Tag: knowledge

To Be or Not to Be Content? That is the Question.

Find beauty in the desert.

Here’s my disclaimer. I am in no way a scholar learned Bible student. My only qualification to understanding and applying God’s word comes from His work in my life through His Holy Spirit. Therefore, what I share in this blog, in the Bible studies I help to lead, and in the retreats which I’ve had the pleasure of speaking, is from a heart that is devoted to following my Lord and Savior in all things. My efforts to understand God’s truth take me to several different resources that help my limited knowledge. I am thankful God has given me a passion to communicate His love and many avenues to express the urgent need we have for His gift of salvation.

Sometimes, I wish I had a more formal education in Biblical studies but, alas, that brings me to one of the words that has been on my heart.
Contentment – What does it mean?

Php 4:11-12 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

Let’s think opposites.
Want – Have
Content – Discontent, Dissatisfied

Are we able to change our circumstances? In many ways, yes. But do we want to or should we? We have the freedom to make many of our own choices. This is fun, it allows for individual likes and dislikes. But, think of those things that you are unable to change. For instance, I cannot change my age! A few years ago I was surprised to find out I was actually a year older than I realized – a true, albeit concerning, story that may cause you to question my mental status! I may be able to change my appearance to look younger but the numbers are what they are.

On a more serious note, many individuals are presented with physical challenges that are beyond their control. Change in these cases is not an option so management and satisfaction with the way things are becomes the normal.  Think also of the  number of people who find themselves placed in a geographical area that perhaps is not their primary choice.  But it is  a necessity because of employment or cost of living. In that case, it is well to accept where you are and be thankful for the opportunity to provide an income.

I grew up near the foothills of the San Bernardino mountain range. My teenage years were spent hiking on mountain trails just a half-hour away or driving to the beach with friends, equally as convenient. Later on, circumstances and choices led me to a different location.

I now live in the high desert. It has been my home for over thirty years.  It is hard for many people, including myself, to find the beauty in the Joshua trees, tumble weeds, dry winds, and hot summers. Yet, it grows on you. I struggle with the lack of green, beautiful tall trees, natural woods, and what many would consider to be a more idyllic setting.

When we visit the northeast coast where one of our sons lives with his family, we enjoy the beauty that surrounds us as we walk through the Pennypack Trail just a few minutes away. It has always amazed me that everything is green and there are no automatic sprinkler systems except nature!  But, there is a downside. Humidity and mosquitos!

So, what to do, if anything?  I can choose to be discontent with what I don’t have or content with what I do have. I choose to be satisfied where God has placed me. Is this always easy? Heck no! My perfect world would have all my adult children and grandchildren living within a close radius of one another. My ideal setting would be for everyone to have employment that would provide well for their families yet grant time off for getting together. My preference would be to have a guarantee that all those I love would be called by God and live for Him.

It seems humans are wired to want what they don’t have, doesn’t it?! This begins early in life. Just spend a few minutes with small children wanting the same toy – often the toy that has been neglected until another child shows interest.

If we look back to our scripture in Philippians, the concentration is on becoming satisfied with whatever we have, wherever we are and with anything God has allowed into our lives. Paul emphasizes that he has learned to be content. This sounds like a choice. A conditioned response acquired over time. The more I am aware of God and who He is, the more I can sincerely say I want His plan. Why? It’s better than mine! It’s perfect.

So I will find  beauty in the desert. When I’m missing my kids who live across the country and when I’m tired of the dry landscape surrounding me, I will thank God for the winds that provide clear blue skies. I will thank God for technology and the opportunity to FaceTime.  I will appreciate the open land that surrounds me.  The beautiful, color-filled sunsets. The occasional snow cover glistening on the Joshua trees.

Continue on for more study on contentment.

Big Match Tonight: Cerebral vs. Emotion. Don’t miss this!

Truth: because we are weak, we are unable to respond perfectly and accurately in regards to our feelings. So while emotions have a part in our lives, it is better to act upon knowledge – the facts we possess to be true and right and honest and holy.

