To Ponder 1 - Comparing People Leads to Favoritism

Judging, evaluating, and comparing people invariably lead us to show favoritism. Judging, evaluating, and comparing people contribute to our pride, envy, lust, and selfish ambition.

Eventually I would like to write up a more extended post on this topic. This statement is true for me. In addition to being interesting and helpful in their own right, any comments you care to make would help me write up something people might find more useful than if I just write it up on my own.

Some relevant Bible verses:

"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism." James 2:1

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2

"I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. " 1Corinthians 4:3-4

"Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load." Galatians 6:4-5

Beyond Obedience, Why Serve?

Beyond obedience to Christ, I serve in order to secure a reward, live well, and have fullness in Christ. I serve so that others might secure a reward, live well, and have fullness in Christ. I also serve for the sake of my friendship with Jesus Christ.

How do I secure a reward and live well? "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they might take hold of the life that is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (emphasis mine). God knows that I am not motivated by the ideal - that altruistic behavior is good for society. He knows that I am glad to do work that leads to fullness of life and a sure and substantial reward.

To have fullness in Christ is to be mature, complete, and able to do whatever Jesus calls me to do. It is the job of leaders in the church “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 6:12-13 It is by serving that I help draw non-believers to Jesus Christ. It is by serving and being served in the body of Christ that I build up others and I am built up myself. It is only by serving in unity with other believers that I can begin to have fullness in Christ. I believe that an individual’s fullness in Christ cannot be achieved independently. I believe that fullness in Christ cannot even exist apart from communion with Christ and communion with other believers.

I also serve for the sake of friendship. I know that Jesus loves me regardless of what I do or don’t do. However, friendship with Jesus requires me to act. So I serve in order to foster my friendship with Jesus. “You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:4. I believe that this statement actually gets at the basis of any real friendship. Friendship is more than having a good time with each other. Unless we make requests of each other and serve each another, we are not truly friends. In addition to demanding obedience, even Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

I find it difficult to serve people whose attitudes and actions hurt themselves and/or others. One thing that helps me is to first pray that God will bless them. If I can sincerely and earnestly pray that God will bless them (and I think this is a biblical thing to do – see Romans 12:14, Matthew 6:44-45, 48) then I can continue to be a blessing to them by serving them as God leads me to do.

Abba's Little Children

In stillness,
A little child knows Abba; Abba knows the little child...
me.
A little child experiences Abba; Abba experiences the little child...
all of me.

In activity,
Little children act in faith, hope and love…
Little children experience Abba
Little children experience one another
Unbelievers experience Abba.

Activity grows into stillness; stillness grows into activity.
More little children become
more like their Abba.

Simply Still

Wait, wait... in stillness I puff down.
Wait, wait... in stillness I believe
God exists and he is good.
I open a little door for God...
and wait.

Being Available

No matter how I try to get around it, I cannot be fully available to someone else without doing at least two things. I need to overcome my fear. I need to sacrifice myself.

I like talking with people, but I find it hard to be fully available even in conversation.To be fully available in conversation, I need to overcome my fear. I need to overcome my fear of inadequacy - of revealing my inadequacy through my stories; of being unable to respond adequately to something the other person reveals. I need to overcome my fear of drawing closer to others - will they think I am coming on too strong, will this lead to a relationship that sucks up more time and energy than I want to give, where I have to give a whole lot more than I get. I need to overcome my fear of losing my freedom. Will being fully available now lead to a situation that limits my options to relate to other people, do other things?

To be fully available in conversation, I need to sacrifice my desire to serve myself. I generally serve myself in two ways. First, I allow myself to be distracted. I am distracted by other people - people having conversations around me; people I want to talk to later, who might leave any second. I am distracted by the time. When the conversation goes beyond the time I am comfortable spending, I lose my focus. I am distracted by the person in front of me - unusual features or habits; feminine attributes (I am a guy who is embarrassingly easily distracted this way). Second, I manipulate the conversation to create opportunities make my story significant in the eyes of the other person rather than allow the other person's story to be significant to me.

The more I think about it, being available requires an all-out effort on my part. Yes, being available means being handy, accessible; being fully present and ready to serve. But being accessible is only the first step. Being available also implies being willing and able to serve. To be truly available to another person, it must be my heart's desire to serve, to do good for the sake of that person. Furthermore, out of my desire to serve, I need to take steps beforehand to build myself up and and be built up by others for works of service (see Ephesians 6:12-13). By being built up, I will be better suited for someone to avail themselves of any good works I am willing to do on their behalf.