How sloth can affect the journey...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities).

I feel this way a lot in our current day and age. We are living in the best of time and the worst of times.

We live in a time when technology makes communication with others all over the world possible. Technology and medical allows for lives to be saved and for individuals to live longer than ever before. Because of this technology, we celebrate premature babies that at one time would have had no chance of survival, now do survive and go on to live happy and healthy lives. Technology and scientific advance allow children to learn skills and task which we did not learn until we were adults. Children are exposed to computers from an early age, and when I was a child no one had a home computer. I learned to type on a typewriter and not a computer. We are living in the best of times.

Is it really the best of times? More and more marriages are ending in divorce. We are still at war and there does not seem to be an end in sight. Parents are afraid to let there children play outside. We are watching more natural disasters occur that are linked to global warning. We have to worry about being sued because we served hot coffee. We watch fuel prices rise to record highs. We do not socialize with our neighbors, and in fact we avoid them because “we would rather them not know us at all than to know to much about us (closing line of Desperate Housewives 10-28-07).” We live in a time when 39 million people globally are infected with HIV. We live in a time when the worlds wealth continues to be held by fewer and fewer people.

What are we going to do? Are we going to ignore the suffering, destruction, pain, terrible situations of our current life? Do we ignore our own active and passive participation in fueling systems, and activities which cause the pain and suffering?

This week I am exploring the Deadly sin of Sloth. Sloth in very modern day terms is when we begin to take the attitude of “not caring about what really matters.” In our culture it is easy to fall into the trap of sloth. We are so busy with our own lives, that we do not want to or intentionally ignore things that do not affect us directly. We want to just get on with our lives and let others pick up the fight and battle against injustice, war, and sickness. If we are not careful we begin to “not care about what is important.” We become slothful.

What is the Antidote for sloth or “not caring about what really matters?” Hope! And I am not talking about wishful thinking. This is not easy. Especially when we are talking about the issues which make this time in our society the worst of times. It is hard to move beyond wishing the war would stop and our troops would come home. It is hard to move beyond just wishing someone would help stop the spread of HIV or that a cure might be found. As Christians Hope is longing for something which God has promised to fulfill in the future. To hope therefore is to have a positive expectation (not a wish) about the future, based on trust in God’s goodness and faithfulness.

To hope as Christians does not mean we just believe or trust in God’s action in our world, but it also takes our action. With hope we begin to care about important things like, the environment, the war, the Aids Pandemic in Africa, etc, and then we are willing to work towards bringing about its fulfillment because we expect our efforts not to be wasted.

Hope awakens us from sloth. It moves us to action and making personal commitments to acting in love towards all of God’s creation. This is the hard part. Taking action… because we are not sure where to start or how we can make a difference.

That’s one reason we, as Christians, get labeled as hypocrites because we talked about hope and love, but some of us are slow to action. It is my struggle to find ways to care about things that are important, and then actively seek where God is already at work and then asking how can I join in. It might be that I need to ride the bus or train more often or recycle more. I might need to join the UMCOR in it efforts to provide aid to those suffering in Africa.

So in the weeks, months, and years ahead, it is my desire and prayer that with God’s help and through God’s grace, I might shed my slothful tendencies and step out in action.

Who are you thinking about today?

Life comes at us fast and we get consumed with our own life.

This video by Sawyer Brown, really hit home this week...


Watch for yourself and then think about who is your neighbor and how might you reach out with the love of Christ.

Or maybe you are someone who understands those feelings of no one understanding you. Jesus was misunderstood.

The good news is that there is someone who understands everything and that is God. God alone knows and understands all the pains in our lives. Stop and talk to God. Be honest with God about your pain. Ask for comfort and allow yourself to be open to receiving comfort through new and strange opportunities. God answers prayers in different ways and using different and unlikely people, so be open to how God might already be trying to provide comfort for you.

As a pilgrim on the journey, it is my hope that I will take time each week and seek to understand individuals I encounter and to slow down in my very busy life.

Just something to think about…

Is Greed Good? (6/6)

Is greed bad or good?
Who did more for the world Michael Milken (junk bonds man) or Mother Teresa?
Listen to this interesting video by John Stossel.

Wall Street: Greed is Good

This is a clip which might get you thinking more about: Is greed good?

Striving to not worry... About money

Have you ever had one of those months. You know the one where it seems like everything that could go wrong, goes wrong. The washing machine breaks, the pest man finds termites, the check engine light comes on, ... (and the list goes on).

And with all of these situations, the way to "fix" them is to shell out some money.

With the new expense of a wonderful baby, these little problems seem to have added a little more stress to the equation.

All of this has happened in the middle of a series I have been preaching on the Seven Deadly Sins (http://www.fumcr.com/pages/sermons). This week I am preaching on Greed.

If there is anything I have learned over my journey is that God has a great sense of humor and timing. When better for all of these things to happen then when I am prepare a sermon in which teach us that we are not to worry about the material. That we are suppose to live a life without fear.

This morning in my devotional time the reading for the day was this: Matthew 6:25-34 (NRSV)
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.

I know this is what scripture tells me... It is not easy.

In fact to live this way is hard work. I think if all Christians were honest they would say this is one of the hard examples of Christ in which we are suppose to embody.

What do you think... Is this easy for you? Have you experienced the transformation of Christ in your life in regards to money and generosity.

I can say I have experienced it at different times of my life and I have made it through. It still is a struggle. I just keeping praying for God's grace to help me live more days focused on living in celebration of the abundance God has given me in my life and my family, and less days worrying if we will have enough.

Thanks be to God that he is not finished with me and through God's grace and the fellowship with in a loving community I can continue to grow in this area of my journey.

Rodney
A pilgrim taking it one day at a time.

I am back!!!!!!!!

I am finally back to my blog.

On Aug 20th, my Daughter was born... What an amazing day, but it has changed my life in so many ways. One of which was having enough time to blog.

She is still amazing, but I am back to work full time and I promise I will blog at least once a week.

So please keep checking back each Wednesday for what is going on with me along the amazing Christian Journey.

An Introduction to Parenthood is where I am on the journey right now, as you might expect. And as I said it is a life changing experience.

Over the last six weeks, I have watched her grow at an amazing rate. In fact if she continued to grow at this rate til she was 18 she would be over 400 lbs and 20 foot talk.

Parenthood is truly an amazing experience. Through my new experience as a parent, I am learning a deeper understanding of God’s love. As I think about how much I love my daughter, I am reminded of the unconditional love of God. I think about how much more God loves each and everyone of us.

In Psalm 139, the Psalmist celebrate the intimacy in which God know each of us. The Psalmist reminds us of how God has been with us from the very beginning of life. The Psalmist writes, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

I have made this scripture part of my prayer time. Every morning I hold my daughter and think about how she is a precious gift from God. I give God praise for how he has made her. At the same time I give thanks for the love in which God has for her, for me, and for all his Children.

I hope you also remember that you too are wonderfully made and a precious gift from God.