Stockholm Syndrome: a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger (or at least risk) in which they have been placed.
Thank-you, Wikipedia.
God freed me from a lot this summer. A lot of misconceptions of Him, a lot of destructive habits and relationships, a lot of negative thought patterns. But lately I've felt like the Israelites moaning and groaning in the desert, thinking life was better back in Egypt.
The best word to describe it is discomfort. I feel ungrateful saying this, but I had learned to be quite comfortable in my moping depression. And nothing keeps you warm at night like a burning grudge.
Every circumstance is a blessing from God. If it brings you closer to Him, it doesn't matter if the circumstance is 'good' or 'bad'. The challenge is to grow closer to him in both. I'm pretty sure I mastered 'bad', but now its time to figure out 'good'.
Thankfully the Psalmist struggled with the same thing. Psalm 116 literally just blew my mind with its extraordinary relevance. Go read it.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Delicate Art vs Reckless Abandon
A homeless guy approached me today.
Actually, that's a lie. I approached him. I'd talked to him before, and I saw him outside of Calvary Temple this evening, so I went to ask how he was doing. He couldn't remember my name, but remembered where we had talked. He said things were not going well, and updated me on the list of new illnesses and maladies that were plaguing him and his wife. He gave me a very thorough description of their needs, both health and financial. Upon hearing this, I was disturbed by the usual questions about the validity of his needs and what he was actually going to do with the money I gave him.
Last time I talked with this guy, I received some very wise words from a friend of mine whom I greatly respected. We'll call her Crepe (I like giving my friends food names). She said that God, in giving just as in all things, cares more about the motivation behind the action than the action itself. So if giving (or not giving) is done out of suspicion or prejudice, that is not bringing glory to God the way giving cheerfully does.
Discernment has always been something I struggle with. Judgment is something I ask God to help me with quite regularly, but I think in this case it would be merely over-complicating things.
Giving is not a delicate art, it is reckless abandon.
Jesus never said "I was naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you fed me, I was poor and you didn't help me out because you suspected I might blow it on smokes."
Actually, that's a lie. I approached him. I'd talked to him before, and I saw him outside of Calvary Temple this evening, so I went to ask how he was doing. He couldn't remember my name, but remembered where we had talked. He said things were not going well, and updated me on the list of new illnesses and maladies that were plaguing him and his wife. He gave me a very thorough description of their needs, both health and financial. Upon hearing this, I was disturbed by the usual questions about the validity of his needs and what he was actually going to do with the money I gave him.
Last time I talked with this guy, I received some very wise words from a friend of mine whom I greatly respected. We'll call her Crepe (I like giving my friends food names). She said that God, in giving just as in all things, cares more about the motivation behind the action than the action itself. So if giving (or not giving) is done out of suspicion or prejudice, that is not bringing glory to God the way giving cheerfully does.
Discernment has always been something I struggle with. Judgment is something I ask God to help me with quite regularly, but I think in this case it would be merely over-complicating things.
Giving is not a delicate art, it is reckless abandon.
Jesus never said "I was naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you fed me, I was poor and you didn't help me out because you suspected I might blow it on smokes."
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Magic vs Logic
I have just returned from a four month stint of euphoric bliss in the hidden gem known as Camp Nutimik. It was wonderful. When people ask me why it was so wonderful, my answer (on a personal level, at least) is always the same: It was a chance for God to take me out of my circumstances (which were dismal at best), and start a relationship with me that transcended said circumstances. Instead of basing my perception of Him on the events around me, I will base my perception of the events around me on His goodness and sovereignty. And that rocks.
But it leads me to wonder...is this transformation a magical one or a logical one? It's clearly nothing short of a miracle, but did God take my mind and heart and do a total makeover? Or did he simply give me a purpose at camp that took a higher priority than all the problems, stresses, and temptations of city life?
A skeptic would undoubtedly say (haha, that sentence makes me chuckle...can a skeptic say ANYTHING undoubtedly?) that the change I've experienced was merely a result of having a purpose that therefore distracted me from said problems, stresses, and temptations. And I would have to agree. It's difficult to disagree with a skeptic who clearly explains how a logical surgery can save a life.
But the reason I deem this good enough to put on the interweb for the benefit of millions of faceless readers is this: We need to learn to see the magic in logic. We can't let our ability to explain a miracle (whether it be a life changed at camp or a life saved by surgery) take away from our awe at the end result. Why must something be above our level of reasoning for it to woo us? Afterall, reason itself is God's invention...suck on that, skeptics! :P
But it leads me to wonder...is this transformation a magical one or a logical one? It's clearly nothing short of a miracle, but did God take my mind and heart and do a total makeover? Or did he simply give me a purpose at camp that took a higher priority than all the problems, stresses, and temptations of city life?
A skeptic would undoubtedly say (haha, that sentence makes me chuckle...can a skeptic say ANYTHING undoubtedly?) that the change I've experienced was merely a result of having a purpose that therefore distracted me from said problems, stresses, and temptations. And I would have to agree. It's difficult to disagree with a skeptic who clearly explains how a logical surgery can save a life.
But the reason I deem this good enough to put on the interweb for the benefit of millions of faceless readers is this: We need to learn to see the magic in logic. We can't let our ability to explain a miracle (whether it be a life changed at camp or a life saved by surgery) take away from our awe at the end result. Why must something be above our level of reasoning for it to woo us? Afterall, reason itself is God's invention...suck on that, skeptics! :P
Why is a blog?
This is the question I ask myself as I embark on this blogging adventure. You see, a blog is not a diary. It is not a bowl for your mind and heart to vomit in whenever they please. If a diary is a raw jam session, a blog is a studio album...honest, yet refined to a point where its meaning transcends the literal events on which the songs are based. I want this blog to be pensive without being melodramatic, philosophical without being meaningless, and honest while still being Truthful. Or Truthful while still being honest...I'm not sure which side of the razor's edge is easier to fall from.
Anyway, if this blog fails to be any of these things, let me know. Or, if you are capable of extracting my home address from various online sources, please come to my house and smack me upside the head.
Thank you.
Anyway, if this blog fails to be any of these things, let me know. Or, if you are capable of extracting my home address from various online sources, please come to my house and smack me upside the head.
Thank you.
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