Crushing Our Opinion

As I prepared our lunch of wild salmon, I used a mortar and pestle to crush together the ingredients of garlic, cilantro, and green onion to create a rub that would be applied to the salmon filet.  I began to imagine the flavor they would bring in harmony when all the ingredients came together.  Atop the paste, I laid a layer of chopped pecan halves to create a beautiful crust.

The mortar and pestle reminded me of something. Maybe we need to rethink the social conflict taking place in America. We all want our distinct ingredient in the cultural conversation to remain independent and not lose its singularity. That might be what is contributing to our current problem. None of us is meant to be a standalone ingredient. God is crushing our individual opinions along with the insight provided by others to create a flavorful and fragrant topping meant to adorn the broader culture-wide conversation. If we are not willing to have our opinion crushed under the loving hand of God, we will not taste the good thing He is preparing.

As a postscript - the salmon was excellent. So were the Parmasssean cheese cauliflower florets and green salad.

Don't Take the Bait

Relationships are being tested.  A casual comment or post on social media that creates disagreement can challenge the honor of a relationship. Jesus knew each of us would see life differently, and He still said oneness was possible even in the presence of our varied opinions. We know we have taken the bait when we allow the hook of division to sink deep into our hearts and pull us away from those we previously loved and respected. The evidence the digested bait has been taken is revealed when we begin to see, think, and speak negatively of someone.  Don’t take the bait. It has a dark outcome prepared for your arrival.

Of One Heart

Being of one heart has a greater impact than being of one mind. In a close environment where people work together toward a common goal, hearts that follow after God in love, create a healthy and cohesive work environment. 

The apostle Paul encouraged us in the second chapter of Philippians to be of one mind. That one-mindedness was the by-product of living together in an environment of love. Love is always a matter of the heart.  Many times, we miss what creates a by-product by focusing on the by-product and not what produced the by-product.

If a leader requires all team members to be of one mind, typically, that translates as being in lockstep obedience with the worldview and preferences of the team leader. That requirement actually creates a weakness in the team. It is a false unity and restricts Spirit-led creativity that only comes through a diversity of opinion. It also limits the breadth of expression and insight required to engage greater Kingdom exploits. 

For example, if you are a team leader who releases edicts of how your team should respond to the issues of culture in an attempt to maintain team discipline and portray unity to those outside the team, you are creating followers, not leaders. Work first and foremost at building a team unity around the fruits of the Spirit, not your opinions. If the hearts of your team members are right and expressing love and honor toward each other, even if they say or do something that differs from your opinion, it will all work out in the end because their hearts were right. This is the kind of working environment that creates trust and honor in a team because people know they are loved in their diversity, not only in their conformity.

Ride-Along

When I was a cop every once in a while, I would be assigned a ride-along. A ride-along is a civilian who has been cleared to ride with a patrol officer to see what life was like on the streets. Of all the people that rode along with me, each one left that experience with a greater understanding of the job.

I wonder what it would be like if we could have a ride-along program in other areas of life. What would it be like for someone to ride along with a small business owner struggling to make payroll and keep the doors open during an economic downturn? What would it be like to ride along with a young, single mom with two kids in tow working multiple jobs just to survive, or riding along with someone who has a different ethnicity or social status and on the receiving end of demeaning comments and behavior? What would it be like to be a politician, an honest one, trying to pass laws that only get passed in an environment of compromise?

Separation from each other’s daily struggles is where the danger of misunderstanding takes place. We judge someone before we know who they are or the struggles they face. It’s easy to lob judgmental grenades into the lap of someone who is living in a challenging situation, of which we have no firsthand knowledge or empathy. Perhaps the most life-changing thing that takes place during a ride-along is getting close enough to see and hear the personal struggles other people are experiencing. It’s in that connection where understanding comes, and a compassionate response can be offered.

Accelerating the Rights Things

I recently read a term I had not seen before - Accelerationist. The word is used to describe people who live on the extreme edges of the social spectrum, either far left and far right. An accelerationist is someone who uses social causes that might not even be their own as a chance to create disorder and invoke people to respond in violence.

