“The Bliss of a Blessed Life”

           

The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is called the “Beatitudes.” This is because the first word that Jesus utters is “makarioi” ( Μακάριοι) in Greek. Our English Bibles translate this as blessed, happy, bliss, spiritually prosperous, joy, etc. A lot of options have been chosen over the years by various translation committees. It is a difficult word to capture in its fullness of expression. However, it has to do with being in a state of spiritual well-being flowing from the goodness of God. In the ancient Greek world it originally carried the idea of being “free from daily cares and worries.” In Jewish usage it tended to focus on one’s well-being. By Jesus’ day these pronouncements of blessings did two things at once: conveyed God’s desire for covenant life, and served to prepare the hearer for living the “kingdom life’ in view of the end times.

            Is it possible today to live a blessed and blissful life in such turmoil as we see in the news every day? Is it even possible to live free from daily cares and worries?  

            The volatility of financial markets threaten retirement plans of peaceful bliss. Health issues and aging threaten long term plans for peaceful bliss. Broken and betrayed relationships mar plans for peaceful bliss. Everywhere we turn life has a way of being chaotic, unpredictable, painful and unfair. The bliss of a blessed life almost seems to be a “pipe dream.”

            How do Christian transformational leaders function in times like these? Is there a glimmer of hope in what “blessed” means? Can such leaders live “the bliss of a blessed life?” If so, what does it look like?

            To my mind the following aspects of “blessedness” present themselves to the wise, understanding transformational leader.

            First, there is the power of a spoken blessing to others. In the Old Testament world there was the known reality of spoken blessings and curses. Words were understood to have power. This undoubtedly comes from the Genesis narrative of God speaking and the creative process occurred. Spoken blessings have a creative power. When we encourage and bless others, that creates motivation and goodwill that is so much needed in organizations and groups today.

            Second, such leaders embody a way of life coming from a center of understanding and experiencing the goodness of God. Remember the old hymn, “Showers of Blessings?” Christian transformational leaders lead from a heart of gratefulness that sees untold blessings poured out on them daily. Living a grateful life as a response to God’s goodness alters everything. From such a posture, thanks can be given constantly. Being blessed produces words of blessing to God!

            Third, a deep reliance on the goodness of God erases paralyzing worry. When we count our blessings one by one, that very process itself crowds out worry. Worry can take over, divide the human spirit, fill the mind and heart with anxiety, and paralyze decisions. Living a blessed life means we do not let worry define our thought-world, neither will we allow worry and anxiety dictate how we treat others. Worry unchecked leads to the fruit of fear. As Christian leaders we model for others what such deep reliance on God without crippling worry looks like.

            Fourth, the state of our blessedness is a serendipitous blessing of our covenant relationship with God. Because of our covenant relationship with God, we stand knee-deep before God in blessings. That blessed state is like the air we breathe. Every day and every moment is a divine gift. Our very life is a gift. The giftedness of the moment is the intangible blessing of being in covenant relationship with God. As Christian leaders we model for others that kind of life.

            Finally, the blessed life now is but a taste of the blessed life yet to come! Taste. What an interesting word for the spiritual life of leaders. We tend to think of taste related to our trip to the restaurant. But “taste” is the experiential and existential personal journey of faith we enjoy with God now. It is also the “fore-taste” of what is yet to be. Christian leaders have a spiritual vision that can see what many others cannot. This God-given vision encourages others to taste and see that the Lord is good. Then, and only then, can others envision the possibility of what the taste might be for the future with God!

            O, the bliss of the blessed life of the Christian transformational leader!

    In Christian love, Curtis

”WISDOM FROM ABOVE” FOR A WORLD DOWN HERE

What is a Christian to do in times like these? Police and crowd clashes with individuals hurt and killed. I heard on the radio this morning about two individuals fighting over a parking space, one was stabbed and the other was shot to death. Civilization as we know it no longer seems civil. What is a Christian to do?

            The Apostle James gives us a new perspective that these desperate, confusing times call for. We need to ask God for “wisdom from above.” Among other things, this type of wisdom is characterized by adiakritos (ἀδιάκριτος) which means “impartial,” “without discrimination,” “without prejudice or favoritism” (James 3:17). This word is used in the New Testament this one time, and it is singularly important that it is in the context of answering the question, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”

            What the world needs now is wise and understanding people who characterize in every attitude, action and behavior what it means to be adiakritos. Christians modeling “wisdom from above” in the marketplace is desperately needed. Discrimination, prejudice and favoritism have no place in the Christian’s life. James calls it “sin.”

            In Proverbs 25:1, the author identifies the “proverbs of Solomon” as literally the “impartial (adiakritos )   instructions” of Solomon. Regardless of ethnicity, tribe, country or region, his collection of “impartial instructions” applies to everyone. Proverbs by their very nature are universal in application.

