A PEEK INTO THE MINDS OF AN IDEALIST AND A REALIST - IN CONTRAST TO THE MIND OF GOD – PART TWO

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. Jos 1:3 

Idealists are rarely happy people. They are born sorrowful and they die sorrowful. The idealist lives on pain. It’s his aphrodisiac. He sees the whole world as a sea of agony. He is a shrink buff and the psychiatrist is his best comfort. But if the idealist is the ‘idol of the theatre’, the realist is the ‘idol of the market’.

There are two groups of church going people at any one time and who all claim to be born again. One group is devout. It contributes heavily to church. The other group is grumpy and ever finding fault (And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. Mar 7:2). They don’t give easily. And in the rare circumstance they do, they follow it up with the rider that they are giving but they don’t really see the reason why they should. These cast a dark shadow upon everyone’s attempt to be happy. They seem to take a grim satisfaction in the fact that they are poor as if that confers on them righteousness. They hate the rich. They denounce them as robbers and devil worshippers. I attended a funeral recently where the preacher belonged to this school of thought. People walked away and I followed them. That is the view of any realist.

God wants us to be rich yes and in all things (For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. Luk 12:30). And Christians should not be ashamed about it. There is a sickening poverty, so debilitating and so dehumanizing that this cannot be said to be glorious to God. No gospel should glorify such things. It is to be unrealistic. John Piper’s Christian Hedonism has covered this topic extensively and is a good read for anyone wishing to expand their knowledge on this topic. It is impossible to worship God on an empty stomach. That is realism. And Jesus recognized it. He gave the people bread to eat. And therein lies a double edged sword as everything in Scripture is. Jesus didn’t teach people how to make their own bread. He wasn’t an entrepreneur. And up to today there are people who follow him – but not for his teaching (This is an hard saying; who can hear it?) but for his bread. This is why there are unending fights in the church. Everybody wants to sit as near the treasury box as possible. And in that sense Christianity becomes more like any worldly business enterprise. Unfortunately the realists have filled the temple – while the idealists wander alone in dry places. The church is crying again for real saints – the shepherds who live and smell like the sheep.

The church has unfortunately killed many as well – and who have found refuge in poverty – not because they love it – but because it quietens their demons. Their heart flutters with the idea of being rich and great. But on the other hand they were taught from childhood to denounce riches and hate rich people. Instead they were taught to glorify poverty! And because they are caught up between the two opposing schools of thoughts – they are forever trapped in that middle ground of indecisiveness. And this is what happens when one suppresses their God given ambitions because of fear. Sadly they end up in life bitter and depressed. Christ calls us to a life of self-denial. Christ also calls us to an abundant life. Christ therefore becomes both an idealist and a realist in that sense. If we adopt such an open ended worldview we shall all become tolerant, peace makers and God glorifying people on earth. Failure to do this we shall always be rubbing people the wrong way. We shall become unpleasant. But can one become all that and without compromising their core beliefs? Yes. Where there is love everything is possible. God is teaching the idealist that he alone is the final ideal – and final happiness. Paradoxically he is teaching both the idealist and the realist to hate themselves first and love God. Because it is only in him that they will begin to understand ‘these things’ – the things which so exasperated Nicodemus on that lonely night.

Theology is not esoteric. Theology does not happen in a vacuum. It happens in a real world of real people of divergent gifts, desires, colour and bearing. God make our ideals to flower. God make our realities come true! Let us begin to see our own Christian fiction writers, Christian poets, Christian entrepreneurs, Christian C.S Lewis’s and Christian politicians, all thriving and getting rich in the world without being ashamed about it – and may all these redound to the praise and glory of you O God! Amen.

A PEEK INTO THE MINDS OF AN IDEALIST AND A REALIST - IN CONTRAST TO THE MIND OF GOD – PART ONE

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go. Exo 5:1a

  

The idealist lives in in his mind. It is his home. But the idealist is a poor lover. He only speaks truth and the language of love hates hard facts. The realist is a good lover. His face is his cover. He lies with his eyes wide open. When a realist looks at a dead body he sees a dead body. An idealist sees a sad poetry book written on the face of the dead body. He carries that face home and ponders at the meaning of life. The realist goes to the bar where he drinks and laughs as if nothing has happened. ‘Let us drink for tomorrow we die’ is his mantra.
 

God’s call is The Ten Commandments. You are inside or you are out. The realist does not give a whiff. They are not real. The idealist sees another trick by the zealots to imprison him. And he does not care, though sometimes they prick something sacred inside his mind. The idealist hates them. But the pricking never stops. It gets intense every day. And the hatred. And the disillusionment.  If he is bold he picks a gun and pumps a bullet into his head and the pricking goes silent forever. His ideas had failed him. He dies angry. Depression killed him. But his disciples follow him to the cemetery where his grave becomes a shrine. They read his face and go home where they write tomes of books. His comrades make big money out of his death.

