Thursday, August 23, 2012

From Lack of Vision to God's Vision

Proverbs 29:18- Where there is no vision, the people perish; but happy is he who keeps the law.

When I read this scripture recently, I thought about the times in my life where things got rough. One common denominator is that I lost vision in some regard. Whether it was because I stopped seeking God’s wisdom, whether I forgot who I was, or that I let my circumstances overwhelm me, I realized that I did not have the right focus. The thing is, I don’t think that I am the only person out there who has fallen victim to distraction.

There are a lot of things out there that causes those distractions, and I am going to go through a few of the common ones. As always, I hope this is not preachy, because honestly I have had to get through a lot of these myself and my intent is to encourage and challenge people and redirect our vision. So, instead of…

Seeking Value from Others, realize that God views you as valuable. In Christ, no one is supposed to be viewed more valuable than the next. So next time you feel that you are not adding up to what someone else wants of you, remember people are not your audience. God is. He has placed you somewhere because you are valuable there (1 Corinthians 12: 15-26). Then we will see that God views us as valuable.

Worrying about provisions, remember that God will provide. It may seem rough right now, but if you are responsible with your finances God blesses you. I know from experience (as of right now). He takes care of things that are less valuable than ourselves, so how much more will he take care of us! (Luke 12:22-31) When we see (and remember) God’s provision, we will not fear tomorrow.

Trying to obtain more “stuff”, be content with what we have. Learning restraint and control in life is important because greed, addiction, and self-centered pursuit leads to ruin. Solomon learned that it is fruitless (Ecclesiates 2:10-11) and that envy is dangerous (Proverbs 14:30). It is tough in a materialistic world, but I remind myself that my possessions will not possess me… and that I am a steward of what God gives me. When we understand this principle, we see possessions for what they are: things.

Trying to hurry into marriage, focus on preparing yourself for marriage. This is why we should focus on becoming loving people (1 Cor 13:4-7, 8a), and ask God to take desire away for anything other than who he wants us to be with (Song of Songs 3:5). In doing so, we seek his vision for marriage rather than a hurried and chaotic approach that generally leads to negative results.

Acting on biases, try to understand the situation. What I have found is that if someone is mad at Christians (for example), they will LOOK for a reason to validate their biases. Proverbs describes this behavior as foolish (Proverbs 18:2), there is even an instruction to avoid people who are fools since they scorn wisdom (Proverbs 23:9). Proverbs 24:23 also mentions that judging with partiality is bad. This is why we must seek to righteously see people and situations the way God would see them.

Blaming others, examine what I can fix myself. One thing that I noticed is that men will blame women for dressing inappropriately, but they will not train their own mind to look away even if the person is modestly dressed. We have to give an account of ourselves to God (Romans 14:12), and I remind myself that everyday. As a teacher, I have a stricter call that keeps me motivated to keep a good example (James 3:1). In doing so, I honestly seek to see myself through God’s lens.

Getting angry and hurting people, try to bring peace and understanding to a situation (Proverbs 29:11). How somebody acts when they are distressed is a good view of their character. This is a hard lesson for some, and I had to learn that anger will not master me, I will master it. In doing so, we see that emotions can be controlled and not control us.

Remembering how people hurt you, find ways to forgive them. This one can be tough, but we are reminded to forgive others so that we too may be forgiven (Mark 11:25). Holding back forgiveness is poison to our souls, so it is important to let God deal with judging the sins of others. It is also a great feeling when you can release those burdens. I have also learned that the “Goliaths” in life are often times pathetic people who use their size, rank, and other advantages over those that are disadvantaged. When we see this, we can see how sad these people really are and have pity on them.

Feeling Worthless compared to others, know that God has made you unique and that you were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). You may not feel great all the time, but know that God wants you to be you and not anybody else. When we understand this, we see that we are important people after all!

“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but happy is he who keeps the law.”

All of the bold phrases above demonstrate lack of vision or faulty vision. This is when we direct our sight somewhere it should not be. But the good thing is that we have scripture and the Holy Spirit to guide us and show us who we really are.

Is it easy? Not always. Is it desirable? Not always? In fact, sometimes the world thrives and reveres some of those negative attributes. But God calls us to be different than that! God calls us to rise above that! In closing, my hope is that you will join me as I try to reassess where my vision lies. Join me as I seek to see the world through God’s lens rather than my faulty lenses. This week, find an area of your life that makes you feel discontent, and ask God to guide you to a healthier view of yourself. Thank you for reading, and may the Lord bless you!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Exodus Part 2: Little Gods

Previously, on “I love Jesus and Oreos”…

We found out why God hardened Pharaohs heart and why God seemed to orchestrate some evil deeds. As promised, I wanted to dive into the concept of the plagues and the deeper meaning behind it. Plus, I found that it is very applicable to our life… strictly inspiration, not meaning to pass it off as doctrine. Without further adieu, lets look at the different plagues…

Turning the Nile to Blood- Anyone that knows anything about Egypt is that the country is a ginormous desert. The main source of life is through the Nile. Hence, like a lot of primitive religions, they worshipped the source of their life. So what does God do? Takes the very thing that gives them their sense of existence and makes it untenable.