            Impartiality, without discrimination, without prejudice, without favoritism—how sorely needed these attributes are needed in our culture on a daily basis! The implications for transformational Leadership are immense and myriad. To my mind, at least 3 fundamental aspects of Christian leaders in action need to be highlighted here. No doubt, as I mention these three, other fundamental aspects will come to your mind. But at least these are a good place to start.

            First, Christian transformational leaders need to be sensitive to each person’s living context. Over 30 years ago, Charles V. Gerkin published a book entitled, The Living Human Document. In this work he maintained that pastoral ministry and Christian leadership best functioned in a “hermeneutical mode.” It was exactly the same approach one would take in exegeting an ancient text. The context is crucial. The cultural, historical, literary and grammatical aspects of a given text give us an entry into that original world to understand and apply it. The same thing is true about people. A person’s private context is crucial. Christian leaders need to listen long and hard to hear a person’s own cultural, historical, personal and situational context. “Wise and understanding” transformational leaders make this a priority.

            Second, Christian transformational leaders admit to their own prejudices and biases. We all have them. Spiritual maturity is evidenced by our own willingness to identify, admit and correct them.  Serious research admits to its own biases, raises them to transparency, and suggests how they limit certain findings. This is true of Christian leaders. If we only admit to our own biases, make them transparent to ourselves and others, we would be more alert to how they limit our own effectiveness. One brief example will suffice here. On my part for years, I realized I had a prejudice/disrespect for people who told me they did not like to read. Over the years God has had to show me, work on me, and humble me so that I realize that not every person processes information the same way. Only then could I (with an open heart and open ear) listen to individuals struggle with their own issues, and confess that they did not want to read the material I gave them. I had to learn how to choose a different “hermeneutical mode” to understand and respond. “Wise and understanding” transformational leaders make this a priority.

            Third, Christian transformational leaders believe in the intrinsic value of every single person they interact with. Every individual on the face of the earth is made in the image of God, the Imago Dei of personal existence. Because of this original declaration in the Genesis narrative, it becomes the fundamental foundation for each Christian transformational leader to desire and pray for every single person to be transformed into the Imago Christi. This re-creation believes that no person is beyond God’s saving grace. All one has to do is read the apostle Paul’s story. He believed he was the “chief, worst of sinners.” And yet, he envisioned himself to be a model for how God’s transformative grace could work. Christian transformational leaders believe in the impossible, and can dream of God’s gracious work in the lives of those who either give up on themselves, or believe that others have given up on them.  “Wise and understanding” transformational leaders make this a priority.

            May God grant each one of us in our role of transformational leaders the “wisdom from above” for a world down here!

In Christian love, Curtis

APPLYING CHRISTIAN FREEDOM

I have been reflecting lately on the practice of Christian freedom. It is both highly prized by Paul and misunderstood by millions since Paul. On both ends of a spectrum of understanding, it cannot mean the freedom to do whatever I want on one end and demanding that others see things the way I do on the other end. The understanding and practice of Christian freedom is between these two polarities. This is precisely because it brings into tension my free will and the free will of others. It brings together my singular will and my communal responsibilities. This is why it is so hard to conceptualize, discuss in a civil way, and even to put into practice. Allow me to offer a few suggestions on this vital topic.

          First, Christian freedom allows me to say “no” to something, not because of a legalistic requirement, but because of brotherly love and agape. Paul indicates that if I “grieve” someone because I choose to exercise my freedom and flaunt it in that person’s face, then I am “no longer walking in love” (Romans 14:15). I see this as a universal Pauline principle for fellowship: whatever my Christian freedom allows me to do, it must do so in the posture of “walking in love.”

          Second, believe it or not, there are some priorities and values in the kingdom higher than Christian freedom.  Conscience issues and making someone stumble have to be uppermost in my mind. Guess what some of those priorities are? According to Paul, they are our pursuit of “what makes for peace and for mutual up-building”(Romans 14:19).

Third, whatever position we take on an issue because of our Christian freedom to do so, whether we engage in something or refrain from it, we do so to honor the Lord, and we give thanks to God at the same time (Romans 14:6). Each one of us has to give an account of ourselves to God in the end (Romans 14:12), so we must allow each person to work their own personal freedom out with the Lord.

Fourth, in exercising our Christian freedom,  we need to remember that  the apostle Paul admonishes us  not to despise the one who cannot share our freedom of choice (Romans 14:3). It is so tempting to look down upon and despise someone who is not at our place of understanding. Neither despising nor passing judgment on others is our Christian duty toward one another.  We have to learn how to be responsibly free with our Christian freedom.

Application for Transformational Leadership…many times leaders have had more experiences and greater insights to Christian freedom. Consequently, they may feel more “liberated” and not as bound to many of the traditions among which they lead and serve. However, the four things mentioned above have tremendous implications for Christian leaders who intentionally want to function as transformational leaders.

Some things we say “no” to regarding our own practices and personal preferences precisely because we know we are leading others who not as mature and would be offended or hurt by our practice of freedom. The principle of “walking in love” applies to everything we do in our servant-leadership capacity. We are sensitive to others’ consciences. We must allow those we serve the space to work out their own issues. And, we must not look down upon or reject others because they are not where we are in their understanding and practice.