An idealist can be a savior or he can be a tyrant, like Stalin or Hitler. A religious idealist may be worse. They kill people in the name of God. When Martin Luther penned his Ninety-Five theses on the wall he was being both an idealist and a realist. Something needed to be done and he did it. He protested, and we have followed his example up to this day. The church had earned its bath. But we still protest. Religion is good. It can free a man completely or it can send him to the gallows or sanatorium.

But no race on earth has been affected so adversely by religion as the black man. It took away everything he had, his land, his culture, and his gods. It made him a slave. And he accepted his fate. But some rose up in rebellion to reclaim what was theirs. And ever since the black man has been suspicious of everything, especially if it’s coming from outside Africa. That is realism. Moses became a hero not just for Israel but for the black man. ‘Let my people go!’ became a rallying call for blacks (or slaves) everywhere in the world. Theology generally makes the black man suspicious. There are too many disagreements amongst its proponents. He hates it. But he is also easily enslaved. And he has stuck with the God of Mt. Sinai up to this day. But he has also a great suspicion of Paul because he did not marry, and he talked a great deal about the death of the flesh and enslavement – while everywhere people were getting freer and richer! Some churches simply don’t care about Paul. They are religious realists and not idealists. A man must marry and have children and get rich and that is that. It’s reality.

And so the rose grows dim. Its shine begins to fade. And though it smells like a rose but it is no longer a rose.

‘Where have they put my Lord?’ cried Mary. And in our day one may be led to ask the same question. The colleges we attend are too many. And the disagreements they generate are too many. It is no wonder some come out unbelieving, cynical, and doubtful. Nihilism and absurdity naturally sets it. So in the end the idealist goes to the sanatorium and the realist goes to his church. He doesn’t so much care about the God of his preacher. He has formed his own God in his mind and that is his reality. God help us to recover our ideals again, and our Jesus. Help us to become bold and submissive. Help us not buy into the ideal of the world. Help us to hear only your voice and to trust it. In Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.

DECISIONS AND THE FEAR OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: Mar 4:24a. Take heed therefore how ye hear: Luk 8:18a. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life. Deu 32:47a.  

Misunderstandings can be lethal. It is what befell Judas Iscariot the son of Simon after he fatally misunderstood Christ. Lot’s wife however chose to deliberately misunderstand the angel, and hence her stony demise.

But being misunderstood hurts. And perhaps for fear of being misunderstood a lot of people consciously choose to zip their lips for life. But that is the cowardly way and I shouldn’t advise anyone to take it. For no one really can be free in this life with their mouth shut. And depression loves a people who are afraid to talk.

The result is that such a life can stagnate. And one can hardly live to their full potential, if they are forever afraid of being misunderstood. However a life rooted in Christ should not have such a fear. A life in Christ is a peaceful life. The knowledge of truth sets one free, and ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed’ (Joh 8:36). However for many they are still in a cage. And even worse no one recognizes they are in prison until the day they get out. But when they do no one ever forgets such a day.

But perhaps there are times when we ask to be misunderstood, especially when we choose to be vague. We know politicians love this game, and pseudo lovers, and many others whose professions bloom in darkness. I think it is why Jesus put a heavy accent on the matter of speaking plainly. It is why he taught it is better to stick always to yes or no monosyllables. A few texts render this plainly. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Mat 5:37. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Mat 12:36-37. In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Pro 10:19. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Mat 11:15. 

Hearing takes great responsibility. What you hear. And how you hear. You are liable to misunderstand people if you don’t listen to them well. Equally one is liable to open themselves for misunderstanding if they are not plain. Other times we have chosen deliberately what we want to hear. Lovers, like lawyers, are notorious for asking leading questions, or shutting their ears when they choose to. And the results for such deliberate short sightedness are always far reaching.

Parables may be said to be vague – but where Jesus meant them to be taken that way, he did not hide that fact from his own disciples. The vagueness, I think, was actually a rebuke to the intended audience. We abhor calling a spade a spade, sometimes for political expediency. But no, we should speak plainly at all times and not necessarily in parables… It is God who takes a cowardly or reluctant person and makes them orators. He did with Moses. He did with Jonah. He did with Paul. What is your greatest fear? Is it holding you back? Allow God into your life and watch him transform you into a Moses, a Gideon, or an Esther. Don’t be satisfied with less but make your intentions clearly known by all.