The Plague of Frogs- The frog was a symbol of fertility to the Egyptians, and it was worshipped. Like many cultures, having children is really important and the Egyptians are no different. God had a unique way of defeating this “god”, by amassing enough of this “god” that it stunk up the entire nation.

Plague of Gnats- Moses struck the ground and stirred up a swarm of gnats that harassed the men and animals. It becomes a nuisance to themselves.

Plague of Flies- God tells Moses to give Pharaoh the option of letting the Israelites go or he will further the plague. Pharaoh opts for the plague, and this time a swarm of flies attacks the Egyptians only, and subsequently destroys the land. It does not attack the Israelites.

Plague on the Livestock- Since Pharaoh continued to be obstinate, God decided to start attacking the wealth of the nation. Since livestock was a key indicator of wealth, God sent a plague on the livestock that eventually killed all of the horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, camels, and cattle.

Plague of Boils- The Lord told Moses to throw soot in the air and spread this disease. The sickness was so strong that the magicians could not even stand in the presence of Moses and the Pharaoh. This is a direct attack on the health of the people and remainder of animals, and for practical applications sake (don’t take this as gospel), vanity.

Plague of Hail- To start with, hail is a very rare occurrence in Egypt, but when it does occur it is very violent. So God decides to send a hail storm that will ruin the remainder of the livestock (the plagues did not happen in a week, they probably happened over months… which is why the livestock repopulated) and kill the slaves. Hail also destroys crops, so these types of storms do considerable amount of damage to the finances of the country.

Plague of Locusts- Locusts were feared among ancient civilizations, due to the fact that they have the ability to decimate crops. The migration of locusts was normal, but not always detrimental. But this was the biggest storm or locusts ever, and nothing that was green was left. Yet again, God is attacking their food and resources.

Plague of Darkness- Like many primitive tribes, the sun was worshipped. The Egyptians believed that the Pharaohs were descendants of Ra, the Sun God. So by creating darkness, this was a direct attack at their God and demonstrated that both their God and their king were impotent.

Plague on the Firstborn- The first born child is significant in most cultures, even today. So what better way for God to get his point across than to wipe out the first descendants of an entire nation?

Now that we look at everything that happened… what does that say to us today?

The first thing that comes to mind is that whenever I have had “gods” in my life, it ruined my life. That thing that gave me a sense of identity got taken away (like the Nile turning red), and it no longer gave me life. Or hobby that I never had enough of eventually became an obsession and it started hindering functionality of life (the frogs). These are just some examples, but lets think about it…

The Nile- Have I become dependent upon a job, title, relationship, etc. to keep me living? What will happen when it is taken away from me? Will I go crazy or know that God is good and will provide something else?

The Frogs- Is there an addiction or a negative presence in my life that is hindering my finances, my friendships, my family, etc? Is something stinking up my life because there is just too much of it?

The Gnats- Is the very thing that should be giving me life (with the Egyptians, the earth) the same thing that has become a nuisance and frustrating my existence?

The Flies- Am I allowing someone or something (a “god”)into my life that is destroying it systematically?

The Livestock- Am I putting too much emphasis on my money? Is the love of my money outweighing the love of people? Am I hoarding rather than sharing within my means?

The Boils- Am I obsessing over my health and worshipping my appearance? This is something that a balance must be struck, but obsession leads to dangerous results.

The Hail- How much do I emphasize my “stuff” that I own. Slaves, livestock, crops were all “stuff” to the Egyptians, and God took them away by means of a natural disaster. How will I react if my “stuff” gets taken from me?

The Darkness- The Lord overcame the Sun God and exposed him and the Pharaoh as weak. What will happen when I am overcome, am I humble enough to admit that I am not perfect and that I am not able to do everything?

The Firstborn- Since I never married and never had kids, I can’t speak in first person. But what I have seen is that when parents elevate their child past their spouse and past God, bad things happen. As with anything in life, yes there is a mourning period if someone is lost (death, ending friendship, disowning, etc), but it should never define who you are. The Egyptians let the first born define who they are, and when they were gone, it was the breaking point.


So that is some food for thought! Thank you for reading this, and hopefully I will have some new posts very soon. God is definitely teaching me a lot lately that I want to share. Hope you all are doing well!