May God grant us wisdom as we seek to individually live out our Christian freedom in the collective body of Christ that is filled with others also trying to understand and work out their own Christian freedom. May we always “walk in love” and pursue “what makes for peace and mutual up-building.”

In Christian love, Curtis

Our Own Legacy of Life & Faith

Because of several factors, I have been drawn to the idea of what legacy of life and faith each of us will leave behind. Perhaps turning 62 does that! Perhaps losing one’s mother does that! Perhaps giving the eulogy for 3 funerals in less than two months does that!  Perhaps focusing on Christ’s resurrection as the hope of our destiny does that! Whatever may be all of the factors, I just cannot get it out of my mind, and thus it drives my thoughts today that I want to share with you.

            I came across an old hymn that has the following words:

“I would like to think when I’m nearer life’s brink

            That I’ve written some song that will live

And, living, impart some help to some heart

            And strength to the traveler give.”

[A Song! A Beautiful Song! Written and composed by L. O. Sanderson, Copyright, 1948]

I want to daily be aware of how close I am to my own death. We are adept at keeping death at bay. However, when funerals pile up on one another, and our peers begin to go the way of all the earth, we can no longer ignore the inevitable. There are two basic ways of viewing death. It can be a loss or a gain. If we have left God’s will out of the center of our life, and we have made choices over the years that have brought regret and heartache, then death would be viewed as a loss. However, if we loved God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, then death can be viewed as a gain.

Men and women of faith understand that Christ’s resurrection and the hope of their own resurrection takes the sting out of death. Death is personal. It is not abstract. It will be the separation of myself from this world and the ones I love. This looming separation on the horizon informs my daily priorities. Sometimes we go through circumstances where we think we have been close to death.

I remember riding in a small Cherokee Piper airplane that had experienced some engine trouble. When we landed at the airport, the pilot reached down and touched the ground, and exclaimed, “We cheated death once again!” I hate to say it, but we will never cheat death. It is coming, and we need to have a healthy view of life that is lived in preparation of that certain coming.

I want to strive to leave the verses of my own song writ large on the hearts of others. This is a poetic way of saying that my life’s purpose was the joy of my heart. Each day lived for God and others provides me the “stuff” for writing each verse of that song.  I love to write poetry, and this composer’s imagery of writing a song touches my heart’s chords. They vibrate with possibilities and bring together the joys of living life to its fullest. The impact I make on the hearts of others will be because my heart build a caring bridge to their heart. Music and song are most appreciated when they touch us at the deepest level of our being and psyche.

 I remember (this dates me, of course!) John Denver’s famous song “Sunshine on My Shoulders.” The first time I heard that song was write after a cold winter, and I was driving down to Memphis through the back roads, going through Brownsville, Tennessee. On that early spring morning, the sun was on my left shoulder as I was headed south. I sang that song out loud to my eight track, envisioning the sunshine being God’s love. I vowed at that moment onward that I would try to bring a little of God’s “Son-shine” into the lives of others.

I want to strive to give strength and encouragement to others. Consequently, that inner vow has allowed the Spirit of God to help me give others strength and encouragement during tough times. My calling is to impart to others what God has vouchsafed to me. Because I have undergone three specific trials in my life that have called for the greatest resilience of faith in order to endure, I can offer that same solace and comfort that I received from God to others. Grave personal illness, suicide in the family, and job loss have carved caverns of sorrow in my heart where the rivers of joy could later flow.

Perhaps it is the depth of pain that provides the pathways for joy. Knowing how I survived and was supported by God and others, I intentionally turn around and offer that same support. I stood beside my mother’s bed and watched her decline and pass with a grave illness. Adult children need to know to whom they can turn when those type of losses occur. These kind of verses in one’s song contain both joy and sorrow. To demonstrate care with words of encouragement allows our words to create anew and offer new possibilities for excruciating pain.

I want to leave a path for others to follow after I am gone. I watched a fascinating episode of “Prospectors” on the Weather Channel the other night. One individual mining a claim up in the mountains was following an 8 mile path that wound up to the summit that was created by his grandfather. That one lane path took two and a half years to create with one bulldozer and one operator. The grandson kept singing the praises of his grandfather, and lauding the monumental task that was unthinkable. He kept the road maintained every year, not only in honor of his grandfather, but also because he needed the road to travel to the summit with his mining equipment. 

            What kind of path are we leaving for others to follow? The wise man Solomon once said, “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray”(Proverbs 10:17). We never want to be guilty of leading others astray. Not only do we model for others how to receive and heed instruction, but also provide the direction of life that leads others in the right direction.

            Nearly twenty years ago I built my own mountain dulcimer. I have written poetry and have had some of it set to music. I understand the process and value of writing and composing songs. I would like to think that I have written some song that will linger with its notes of joy in the hearts of others long after I am gone!

In Christian love, Curtis