It is always easier to say one heard incorrectly of course. But that is the cowardly route and not the courageous one. Rather say what you mean and mean what you say. And don’t forget that character is never quite far from what we mean. Don’t be in a haste to agree to things. And don’t feel ashamed for not understanding things quickly the first time. Ask again. Because, in the final analysis, the choice of what to hear, and how to hear it, can mean the choice between life or death, or between a blessing and a curse. God, help us know ourselves, so we may know you better, and everything else around us.

WHY BEING BOLD IN OUR GENERATION IS VERY HARD – PART THREE

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Jos 1:9  

Fear cripples. It paralyses. And because of it lives die. And yet when one has missed that - his true calling in this life, then automatically he sets himself up for depression throughout his entire life. No two people are exactly alike in this life whether in their desires, eccentricities or foibles. We all have crosses and temptations but which are particular to our own individual and unique self.

And frictions happen because we forget that, or because of what the writer George Morrison has called The Tyranny of Type in one of his devotional sermons. But many times we shun our callings in life because they are not popular, or there is no money in them, or because of outright fear. And so many bury their talents, like the man in the parable. But the end result for abandoning one’s calling is always depression later on in life.

I have met people. But they had been silent all their lives. And then they spoke, as if out of the blue. I didn’t know them, and they didn’t know me. But they spoke. And nothing but pathos came running like a flood out of their mouths. Why did they speak to me like that, and not to their loved ones? In a drift, they decried their lost lives. They had gained everything in life but what they had lost in it was much, much more! It is interesting. To escape poverty they had closed their eyes to everything. And now riches had opened their eyes to everything. It is a sudden clarity which can blind, kill or redeem when it strikes one.   

‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning’ (Jas 1:17). May God grant us all the courage to live that truth. Yes it is sad but true. One can be in ministry and be depressed all their lives. One can also be in full ministry but only become born again after they have retired. Even sadder one can be in marriage and be lonely all their lives - until they go back to the field and search the place where they had buried their gift! And finding it they find themselves for the first time in their lives. But even more than finding themselves they find a treasure or the pearl of their lives – their God! And it is only then they can begin to enjoy their God in truth and spirit, and even more, they begin to understand for the first time the real meaning of fear and courage.

Writes Paul the following nuggets concerning spiritual gifts: ‘Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant… Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all… For the body is not one member, but many (1Co 12:1, 4-6, 14).  ‘For I would that all men were even as I myself’ expounds Paul, ‘But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that… Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God’ (1Co 7:7, 24). Be bold therefore, brothers and sisters (encourages Paul further), for, ‘Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men’ (1Co 7:23). And once you get your gift back, that satisfaction will begin to show on your face not only now, but it will continue even in your death and after. God we desire to glorify your name forever. Please help us find the purposes for which you called us here!

HopeisnotAshamed

HERE IS HOW HEAVEN CAN BEGIN TO LOOK LIKE RIGHT HERE!

Psa 15:1  A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 

The life of a Christian is a separate life. It is a tabernacle life. Peter called it ‘a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people’ life (1Pe 2:9),

‘that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light’. It is the life of a sojourner. It is a heroic life. We are in the world but not of the world. To fail to acknowledge this will lead to a most depressing life.

Psa 15:2  He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Here is what distinguishes a heroic person from a fearful one. To walk uprightly takes courage. To work righteously takes courage. To speak the truth from the heart is to touch heaven with one’s hand!

Psa 15:3  He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 

Neighbours can test one’s patience to the limit. But if one can live peacefully with one all the days of their lives then no doubt one has seen God.

Psa 15:4  In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. 

The heroic gets even tougher. These days of easy murders it takes great courage to call a spade a spade. People fear death. People fear to antagonize. To speak differently is to invite wrath and hate. But one who does that has tasted freedom.

Psa 15:5  He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Money is a great tempter. So great Judas betrayed Jesus because of it. So great in fact someone will sell their own mother or father without blinking…. These are betting days. So it is very easy to bet with one’s soul as well but when that is gone it is gone. Put cash on the table and eternal life by its side and then choose one. More than half the people in the house will choose money. It is tangible. It is ready. It is easy. The short term will always appeal. But it will fade, it will fly away. Yes the eternal, the unseen…will always glow from a distance. It may seem far…but it will come. And that is what makes the waiting seem like nothing…because it will come! Yes we shall not be moved but we shall wait for it all the days of our lives!

Hab 3:17  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 

Hab 3:18  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 

And that is surely something worth to sing about!

HopeisnotAshamed!

