Seen through grace

The Lord sees everything you do, and he watches where you go. An evil man will be caught in his wicked ways; the ropes of his sins will tie him up. He will die because he does not control himself, and he will be held captive by his foolishness. (Proverbs 5:21-23)

If we think we are not being 'observed' in our folly, we might want to reconsider that belief because God misses nothing. The moment I said that some of us cringed, thinking about something we said, thought, or did in the past 24-48 hours, having hoped God didn't know about it. We all have those moments - wishing we hadn't acted the way we did, but knowing we somehow received grace and healing even after 'acting badly'. God's grace amazes me each and every time. We don't deserve it, but somehow it is right there for those of who call upon his name for it - not once, but each and every time.

Evil men are indeed 'roped' by their sins - binding them to the guilt and shame of it. Those who have said 'yes' to Jesus know they have done wrong, but also know what it is to be embraced by God's grace in response to our confession of that guilt and shame. If you have trouble 'controlling' yourself, pursuing things you know you should not be, there is a way of escaping those 'ropes'. The way is Jesus. We just need to ask for his help and then accept his grace. Grace isn't given so we can keep on sinning (pursuing our own way), but it is given because he loves us enough to not hold those sins over our heads.

Foolishness has a way of getting all of us from time to time. It is good news indeed that when we aren't wise enough to not pursue that course of action, God is right there, seeing the path we have chosen, and loving us too much to allow us to continue in that path. That is indeed good news. God's love doesn't 'mask' our sins - he still sees them but loves us too much to allow us to continue. We are 'seen', but his love sees something of great worth in each of us. Thank goodness he sees that worth, even when we don't. Just sayin!

In one ear...out the other

 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. (James 1:22-24)

I have been fooled by a good many things in this lifetime and there are still other things just waiting to dupe me at some point down the road, even my own folly. Since coming to Christ, I'd have to admit my own folly doesn't quite dupe me as it did once upon a time. In fact, even considering something kind of foolish now causes me a moment or two of pause and reflection. I have learned to consider my course - choose my steps a little better than I did in my youth. It certainly didn't come easily, though. Our folly has a loud and continually beckoning voice! It wants one way and that is its own way. Attempt to shut that voice down and you might just realize a battle is about to ensue. 

We all 'listen', but what we choose to listen to may differ quite a bit from day to day, hour to hour, and minute to minute. If you don't believe me, stop right now and think about what you are listening to in the background right now. Some of you have music playing softly, others have a TV announcing out something, and still others will hear the laughter of children at play. We are all 'listening' to some degree, but the 'degree' by which we choose to listen to God's direction in our lives may differ depending upon our distractions, fatigue, and even resolve. Listening is only a small part of this battle with folly - acting upon what we know to be right and true in spite of whatever distracting 'voice' it is we are listening to right now is hard work.

Mom always used that little phrase, "In one ear and out the other", oftentimes describing how it appeared I was listening to her as a young child. She would also use it to describe how I needed to 'dismiss quickly' some of the things I was hearing at school and in my social circles. Remember the words of our parents asking us if our friend jumped from a bridge would that mean we would too? Her aim was to get me to 'dismiss quickly' the things that were pure folly and totally unreasonable for me to be responding to - in one ear and out the other. God doesn't want us to treat his truth this way, though - he'd like us to allow that to get 'trapped inside our heads', until it has a chance to fully affect our hearts.

God knows this battle with foolishness is real for us, so he gives us a great 'clue' in how to deal with folly - listen well. Don't just give his truth a cursory glance and a temporary consideration. Experience it deeply - let it be 'mulled' within your spirit and soul until it begins to change the way we think and respond to folly's loud voice. Acting upon always follows hearing - I think we get that mixed up at times. We think we can just act obediently, then wonder why foolishness was the outcome. We didn't have all the information we needed in order to avoid those foolish steps. We didn't take time to listen intently - truth taking hold so that folly would be exposed for what it really is.

The next time you stand there just taking in things around you, allowing ever 'voice' to have a place in your life, stop and consider where that will get you. There is only one 'voice' we should be attentive to - God's. There is only one truth we should consider before we take any step forward - God's. Plain and simple - we need to stop letting his truth go in one ear and out the other. We need to ponder it over and over again until it begins to expose the folly of our souls. Then we will be able to form the 'actions' we need to take to avoid that folly once and for all in our lives. Just sayin!