The gloves are laced, the sounding bell rings and the fight of the year begins! In one corner, we have Cerebral. Solid and calculated in his reactions.  In the opposite corner we have Emotion. Quick, yet sporadic and abrupt in his thinking and judgment. The first to make a move is Emotion. He shows aggression yet he is ineffective. As he throws a punch into his opponent without thinking, Cerebral places a careful aim to Emotion’s foolhardiness. The punch hits its mark! Cerebral is clearly in control of his action. Emotion is instantly down wondering what happened. The judges’ unanimous decision declares Cerebral the winner. Here’s the news headline: While Emotion was quick to react first, the careful knowledge applied by Cerebral proves to be no match!

Several days ago, the word-of–the-day on dictionary.com was cerebral. Interesting word isn’t it? The definition given is, “involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct”. The listed synonym for cerebral is intellectual. I was immediately reminded how important it is to approach life circumstances with knowledge and intelligence rather than with feelings and emotions.

The church I attend is largely made up of ‘cerebral’ thinkers! This is because aerospace is a main employment venue in our valley. Think problem solvers and fact collectors; using known results and developing new statistics. The outcome of this approach is carefully planned testing of ideas. Knowledge and intelligence applied, effects outcome that can be repeated. This way of thinking is void of emotional experience.  It has to be in order to prove comparable data.

Consider.  Gather a few dozen people in a room. Present the same scenario to each. Then, without ground rules or written data, ask how each might react to the circumstance layed out before them. This is like asking a few dozen people what they think about something!!  Avoid it, plain and simple.  Why?  It leads to confusion.  However, do the same thing with a list of facts and proven results and the answers will have more commonality.  This is because the basis for the reaction is built more upon proven results and knowledge than emotion.

Should we then be void of feelings? Are emotions bad?

I sure hope not! I love the wonderful feeling of my grandchildren holding my hand or wanting to snuggle.  I am happy when they walk in the door and run to me calling my name ready to give me a hug!  We’re talking downright warm fuzzy in the heart feelings!  I treasure the compassionate hug from my husband at the end of a long, trying day.  I seek the touch of comfort from a friend when I’m hurt or sad.

So am I contradicting myself?  I don’t think so.  God gave us feelings and emotions so there must be a place for them.  God shows His feelings towards different circumstances.  Jesus, on earth as the perfect man/God, felt emotion. The shortest verse in the Bible says “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).  Jesus shed tears. That’s emotion.  Strong feelings from those who followed God are also recorded in the Bible.

God is love. He is the personification of love. The originator of love.  Love, <agape>, is an affection.  To have affection for someone is to have a positive feeling of liking for them, to have a fondness for them, tenderness, warm-heartedness.  The Gospel is based on God’s love.  God’s perfect love.

Joh 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life”.

We read in the Bible that God is love but He also showed anger.  WordWeb characterizes anger as a strong emotion.

2Ch 28:9 But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage which has even reached heaven”.  God caused the slaying of thousands because they were acting in ways against Him. This is a display of His perfect righteousness.

What’s the difference between our response to emotions and God’s actions towards emotions?

Perfection.  Job 5:2 says, “For vexation slays the foolish man, and anger kills the simple”.  Man is both foolish and simple in comparison to God.  Not many of us would deny that. The foolish man is destroyed by anger because it is rooted in a depraved soul.  The foolish man is led away in lust when presented with feelings of love unhindered by intelligence.  The foolish man is devoid of good sense or judgment. The simple man is child-like. Not in an innocent sort of way, but rather, in lacking the mental capacity to see things clearly. He acts or responds before thinking upon or considering the consequences.

What can we say then? Perhaps it is not the actual feelings or emotions we have that are bad, but how we act upon those emotions.  It’s what we do with emotions.  How much credence do we give our feelings?

Truth: because we are weak, we are unable to respond perfectly and accurately in regards to our feelings.  So while emotions have a part in our lives,  it is better to act upon knowledge – the facts we possess to be true and right and honest and holy.

Largely, action driven by emotion is immediate.  Action driven by knowledge takes time to sort through  facts,  consider details and seek wise counsel.