WHY BEING BOLD IN OUR GENERATION IS VERY HARD - PART TWO

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Jos 1:9 

It is possible to be bold, even though it is very hard. And fear is always the main culprit behind our lack of courage. It is no wonder then that the one word which rings again and again throughout the whole Bible is the injunction not to be afraid. But we may ask, is being courageous being without fear? And the answer is no! No one, even the most fearless soldier, is without a shred of fear inside them – only that it is usually very well hidden so that the people who are not supposed to see it don’t see it! The same applies to parents. No one would show their children their fear, because to a child no one is quite as brave as one’s dad in the whole world!

And so we can hide such things to a child anytime – or to ourselves. But no one can hide anything from God. And part of the reason, I think, God is hated so much in the world is because he knows too much! In our minds we equate him with a snoopy or nosey person. And such a person is always detestable! It is why darkness is loved by many. Because in darkness we can be ourselves and there (we imagine) no one can see us. But we are a contradictory lot. God is open and inviting. He wants to meet us, to know us, to have a conversation with us. He wants us to tell him all, yet it is all that we are usually very afraid to tell anyone. And yet we are born with this deep-seated hunger not only to be known but to be understood!

As a writer, I observe things very minutely. And like a camera there is no place where my eyes ‘feed’ on people’s expressions as well as at a wedding or a burial, especially the latter. I learn a lot not only from the faces of mourners but also from the face of the dead person before the lid is closed forever on their faces. It says a lot, sadly, and it is scary. But what is usually at the back of my mind is whether that person was a very brave soul or a very afraid one while they were alive.

Because we are naturally very fearful. It is why our first instinct at birth is to cry aloud and grope for a hand to hold us. We grow up afraid, and we enter life (from home) very afraid, and some leave it extremely afraid. Fear and courage are mere words. But what a depth of meaning underpins them! Yet it is that meaning, I think, which God calls us to understand – even more than getting ourselves understood. Because it is only God who can make us see ourselves for who we really are. Jesus told Peter he would betray him that night, and Peter ‘called’ Jesus a liar. But in the end Jesus proved Peter wrong. No one was as brave as Peter, and no one was as afraid as Peter! But in the end Peter learnt the truth bitterly about himself.

And we all do that, before we come of age, and though the bitterness can be quite crushing sometimes (leading us to weep like Peter) but it is necessary, before God can transit us from fear to courage. And because it is only in knowing God first that we should really know ourselves, or know anything. And if courage means anything at all to me, it is that. But even above courage it means having real freedom. And such a person always dies happy! God give us this courage!

HopeisnotAshamed

WHY BEING BOLD IN OUR GENERATION IS VERY HARD – PART ONE

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Jos 1:9  

This is a preamble, I hope, to a blog I intend to do on the topics of courage and fear…especially with regard to our Christian faith and discipleship. I don’t know where it will take me…but it is a journey I am just beginning right now. Please welcome and take a walk with me…

It is not easy to be bold in our time. Too many issues are usually at play in our busy lives these days that for a man to be a true man is a tricky undertaking.

First there is the issue of culture and how society expects ‘an African’ man (or woman) to behave. In short the conflict between modernity and old customs is a real one. We may think it is a conflict which dates to the days of colonialism, when it came, and what it left us with (their God and ways versus our gods and our ways)… but it dates far back to the first conflict in the Garden when Satan showed up and made our first parents wiser than their Maker had – or so they thought. And that was the first lie we believed.

They got wiser it is true but that wisdom has also brought us more tears than mirth. ‘They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul’ (Psa 106:13-15).  

The second lie I think was when we invented a short cut to reach heaven by our own merit. In truth though it was a long shot – which soon we abandoned anyway because no one could understand one another (while in truth it was after God came down himself to look and wonder at the deviousness and ingratitude of us mankind!). After that everyone left to their own homes and ancestors and then tribes were born… I think the third lie was that we had invented our own tribes as well.

But after that the lies just went on increasing.

‘Lo, this only have I found,’ groaned the king turned Preacher, “that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions’ (Ecc 7:29).

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But today the accent is chiefly on ‘My life, My choice’. And there are all sorts of social groups advocating for the rights of their ‘choice’ – such as gay and lesbian rights, Children rights, Women rights, Men rights, Atheist rights, Religious rights, Labour rights, Gun rights, People living in marginalized areas rights, Anarchy rights, and the list goes on and on! Our famed Enlightenment has sometimes left us looking like…!

And so it is hard these days for a man to be a true man. The debate what is truth and what is a lie is still raging I am afraid…

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So how was it during the days of the famed chivalries and stoicism ages? These were true men. But at what cost did they achieve their supremacies and greatness? Remember WWW 1 and 2 were basically wars of egos and who was more a man than the others. But all wars – including civil ones or tribal had first and foremost to do with the question of egos…And where egos have taken precedence there is usually a great dearth of sober thinking as we all know…

But let us debate these questions as we go on.

HopeisnotAshamed