While those of you reading my words would hopefully be nowhere near these radical edges, I want to offer each of us a word of caution. Our voice, if we represent Jesus Christ, must be monitored and disciplined to keep us out of the vile stream of ideologies that motivate the dark aspects of fringe accelerationism. Discernment is not just something we relegate to a religious setting to cast out demons or prophetically deliver a word of hope. It is also meant for the public sphere. God gave us discernment to see through the opinions being offered to discover their motivation and to make sure we are not naively being used to foment angst and further division.

Today, I was impacted by the words of Paul. I have included his words below as a refresher for many of us. Paul wrote the following words in a chapter where he was trying to help people deal with relational disagreements, appealing to them to live in the joy of the Lord and to confront the worry that can rob us of our peace. 

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).

Our thoughts will either accelerate the goodness of God or accelerate agendas contrary to the values of His Kingdom. Paul used the phrase, “Fix your thoughts." "Fix" is a word in the original language that means “to consider, take account, weigh or mediate.” It is not a reactionary word. It implies deliberation, consideration, and moderation. When we fix our thoughts on God, we will accelerate the kind of actions and conversations that an accelerationist mindset has not conceived in their quest to sow disorder and fear or to prove a point. 

Shaming

When someone attempts to shame you into silence, their attack only reveals the weakness of their position and the shallowness of their character. Don't take it personally. Turn away, and don't respond. Let God be your defender. 

The Clanging Cymbal of Our Opinion

Over the years, I've noticed we can make Scripture say what we want it to say when our opinion on a subject has become entrenched and unmovable. I know this because I have been guilty of the practice. Like you, I have “proof texts” for everything I think an opposing opinion might offer as evidence proving their opinion is superior to mine and vice versa.

This is why Jesus must be our ultimate authority even above our interpretation of a bible text or preferred translation of the bible, something none of the earliest disciples possessed. I know this can sound like borderline heresy to some, but such is the life of faith. There will be times when two believers who both love God and live lives of integrity will disagree over the interpretation of a text or how to represent our faith in culture. In these instances, only Jesus can be the ultimate mediator, not our opinion on Scripture, our worldview, or how we think our faith should be represented in culture.

Living with honor while holding divergent opinions requires a pliable heart. Pliability is not a loss of biblical integrity or compromise of our ethics. It is a manifestation of mature love. Some of the most remarkable men and women I know in God’s Kingdom have very different opinions and interpretations about a life of faith, and yet they are still able to move forward under the banner of love and accomplish great things together. 

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1).

A Matter of the Heart

Every follower of Jesus has an anointing given to them by God to accomplish what He has called them to do in His name. That anointing can lift if our hearts and not aligned with the heart of God. Experiencing success of any kind can become an illusion if we think in our success, we can overlook the small things that are, in essence, the big things to God. 

Aimee Semple McPherson, the woman Billy Graham said, was the greatest evangelist of her century, exampled the kind of heart God loves to work with. I remember talking with an oldtimer in the Foursquare Church. He shared a story about Aimee. On a typical Sunday morning, multiple services of 5,000 people were taking place. It was standing room only. Many were getting healed and saved. The nation had its eyes on Aimee and her profound ministry. 

On one particular Sunday, as Aimee was making her way to the platform, she became brusque with a young woman who was part of the ministry team at Angelus Temple. As Aimee was getting ready to walk upon the platform, the Lord told her to go back and make things right with the young woman, or He would lift His anointing from her ministry that morning. Aimee's heart was so in tune with God that she immediately turned around and searched out the young woman to ask for forgiveness. When she finally arrived on the platform, the power of God fell on the meeting.

In this time of isolation, when our emotions can experience fatigue, and our responses might resemble a less than loving response, we cannot move forward if we let our negative responses to people remain unresolved. On our way to re-engaging as a culture, we need to make sure we make things right if we have wronged each other. It doesn't matter who is right or who is wrong.  It's a matter of the heart. The anointing on our life and ministry depends on it. God has some profound things to accomplish as we re-engage. He needs our hearts right so we can move forward under a fresh anointing for a new season.

