Priorities and Stuff

August 16, 2007 - Thursday

Priorities and Stuff

Nathan LaGrange once told me, "If I don't have God as number one in my life, it's not like that first slot is empty. Something always moves in to take His place." It's scary how you can get a little carried away—even with the right things. You can do good things with pure intentions with correct motives and still find yourself drifting from center just slightly.

Think about what jealousy can do in a human relationship. It will drive us to the unthinkable. I'm sure we've all been there. How much more when the Maker of the universe sees a heart He created replace Him with something altogether empty and carnal? James 4:5: "Or do you suppose that it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'The Spirit which He has caused to dwell in our hearts yearns jealously over us'?" What have I yearned for over the years? As a human I have limited and crude resources with which to act on a jealous feeling. But He has all of creation at His disposal to wake us up. And sometimes that doesn't feel much good at all. But it works.

Larry Crabb said in "Shattered Dreams": "All of us are trapped by addiction to a desire for something less than God." I know it well. Of course it doesn't seem like "something less than God" at the time. Maybe just something in addition to… Certainly not something to replace. But it's dangerous nonetheless. Tom told me (of that quote): "There's a book of commentary that could go along with that, I'll leave it at that for now."

In the book "Sacred Romance," John Eldredge writes: "If we believe that this life is our best shot at happiness, if this is as good as it gets, we will live desperate demanding and eventually despairing men and women. We will place on this world a burden it was never mean to bear."

I think we'd all like to think we're at least a little bit in control. That we can control our own level of happiness at least in part. The above quote is both reassuring and excruciatingly crippling at the same time. If you take all that power away from me, that messes with my mind. But the truth of it can be very comforting if used correctly.

I had been on the verge of many kinds of fears as of late. Fear of a miss-step. Fear of failure. Fear of falling on my face. Fear of destroying my life. Fear of pain. Fear of repeat pain. Fear of still hating my job tomorrow. Fear of hating my life tomorrow. Fear of getting taken advantage of. Fear of getting walked all over. Again. Fear of looking like a fool. Fear of looking naïve. Fear of looking unwise and ignorant.

Pastor Ron at church was talking from the Psalms this summer. One particular Sunday about a month ago was probably the most poignant message I've ever heard at a specific time in my life. It was unbelievable how relevant and timely the entire deal was.

He spoke of fear "evaporating." I liked the imagery that accompanied that. All the points were good, but the first—Fear Evaporates From Regular Intimacy with God (Psalm 91:1)—got to me particularly. Simply put…it works. We may not like it. It may not be how we would choose for it to work. But that's how it goes. However, that's a real discipline. And hard work. Another one was "Fear evaporates from faith declarations." And the final one (not altogether different from the first) was "Fear evaporates when we love God deeply." Easier said than done, but necessary nonetheless.

As I said, the sermon couldn't have been any more timely. Oh I'm still afraid maybe, say…a couple thousand times a day. But there's a certain peace that comes from actually putting some of this stuff into practice.

Whales and gales and plans that fail. It's amazing how we reframe our life until it's so off base it's not even funny. I had this verse from Proverbs 16 in my caption for awhile: "People make plans in their minds, but only the Lord can make them come true. Depend on the Lord in whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Not too radical of a thought, I don't suppose. But it sure does take some of the pressure off. Another translation: "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."

It's been said that "Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think." These days the thinking and the feeling seem to be running together an awful lot for me. And I certainly haven't found a lot very humorous in recent times.

It's amazing what a mind game life does become. I visited with a friend in the Midwest for a weekend this summer. He gave me a couple "ouch" verses:
"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." Jude 1:20. Nobody's going to do our heavy lifting for us. Corporate gatherings and group Bible study serve their respective purposes. But if the groundwork is not being laid on a personal level, the others will lack footing. And that will show up, believe me.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18.

And then one of my favorite verses (and one that haunts me all the time): "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2. That's about as simple as the Bible ever gets. There's a formula right there. It's not a mystery.

Now…if I could only remember that on a daily basis and maybe apply some of it here and there. Maybe that's a process. I don't know. I'm sure there are certain levels of realization here and there. But it's amazing when real life kicks in how it will make you step back and evaluate some of this stuff.