People get angry.  Anger in man often causes one to hold a grudge against another. Anger in the wrong hands of flawed judgment leads to nothing good.
Ps 55:1-3  Give ear to my prayer, O God; and do not hide Thyself from my supplication. 2 Give heed to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted, 3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the pressure of the wicked; for they bring down trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
Ps 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.
On the flip side, perfect righteousness leads to perfect anger and judgment. Only God qualifies perfection.
Mt 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Ro 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

We are to attain to God’s perfection, strive towards it. To do this, we must follow His example.  It is necessary to adhere to what He says.  We are to look to His word in all things, including the handling of emotion and feelings.  We should strive to become more cerebral in regards to our actions and responses.

Jas 1:25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the [law] of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.

Which gloves will you lace up and wear? The ones marked Cerebral or Emotion?

Focus Heavenward

Flash back to the spring of 1998. My first child was accepted into a college he had applied to. This was great news and this was not so great news as felt by a mother’s heart. This university happened to be located almost fifteen hundred miles away from home! Think the late 1990’s, before FaceTime was available to the general public. Keeping in touch was done by phone, email or snail mail. There was no snap chat or instant messaging, and pushing a “purchase” button on an Amazon shopping icon wasn’t familiar, if it even existed. We had cell phones but compared to the devices we have now, they were pretty slim in their options (however, not in their size!! They looked like big black walkie talkies with antennas, and forget fitting a phone into your jeans pocket!). Everyone we knew had land lines as their main phone connection.

I plastered a smile on my face to hide the hole in my heart and helped our son get ready for the grand adventure ahead of him. We decided to make the trip into a vacation for all of us. The traveling provided some good together time before the makeup of our family, as we knew it, changed forever.

We gave our son several prepaid phone cards, and after we helped settle him into his dorm room, we said good-bye. There is something about that first child moving out that brutally reminds parents that this person they had nurtured from birth until now, had always belonged to God. It’s something you know and fully accept and even want for them but the reality hits hard when you begin the long drive home with an extra seat in the van.

Ge 33:5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

In accordance with Scripture, everything we have belongs to God. We are stewards of His creation. This includes our children!

Any type of change disrupts our comfort. The birth of a child, the release of a child, marriage, relocation, illness, loss of a friend, and even ministry changes, serving in a different area or assuming different responsibilities. It doesn’t matter whether it’s good, bad, exciting or disturbing, chosen or forced upon. Change is difficult and scary and leaves you feeling vulnerable.

What does one do with the emotions that accompany significant change?

In the world you turn towards the things that seem to offer stability, albeit temporal. You may concentrate on the things you feel you can control. You may decide to ignore changing circumstances until the point in which they must be acknowledged.

In the believing Christian world, the effects of change are still felt but (hopefully) the reaction is different. You turn towards God for peace and assurance. You trust He is in control and will guide your direction. You pray for perspective and a response that proves you are His child. You focus heavenward.

At the time of releasing my first child I began writing via email to him, signing each letter with the reminder to keep his focus heavenward no matter what circumstances were presented. (I always drew an arrow pointing upwards as a visual.)      Focusing on God, keeping him close in heart is the one thing I knew would act as a comfort and guidance to my son. I’m not sure if that reminder did more for me or my child. But, I knew God’s plan was for good and I personally needed that constant message to keep my focus on His truth, His promises, His care and to trust in God’s ownership of my son.

How do you focus heavenward?

I had a website at that time under the name ‘Focus Heavenward’ with the statement that its purpose was to be used as a tool to look to the Bible for growth, purpose and encouragement. The site was a collection of past and present Bible studies and women’s retreats I had written over the years.

In order to focus heavenward, a direction is assumed. That direction is up. Up towards a higher position, up towards God. Up towards something that has greater value. In order to focus heavenward, faith in someone bigger than ourselves needs to have been claimed. In order to focus heavenward, a desire to give attention to someone other than ourselves is necessary. In order to focus heavenward, we need to follow the One whose established throne is in heaven.

Whenever life’s direction is significantly altered or disrupted from what is familiar, we respond in one of two ways. We fight it or we accept it. Fighting change won’t stop change, it will only make change more difficult. Accepting change as a necessary part of life will ease the paths of uncertainty.

God permits and sometimes even instructs circumstances in our lives in order to draw our eyes upward. Hanging onto God’s overwhelming love for His children, and His perfect plan and control of all things will allow us, through His grace, to focus heavenward through joyous times and even through tears.
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