8.8.2020 - week 66
on curiosity v compassion #cupofleadership
whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call
out and not be answered.
proverbs 21:13
once we see, we are responsible.
one of the confusing calamities of the modern world is that we have more curiosity than compassion. that is, we want to know more than we can properly process. just this week, my heart was already full with the concerns of extended family on a variety of fronts, a parishioner whose house burned down, a friend confessing a deep hearted sadness he was drowning in drinking, and my own daily frustrations … then all of a sudden, EXPLOSION IN LEBANON!!
and in the moment of first seeing and understanding, my well of caring was dry. not because my heart is hard, but because its full. for most of human history, i would have no ability to instantly see and form a feeling. i might hear about it at some point, but not in the same vivid way.
we end up spending ourselves in little pieces of faraway concern, rather than the close and pressing things right near us. we end up feeling a lot, but struggling to do. most christians are familiar with the concept of ‘guarding your heart.’ perhaps one of its best applications is to not allow ourselves to know too much. because we are responsible to DO once we SEE and if see too much, we are basically hardwiring hypocrisy into our lives.
the future is local. and the future is ours to make.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
Burdens are everywhere. These days, I see them on my Instagram feed, my text thread, I hear them in a friend’s voice and know when they are weighing on my own heart. But as Christians, we have good news in the Bible that we have a place to bring them! Let me share: Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Maybe even better news is found in Phillipians 4:6-7 when it says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
But, you may find yourself praying but still feeling weighed down. If we were sitting together reading this and sipping our Saturday morning coffee I’d probably wink at you and say please don’t tell me I’m the only one?! One of the lessons I’ve learned in 2020 about myself is that I’m pretty good at bringing my burdens to Jesus but where I have room to grow is that I seem to go back where I ‘laid them down’ and pick them right back up again. Can I get an amen?!
I don’t know how long it’s been for you since you were in school but one of the best feelings I remember from college was the last day of fall semester when I turned in all my projects and papers and took that last exam (and prayed to God I passed)! I remember driving away from campus, exhaling, and literally feeling the weight of the world escape my shoulders and trusting that all of my hard work was going to pay off. At least in the ‘olden’ days (lol) it would take a few days until the teachers graded everything so I had some time before I could even worry about my final grades. But there was no way after I put in all that time and effort of the semester and turned everything in that I would email the professor to say “Um, can I change this answer or add this to my paper?”
Obviously our prayer life is different than our college life (and praise God for that!) but as I try and venture toward giving my burdens to the Lord as well as those around me I am learning a new way. In order to feel freedom from the weight of the burdens I have to trust God to be God. If it takes me twenty times of bringing my burdens back to him, I’d rather leave them with him than on my mind. When I read Matthew 11:29 that says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” It seems to me that it’s a yoke for two, we aren’t meant to bear our burdens on our own, God wants to help in the carrying.
Some of our burdens feel crushing and may not change until eternity and so the only way to make it through is to continually bring them to him. Lately, I will lay in bed at night and bring many of the same prayers I brought to him in the morning because as they swirl around my head I can’t sleep until I’ve given them back to him at least twice. God is good at being God. I can’t say that I understand all his ways or that his path is always what I would choose but I do know that as I gain practice in the actual laying down of my burdens, his presence in the yoke is noticeable and his peace is real and is an offer I haven’t found elsewhere.
book review
if you feel caught between options you don’t love politically and find pieces of what you care about as a christian in a variety of places politically, this book is for you. the writers intend to help grow as citizens by thinking first as a christian, not a partisan. the book has a wonderful tone, challenging without being performative and dramatic. brief and to the point, this book is the perfect thing for this moment and time. take a second and read those quotes, i think you will be helped.
a journalistic look at the rise of straight to consumer internet brands like warby parker and dollar shave club, this book doubles as recent history of the evolution of business in america. how e-commerce tools + cheap facebook advertising + complacement long term category leaders opened the door for new competition makes a fascinating story. if you are dabbling at all online or digital space, i think it would help you. really useful + full of insights from both winners + losers in the crazy moment of online real estate land grabbing. check it out . .
super christian guy
content this week
a new message this week on podcast / youtube called STOP MEAN CHRISTANS pt 6. this one is about the ‘purpose of power’ + i received some positive feedback on it. would love for you to check it out.
watch on youtube
listen on podcast
my 3 sons are back from a hiatus to preview the return of sports. they were SO cranky while we were making this and i think it seeps out in a cute way
pieces of good news I saw this week
‘If you are white, male, straight, cisgender then you have the highest amount of power. If you are none of these at all, you are the most marginalized and oppressed–and there are numerous categories in the middle. Most importantly, each category toward the powerless end of the spectrum has a greater moral authority and a greater ability to see the way truly things are. Only powerlessness and oppression brings moral high ground and true knowledge. Therefore those with more privilege must not enter into any debate—they have no right or ability to advise the oppressed, blinded as they are by their social location. They simply must give up their power.’
this is the mindset of the modern justice movement. in a way that is reminiscent of the 1960’s or peter holding a sword in the garden, they aim to bring about the kingdom of god without truly respecting the king or his rules. that is a recipe for disaster.
tim keller has written a clear and helpful description of the dynamic and biblical issues at hand. very very useful. read it here.