When Relationships Become Unhinged

Over the years, I have had people become, as they say, unhinged in their response to something I said, did, or wrote. Its probably happened to you as well. The term unhinged is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to describe something as “highly disturbed, unstable, or distraught.” 

When we are the recipient of an unhinged response during a stress-filled exchange, an open door of opportunity appears. Just this week we bought a new refrigerator because our old one died. The delivery team had to take our back door off its hinges to remove the old frig and deliver the new one. Without the door coming off its hinges, the delivery could not have taken place. 

If you have received an unhinged response from someone during this strange and unfamiliar time, choose to look past the remarks or actions to see the opening that stands before you. The best of people who usually exhibit sound, stable, and measured responses to life can become unhinged in a moment of personal weakness. These negative interactions are an opportunity to begin praying for people with greater understanding and compassion. It also allows us an opportunity to examine our own hearts. Those who delivered an unhinged response to something you said or did might be facing stressors and challenges you are unaware of that inflamed their initial response.  

Until a time when a resolution and mutual healing takes place, your prayers and words of blessing will make possible the delivery of something new to the wounded relationship that only an unhinged doorway of opportunity could have provided. God has the ability to turn the negative experiences of life into something good if we are willing to work with Him, even the hurtful unhinged responses we toss back and forth at one another during a moment of unguarded response.

Be Careful

Our culture is coming to a collective emotional head in this time of isolation, especially in communities of faith. The number one issue we are all facing is fear - fear of losing control. It could be our fear that the “normal” we once knew might go away and never return. Sometimes this fear is manifested when an opinion is expressed that breaks rank with a narrow interpretation of a critical issue causing someone to be pushed out of the orbit of a familiar relationship they once knew.

When an early Church leader wrote the poignant words, “In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, in all things love” he gave us a key to help us navigate through this challenging season, primarily through the area called the non-essentials. Non-essential does not mean unimportant. It is referring to something not worth destroying years of relationship over.

What lies between the bookends of essential truth and expressing love is where we can encounter relational jeopardy. When an opinion, which is the realm of a non-essential, is allowed to become essential or a reason not to love, we are in trouble. A single idea expressed outside what was considered acceptable is sometimes all that an individual or group needs as a reason to say goodbye to a relationship, and punish the opposing viewpoint with separation and silence.

We have all been guilty of this offense at one time or another. Our fear, if not disciplined, will weaken our most cherished theology or, worse, destroy the bond of love in our relationships. That is always such a sad and disheartening experience. 

^“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (Colossians 3”12-14).

Our Gate of Passage into the Future

Our social isolation will soon come to an end. During this time, we have experienced the cessation of forward motion. What was normal came to a standstill. That lack of felt movement and the accompanying sense of isolation can cause areas of personal dysfunction, not dealt with in the past, to rise to the surface. This surfacing of emotional and spiritual dysfunction is a gift for us because seeing is the first step in healing. 

While pondering what this all meant, I saw two ornate pillars in the distance. They were the gate posts positioned on each side of the way forward. Passage through this opening into what God has planned depends on what we are willing to leave behind as we move forward to engage our new and yet unexplored future.

We all need to take a moment to review what has transpired in this time of isolation. The spiritual and emotional quality of our interaction with people, our response to what has displeased us in this time of separation, and any demands we might have placed on others need evaluation. Did these encounters reflect God’s heart or our angst?

Finally, I saw that the two gateposts guarding the future were movable, not anchored in time and space.  As I tried to interpret what I was seeing, I realized we would need to stop and address what we might too easily ignore in our rush to return to a connected life.  Ignoring these issues will push the gate posts ahead of us, causing us to not pass through their opening into the new future God has planned. 

It will be too easy for some of us to think a new season of life or a refreshed ministry plan is to be our primary focus. It’s not. The way forward will open to us based on the condition of our heart, not a misplaced hope or the excellence of our re-engagement plan.

When Critics Arise

Critics in the Church come and go like the cycles of ocean tides. They run up on the beach of the Church to make their claim and then recede, leaving behind the hissing foam of their declaration of judgment. Over the years, I have noticed several areas where critics are especially drawn.

