A Reminder of My Selfishness

Recently Michelle and I have been contemplating a change in lifestyle. Specifically, we are investigating a change in our diet to eat more healthily. In the interest of full disclosure, she has been looking at these options for quite some time now, but I have only recently begun to do so.
My contemplation of this lifestyle change is not because I am particular unhealthy, but mainly because I feel compelled to be a better steward of the body that God has given me. However, just considering this change is killing me. I want to be healthier, but I sure don’t want to have to change to do so. I want to keep eating exactly the way I have been but get a different result – isn’t that the definition of insanity?

The process I have described above has driven me to the realization of how pathetically selfish I am. Every time I turn around, I am confronted with my desire to have my own way and satisfy the lust of my flesh. This is not good! I want to be more self-less, NOT selfish! One of the passages of Scripture that is near to my heart is Philippians 2:3.

Philippians 2:3 (NASB)
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
Copyright by The Lockman Foundation. Used with permission. http://www.Lockman.org

I cannot fully explain how it has happened, but over the past 10 years of my walk with the Lord my heart has been radically changed with a desire to serve others. This requires that I act unselfishly. The realization that I described above is merely another layer of living flesh that I must allow to die in order to more closely walk with Christ.

Each time that I am brought to the place of dealing with my own selfishness, I am challenged to consider the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. His sacrifice was His life. Whatever sacrifice I must endure pales in comparison. One of the truths by which I live is that NO SACRIFICE IS TOO GREAT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. I look forward to expounding on this as I continue my journey of writing. For now please know that I am selfish, but Christ has given me a new heart. I intend to be more like Him each day going forward.

How about you? In what areas of life has God challenged you?

The Importance of Support

I am very thankful for the support system that God has put into place in my life. There are several key people that play this role for me, but none is closer to me than my husband. He and I are on the "front lines", if you will, with one another. When I am down, he generally hears about it before anyone else. And on the rare occasion that he is having a bad day, I am usually the first to hear about it.

I must confess that I have not always been very good about supporting Mark when he is down without joining him. I tend to be the more pessimistic (I prefer to call it realistic) of the two of us. This is part of the reason that it is good that our support system includes more than just each other. God has provided several people in our lives who know us and love us unconditionally. When we are blinded to the truth, it is comforting to know that we have others who love us enough to set us straight.

In case you haven't noticed, life is not always easy. It doesn't always go as we plan. Sometimes things happen that do not feel good. We may embrace the adventure that is this life one day and want to run screaming away from it the next. Our walk is not always as confident as our talk. This seeming contradiction is not hypocritical. It is simply part of being human, and it is a primary reason that it is not good for any of us to isolate ourselves.

Even King Solomon, arguably one of the wisest people to ever live, recognized the foolishness of trying to go it alone. He wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter four:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:

10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights reserved. The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

Have you ever picked up a stick and snapped it in two? It breaks pretty easily. Pick up two sticks, and they are more difficult to break. Three sticks are not easily broken when held together. A fistful of sticks together can be impenetrable.

Each of us falls down, and each of us needs those who love us enough to help us back up. Do you have a support system in place in your life? Who can you turn to when the adventure of life seems to overpower you?

I Want to Live the Adventure

Last night I set up to record a basketball game on our DVR. About 45 minutes after the game started, I prepared to start watching the game from the beginning. The game went back and forth resulting in a close game with only a few minutes remaining. Many times in situations like these, Michelle likes to go find out who has already won the game. You may have experienced this before: you record the BIG game and then you have to try to avoid all sources of media in order to shield yourself from seeing the result before you watch it.

I am reminded of a very early episode of Seinfeld in which Jerry recorded a Mets baseball game. As he was sitting down to watch the game his phone rings. He prepares himself and then answers the phone. Rapidly, he says, “If you know what happened in the Mets-game, don't say anything, I taped it, hello.” Then Kramer enters and they start a conversation. Kramer sees that the Mets are on TV and he says “Boy, the Mets blew it tonight, huh?” Jerry is devastated. “Ooohhhh, what are you doing? Kramer, it's a tape! I taped the game, it's one o'clock in the morning! I avoided human contact all night to watch this.” I am Jerry! For me, it destroys the experience of watching the game if I already know the end result. For Michelle, it is completely the opposite. She can’t stand the suspense and, therefore, likes to know the result before beginning to watch.

As I pondered over this difference, I wondered why each of us have different dispositions regarding wanting to know what’s going to happen. I thought about other areas of my life. One example I came up with is reading books. I am not one to read the end of a book first. I would rather enjoy the adventure as it unfolds. As I mulled this over in my mind, I thought of future events in my own life. Do I really want to know what is going to happen to me? I am not sure I know the answer to that question.

Last fall ABC television introduced a series called FlashForward. The show revolves around a global blackout in which everyone (or seemingly everyone) blacked out for two minutes and seventeen seconds. During this time they either had a vision of what they were doing at a precise moment on April 29, 2010, or they saw nothing. The people who saw nothing come to the conclusion that this means they will be dead on April 29th. The other people who saw something are affected in various ways by what they saw. Some are energized by what they saw, and it gives them hope. Some are grief stricken by what they saw, and it troubles them greatly. Either way it starts to affect their behavior.

If we knew the future, I think we would react much the same way. We would constantly be plotting to either try to avoid it or try to make it happen. This would remove the adventure from our lives! Over the past year and a half, we have lived an adventure. I found a new job, we moved across country, we found a new church … I could go on and on. In my wife’s last post, she referenced Romans 8:28.

Romans 8:28 (NASB) And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Copyright by The Lockman Foundation. Used with permission. http://www.Lockman.org

I find comfort in the fact that God is working all things for our good. I agree with her sentiments.

“What can I possibly find about which to worry or fear when God has promised that He is working all things for my ultimate good? I am not saying it is easy, especially when things happen that do not feel good”.

I am regularly challenged to embrace the adventure that is this life. However, I think knowing the future would only serve to compound the way of thinking about events that occur in my life. I choose daily to place myself into the hands of the God of this universe who, I trust, can lead, guide, and direct me along the right path for my life. The path will not always be easy but it will be an adventure.

Do you want to live the adventure?