Mirror, mirror...

As kids, we had all these little rhymes we'd say on occasion, like the one we used when we caught someone fibbing:  "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire".  Or maybe the one when the batter was up to the plate and we wanted to distract the pitcher from being able to concentrate on throwing the ball:  "We want a pitcher, not a belly itcher".  Or the one we used when we wanted the batter to have a less chance of hitting the ball:  "Hey, Batter, Batter, SWING".  Pointing out that we knew someone was trying to pull one over on us by the "Liar, Liar" one was just kind of our way of letting them know we found them out and we weren't falling for their mischief or prank.  Rattling the pitcher or hitter was just a way of trying to stack the cards in our favor when we had a batter up to bat who needed a few "balls" to come there way, or we wanted a hitter to miss the ball!  If they didn't get a few balls and an occasional walk, they almost didn't ever get a chance to get on base at all! If the hitters always got a hit, we'd never stand a chance of winning! We didn't have any that I can remember about cheating on a test, looking onto someone else's paper for the answers, or taking credit for someone else's work on a project. Yet, the idea of someone cheating on a test, or taking credit for another's work was just not acceptable in my social circles. It was kind of like an understood "no-no".  We didn't poke fun at it because it didn't carry any "fun" in it.  Some things we'd overlook because there was "fun" in it - like when someone was trying to pull a fast one on us and see if we'd be gullible enough to believe them.  It was childish fun and games, not really intentional deception.  If someone made it a pattern to lie about everything, inflating their stories and telling untruths all the time, this was a different matter.  We didn't even use our childish rhyme - we avoided them like the plague because they were untrustworthy and unbelievable!  The same is often true in life now that we are adults.  We avoid those who just don't play fair. We find ourselves avoiding those who are puffed up and kind of into themselves way too much.  We find ourselves shying away from relationship with those who just cannot walk a straight path.  Why?  I think it might be this idea of knowing when it is more than a "childish prank" or "game" being played - it is the real deal and it hurts others.  We might "blur the lines" a little when we poke fun at some things which are plainly wrong and then "call out" others which are simply "child's play".  We have to clearly distinguish between the two.

The Lord hates anyone who cheats, but he likes everyone who is honest. Too much pride can put you to shame. It’s wiser to be humble. If you do the right thing, honesty will be your guide. But if you are crooked, you will be trapped by your own dishonesty. (Proverbs 11:1-3 CEV)

I am up for a good prank now and again.  I like to laugh and find fun in life. I think life is way too short to just live life on the "serious" plane all the time. Anyone who knows me well will also recount a few times here and there when I convinced someone something was a certain way, but in truth it wasn't!  It wasn't really me attempting to manipulate the truth so they believed a lie, it was was a little bit of "fun and games" with the other person, meant to make them laugh and take life a little less intensely.  The problem with living a little too close to that line between truth and untruth is that sometimes we get these a little blurred, or we soon lose credibility in the eyes of those we have in our circles.  I used to play pranks way more frequently than I ever do now. What changed?  I saw the potential of what this did in relationships - destroying the core of trust.  It got to the point people were always asking me if I was serious or not.  At that point, I had to pull back and really take a close look at how I used "humor" and had "fun" with these things.  I really didn't want others to have to consider the seriousness (or reality) of my words or actions ALL the time!  I am not entirely serious all the time now, but I did find myself pulling away from living life as a "joke-ster" all the time!

I think there are groups of people who will continually live on the plane of untruth and deception.  It has become a way of life for them.  They almost lack the capacity for honesty any longer because they have become so familiar with the deception they cannot break out of that mode of operation.  To get real with these individuals is almost impossible.  They are trapped in their deception and need to be broken free of that deception by nothing less than truth.  The opposite of deception is truth - the only way to unmask deception is by holding the mask up to the mirror of truth!  I don't argue with deception - I just merely hold up the mirror of truth.  Nothing reflects back the shallowness of deception more than the truth.  The beginning of a cheater's life is merely a choice to be dishonest.  The one choice leads to another and then another until a way of life becomes evident.  Dishonest actions multiply until there is a lack of control over the times one will choose the deception over the truth.  This is the danger in even stepping over the line to begin the action of cheating.  Whether it be looking over the shoulder of another to get the answer off their paper, or the look sideways to take in the "splendor" of another's spouse, it is opening the door to greater and greater compromise in one's life.

