The big sporting news of the week is that Tiger Woods is coming back to play golf after recovering from significant injury. He is such an incredible athlete that he won his last tournament, the US Open….with a broken leg. He has a personal fortune of 600 million dollars, homes and cars….and it’s just not fair. It is not fair that he has all of this and I don’t.
Some of the greatest Christians I know live in mud huts. They plant and they reap and they suffer when there is not enough rain. They have no money; no retirement funds, and, no real promise of government help when they get too old to work. It’s just not fair that I have more than they do.
Life is a matter of perspective. I am blessed; so blessed. I have pretty good health, a great family and some good “stuff”. Yet, if I’m not careful, I can visit with someone who has more “stuff” and feel that somehow I’ve been shorted. The problem with the title is one word: but. Real Christian living begins with being able to say, “Yes, I know I’m blessed” and then put the period at the end.
Yes, I know I’m blessed.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Doing good while doing wrong
Being from Memphis I am more aware than a lot of people about the good work done by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Recognized as the best children’s cancer hospital in the world, it fulfils an interesting legacy. The TV entertainer Danny Thomas created St. Jude with several Memphis businessmen to repay God’s blessings on his life. To expand the legacy, he influenced Arab-Americans (especially those of Lebanese descent, like himself) to support this altruistic effort. Now thousands of others have joined the support network while others experience the benefits of the ministry. Though I supported St. Jude for years in different ways, I never expected to see any direct benefit. In the last several years, one of my young cousins has received treatment and had his life extended via this dynamic medical center. I am more thankful for St. Jude than ever.
Memphis finds ways to support the hospital. One of the most visible ways is through the PGA golf stop. Originally the Memphis Open, it became the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic with St. Jude as the sponsored charity. Later, St. Jude became the primary title of the tournament as the St. Jude Memphis Classic. Federal Express began to lend huge financial support until it moved to sponsorship of the FedEx Cup on tour. It recruited Stanford Financial Group to become the financial sponsor of the golf tournament.
Stanford Financial group was raided yesterday and accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission with $8 Billion in fraud. This is the latest example of the illusion that doing good can offset doing wrong; of an altruistic public persona while being corrupt morally. It illustrates the quandary of man. The residual goodness of God left by His breathing the breath of life into Adam war marred permanently and graphically by the fall into sin. Yes, fallen man is Danny Thomas; but even more, fallen man is Bernard Madoff and Alan Stanford. The only hope for a world like this is the incredible goodness of Jesus Christ and the only way a world like this hears the message is if we live it out and share it.
Memphis finds ways to support the hospital. One of the most visible ways is through the PGA golf stop. Originally the Memphis Open, it became the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic with St. Jude as the sponsored charity. Later, St. Jude became the primary title of the tournament as the St. Jude Memphis Classic. Federal Express began to lend huge financial support until it moved to sponsorship of the FedEx Cup on tour. It recruited Stanford Financial Group to become the financial sponsor of the golf tournament.
Stanford Financial group was raided yesterday and accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission with $8 Billion in fraud. This is the latest example of the illusion that doing good can offset doing wrong; of an altruistic public persona while being corrupt morally. It illustrates the quandary of man. The residual goodness of God left by His breathing the breath of life into Adam war marred permanently and graphically by the fall into sin. Yes, fallen man is Danny Thomas; but even more, fallen man is Bernard Madoff and Alan Stanford. The only hope for a world like this is the incredible goodness of Jesus Christ and the only way a world like this hears the message is if we live it out and share it.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Community
Last night, I was reminded of the fact that there is yearning in man’s soul for community. The community I saw in operation was expressed by people who have grown up together and have known each other over a long time. It was a fulfillment of the kind of community expressed in the old Cheers theme:
Making your way in the world todayTakes everything you've got;Taking a break from all your worriesSure would help a lot.Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to goWhere everybody knows your name,And they're always glad you came;You want to be where you can see,Our troubles are all the same;You want to be where everybody knows your name.
The challenge of church is to help us move beyond the community of a local bar or even of the local community. Isn’t it sad that we rarely achieve it? Most often people talk about where they “go” to church. They come to a worship service; listen to the hymns (and maybe sing a little); hear the sermon; and, then exit quickly out the backdoor. Community, Christian community never comes into play for them.
The biblical word that we seek is koinonia. It means partnership and sharing based on Christ’s love for us. It cannot be achieved by sitting in the same building together or even taking a piece of chicken out of the same bucket in the fellowship hall. It requires commitment to one another and that most valuable commodity, time. Don’t you want to be where everybody knows more than just your name?
Making your way in the world todayTakes everything you've got;Taking a break from all your worriesSure would help a lot.Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to goWhere everybody knows your name,And they're always glad you came;You want to be where you can see,Our troubles are all the same;You want to be where everybody knows your name.
The challenge of church is to help us move beyond the community of a local bar or even of the local community. Isn’t it sad that we rarely achieve it? Most often people talk about where they “go” to church. They come to a worship service; listen to the hymns (and maybe sing a little); hear the sermon; and, then exit quickly out the backdoor. Community, Christian community never comes into play for them.
The biblical word that we seek is koinonia. It means partnership and sharing based on Christ’s love for us. It cannot be achieved by sitting in the same building together or even taking a piece of chicken out of the same bucket in the fellowship hall. It requires commitment to one another and that most valuable commodity, time. Don’t you want to be where everybody knows more than just your name?
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Pilgrim's Progress
Pilgrim’s Progress is a classic Christian allegory written by John Bunyan, who was serving time in prison for preaching without a license. He was at the time a Baptist deacon and later became pastor of the Baptist church in his town. Since it was written in the 1600s, the style and language make reading Pilgrim’s Progress a hard slog. Still, if you’ve never read it, I would recommend it because of its spiritual value.
For me, its greatest value in my life was teaching clearly that this life that we are in is a journey and is a journey of progress. Satan loves to bring guilt to our lives by accusing us with a truth: you’re not what you ought to be. It is true. I’m not what I ought to be. With the time that has gone by since I met Christ, with the tools that I possess to access God’s Word, with the incredible manifestations of God’s power and presence that I’ve been able to observe, I should be much further in my walk with the Lord. Bunyan helps to remind me that this journey is filled with distractions, diversions and detours that slow my progress. But, there is progress!
I’ve seen this quote in various expressions over the years, but the first time stands out for me. Billy Graham had come to Memphis for a crusade. Among those who spoke as part of the crusade was one of the local news people, a black lady named Francis Kelley. She recounted her testimony – a life that had many ups and downs – but a life firmly committed to Jesus Christ. She wound it up by saying, “I’m not what I ought to be and I’m not what I’m going to be, but thank God, I’m better than I was.” Are you making progress?
For me, its greatest value in my life was teaching clearly that this life that we are in is a journey and is a journey of progress. Satan loves to bring guilt to our lives by accusing us with a truth: you’re not what you ought to be. It is true. I’m not what I ought to be. With the time that has gone by since I met Christ, with the tools that I possess to access God’s Word, with the incredible manifestations of God’s power and presence that I’ve been able to observe, I should be much further in my walk with the Lord. Bunyan helps to remind me that this journey is filled with distractions, diversions and detours that slow my progress. But, there is progress!
I’ve seen this quote in various expressions over the years, but the first time stands out for me. Billy Graham had come to Memphis for a crusade. Among those who spoke as part of the crusade was one of the local news people, a black lady named Francis Kelley. She recounted her testimony – a life that had many ups and downs – but a life firmly committed to Jesus Christ. She wound it up by saying, “I’m not what I ought to be and I’m not what I’m going to be, but thank God, I’m better than I was.” Are you making progress?
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