Scripture – Critics typically have a narrow field of acceptable Bible translations. They find a few sections of a particular translation they view as objectionable and discount the entirety of that translation. They begin to lump entire groups of people into their judgment and dismiss longtime friends and relationships on a quest for biblical purity – a purity not available in any translation.  

Worship – Critics in the area of worship resemble someone kicking down the bedroom door of a married couple, catching them in an intimate moment, and criticizing their lovemaking. These critics have a preferred form of worship. They believe one size of worship fits all and anything outside that understanding is heresy and worthy of their judgment and condemnation.  

Sin – Critics like to focus on the sins of other people, not their own. Unrepented sin does need to be addressed, but only within the parameters laid out in a biblical process. That process is filled with mercy and offers of restoration over time. Sin critics like to use public forums to shout out the sins of other people to gain a following of fellow sin-critics. Social media has made this dark ministry viral, like a virus that infects all who come in contact with its sickness. 

Be careful taking on the assignment to be a critic of anything in the Lord’s Church. Use discernment in all things. Be wise and compassionate in how you apply that discernment. Only the Spirit can convict someone of their sin in any meaningful way. Above all, everything we do must be done in love, or it will produce the fruit of another kingdom, a fruit that is bitter and filled with sorrow.

Springing the Trapdoor of Evil

The gallows of control and subjugation of God’s people are being constructed by the spirit of Haman in an attempt to destroy the work of God’s Spirit. While individuals are being used to build these gallows in the political and economic sphere, do not focus your attention on them. These individuals are only a diversion, pawns used in a broader strategy of evil. The real battle is taking place in the second heaven, the realm of spirits.  

Above all this intense warfare, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father, the place of supreme authority. No plan of hell or an evil plague will have the last say if God’s people will pray. The spirits motivating people toward these evil agendas will soon fall through the trapdoor of their own devices. Some of the individuals held captive by these spirits will see the error of their ways and turn to God in repentance. In this time of unusual conflict, focus on the end game, not emotional diversions, and you will see the glory of God released in the Earth.

“So, they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:10).

Layers of Understanding

Every event in life has layers of understanding. As we explore the depth of these layers, we begin to see things not realized when an event first began. We can park at one layer, thinking, and in some cases hoping, we discovered the deepest layer. Fear, deception, fatigue, and cultural pressure are all motivating factors that can cause us to park at one level and not dig deeper.

Once we begin to explore the depths of an issue, we begin to see things we may have previously written off as the undisciplined imagination of a conspiracy theorist or the storyline of a pulp fiction novel. At that moment, a battle with our pride and self-image is engaged. Truth seekers must push past that stalling event if they want to dig deeper to discover what is actually taking place. 

There is so much going on in our world at this moment. It is not wise to allow our thinking to park at our current level of understanding and think we have discovered the bottom-line for any issue or event. Only God knows the depth of what is taking place. Follow His lead, and you will see and hear things only the Spirit can reveal.

“But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (I Corinthians 2:10).

Turned Hearts

The older I become, the more I find myself less impressed with human credentials. Educational achievement, financial portfolios, or professional alliances no longer tell me anything about a person. It is the condition of a person’s heart that is the most critical indicator of the quality of a person's life. Someone can gain impressive personal credentials and professional accolades and have a heart turned away from intimacy with God.

Solomon was noted as the wisest and wealthiest man who ever lived. He was versed broadly in all fields of scientific insight. He could settle the most challenging of social disputes. World leaders sought out his counsel. With all the acclaim he garnered, Solomon had a point of weakness in his character. That weakness caused his heart to turn away from wholehearted devotion to God. His greatest possession, the condition of his heart, was given to the demands of his many foreign wives who asked him to worship their pagan gods, some of those gods were the most detestable false deities of the day.

Solomon’s downfall was disobeying the Lord’s command to Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods” (I Kings 11:2). At the beginning of his downfall, Solomon had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines, and they did turn him away from worshipping God alone. Painfully, I Kings 11:4 describes what happened to Solomon, “In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord His God.” 

