

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Peace as Preparation

/ JJS / Leave a comment

Today’s readings: Psalms 18:1-20; 147:12-20, Zechariah 4:1-14, Revelation 4:9-5:5, Matthew 25:1-13

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In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus relates a parable about ten bridesmaids – five foolish and five wise. They all take lamps to meet the bridegroom, but only the wise ones take supplies to keep the lamps burning when the bridegroom is delayed. The foolish bridesmaids ask the other for oil, but the wise ones are wise enough to say no because they’d all be unprepared. The foolish bridesmaids leave to buy oil and return to find the bridegroom and wise bridesmaids have left them behind.

It’s not difficult to imagine the foolish bridesmaids thought of themselves as unlucky, or victims of the wise bridesmaids’ stingy nature. Very often what we call poor luck or unfairness is our own lack of preparation. How do we properly prepare for the kingdom of God?

By not giving away more oil than we can spare. That doesn’t mean a lack of generosity; we should be generous of spirit and wallet. The oil we need to keep topped off is the energy to stay vigilant for the presence of Christ in the world. Many things conspire to steal this energy if we allow them: demanding jobs,  busy social schedules, housekeeping, and so on. None of these things is inherently problematic – they are  mostly good! – but neither is any of them our true purpose. If we don’t learn to say “no more oil for you, foolish bridesmaid” the energy left over for worship, charity, and our relationship with God can quickly dwindle to nothing. And by the way, if we think of those as “left overs” the reserves are already below acceptable levels. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

Preparation means laying the groundwork for our whole lives, not just our spare time, to serve God. When we carefully steward our resources, we have enough energy to seek Christ and our peace in him. We must fill and refill our own lamps through prayer, service, rest, and worship.The wise will not save us from ourselves. Have you checked your oil lately? Tomorrow could be too late.

Comfort: It’s okay to do less so you can be more.

Challenge: Take an inventory of your obligations and eliminate the ones that drain your oil.