The words, “they turned his heart” are chilling. As I read those words, I asked myself, “Is there anything I have allowed to turn my heart away from a singular devotion to God?”  Each day the most important thing any of us will do is to check the condition of our hearts and determine which way it is turning. Any movement away from intimacy with God, even the slightest direction change, must be confronted as our worst enemy and dealt with swiftly or the epithet of our life will produce a sad testimony like the painful end of Solomon's life.

The Power of Inquiry

What made King David such an effective leader and a man after God’s own heart was his willingness to inquire of the Lord for direction before he took action. On the few occasions when David did not inquire of the Lord, death, sorrow, and heartache took place. Each of us can be effective in our particular Kingdom assignment if we are willing to inquire of the Lord before we speak or act.  On the other hand, like David, we will sow death, sorrow, and heartache when we rely on our own wisdom or follow our unbridled passions without first inquiring of the Lord.

The Winds of Personal Drama

Jan and I were in our local shopping mall and came across an arcade game called the Hurricane Simulator. It wasn’t tucked away in an arcade room. The machine was placed right on the main thoroughfare of the mall. The advertisement promises hurricane forces winds and a TV screen playing scenes of hurricane destruction to add both a visual and aural component to the experience. I wasn’t interested, only amused. I can only imagine what it would look like to someone who walked by the machine and saw a person inside with their hair flapping around in the wind and their eyes fixed on an imaginary scene of wind-born destruction.

I told Jan, “I know some people who carry a hurricane level of drama with them wherever they go even if no winds of drama exist outside the issues that are disrupting their mind. They just bring their storms with them.” We laughed and continued walking, recalling over the years, some dear souls who perpetually live in that disruptive mindset. At that moment, I also realized I have done the same thing from time-to-time. We can all carry our drama with us and let it mess with not only our peace but the peace of those who have to live with our dysfunction.

Maybe a better way to live would be to simply step out of our personal hurricane simulator and enjoy the peace of God. It is a peace we must choose to experience. God’s peace is not a false environment like the inside of an arcade machine. It is real and actually beyond our ability to explain or create. It promises to fill us and surround us no matter what is taking place. 

To experience this peace, we need to exercise our faith and step into its presence, exchanging our fear and doubt for God’s peace and security. The beautiful thing about God’s peace is that the admission price to experience its reality has already been paid. We only need to believe it is possible and then make a choice to leave the drama behind.

The Imperfect Lens of Our Discernment

We view people who are different from us through filters. We have gender, ethnicity, life experience, and personal preference filters. There is nothing wrong with these filters unless they become a rigid lens through which we see and judge someone. This corrupted lens transmits a jaded and prejudiced view of people and life itself.

When Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth he said, “As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point” (I Corinthians 4:3). Our judgment about people is not trustworthy. It is always clouded by the lens we use to see and interpret their lives. What we are unable to see is what is happening in someone's heart. That is a realm of insight only seen by God. 

“So, don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives” (I Corinthians 4:5). 

Guarded Hearts

Years ago, in my previous life, I guarded lives as a profession. Once, my team helped guard the President of the United States. I have guarded celebrities as part of their security detail and stood in courtrooms guarding a judge and jury during the trial of international terrorists. I’ve guarded the lives of hostages as a hostage negotiator. 

The most challenging guarding assignment of all has been trying to guard the condition of my heart. The human heart carries an arsenal of weaponry waiting to be fired in an undisciplined moment of anger or impatience. It requires the guarding presence of our will and the empowerment of God’s Spirit to safeguard others from its deadly impact. Guard your heart well. Guard it wisely. The lives of those you love are on the line.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”

 (Proverbs 4:23).

2020 - A Year of Suddenlies

2020 will be a year of unexpected and sudden intervention by God in human affairs. It will be unexpected for those who have forgotten the word of the Lord. The prophet Isaiah wrote what the Lord said at a time in human history similar to ours, “Long ago I told you what was going to happen. Then suddenly, I took action, and all my predictions came true” (Isaiah 48:3).  Carry expectancy with you as you cross over the threshold of the New Year. Sudden things are about to happen.