Perhaps this is why God spends time pointing out the dangers in cheating and making life choices which are based on dishonest means.  There is a cyclic trend which leads to the next wrong action.  The kids who frequently cheated on tests in my classes might have received passing grades in class, but in life, they lacked the skills those of us who studied actually possess today!  We miss out on something when we choose the dishonest way over the truth.  We don't have foundation in life.  I think this is why God calls this to our attention - because he wants nothing more than to ensure we are on a solid and reliable foundation as we go through life here on earth!  This is why God holds up the mirror of truth in our direction all the time - it isn't to make us uncomfortable - it is to redeem us from our folly!  Just sayin!

God, I give you the fool...

A long time ago, I thought the only way to deal with foolish individuals was to talk them out of their foolishness.  Let me be the first to confess - the only thing this did was make a fool of me!  Why?  Fools cannot be talked out of their foolishness - they need an up-front and personal encounter with Jesus - not with my reasoning, rationalization, or even arguments which point out all the ways contrary to the ways they have chosen to act. This is why you won't find me debating with those who show up on my doorstep to "win me over" to their faith. I will simply state that I am a follower of Christ, very pleased with this deeply personal relationship I share with him, and have my hope of salvation pretty well "nailed down".  If this peaks their interest, I certainly will go on to share why it is I have this hope, but I don't spend hours debating with them why their "religion" is flawed.  I need to simply state the truth for the hope which I have within me and then leave God to do the rest.  There are also times I will not engage someone who is being totally unrealistic, confrontational, or even "mightier than thou" in their approach to life.  They aren't going to listen at that very moment, so I just do what scripture says - I turn aside and keep on going.  Before anyone accuses me of not caring, or of being a coward, let me just assure you the most caring and even the bravest thing I can do is to leave them in the hands of God!  He is ultimately in charge and I can simply state truth - allowing him to do the rest of the work which needs to be done.

My child, if you listen and obey my teachings, you will live a long time. I have shown you the way that makes sense; I have guided you along the right path. Your road won’t be blocked, and you won’t stumble when you run. Hold firmly to my teaching and never let go. It will mean life for you. Don’t follow the bad example of cruel and evil people. Turn aside and keep going. Stay away from them. They can’t sleep or rest until they do wrong or harm some innocent victim.  (Proverbs 4:11-16 CEV)

I guess I didn't fully appreciate this truth in my younger days because I would "engage" them in their arguments and then when we just got deeper and deeper into their unrealistic beliefs, I'd be dumbfounded about how to respond. I could see it as wrong - but they just couldn't - and that was pretty frustrating to me.  There are some things God expects of his kids - then there are things he expects us to leave in his hands!  Don't get those two mixed up!  First, we are to be attentive to his teachings and then act according to what we know to be right.  So, in the end, our lives become a display of the grace and truth of God's love - something our words might just not be able to accomplish in the same manner.  Next, we are to stay within the paths which make sense for our lives. I have actually done some testing to see how it is I personally deal with confrontation.  I am a confrontation "avoider" - I don't like to just jump in there and take up the fight.  Is this wrong?  No, it isn't.  When you understand that "confrontation style", you will soon recognize my "holding back" or "becoming quite" in the presence of confrontation is really me just stepping back to gain perspective.  I am not fully disengaging, I am simply restructuring my thoughts so I don't respond without wisdom.

I think this is what God has in mind when he says we have been show the way that makes sense - the right way to respond even in the midst of confrontation. There are times when engaging too soon, or with little to no forethought is just plain unwise.  It will only end up damaging one or both of the parties engaged in the confrontation.  Road blocks seem to be something we all understand. We might just think someone is a "road block" in our life - like everything they say and do is really just holding us back or keeping us from getting any further along. I have had discussions like that with individuals on occasion - no matter which "tact" I took, the outcome was about the same.  Now, I have to ask - was all my effort futile?  To answer that I need only look at the outcome of the encounter.  I must admit, in most cases, it was!  Why?  Foolishness cannot be "talked out" of an individual's mind or heart.  It must be "washed out" by the blood of the Lamb!  There is much to be said about "turning away from the foolish" because engaging in their folly will only take us down roads we don't want to travel.  I like how scripture tells us to turn aside and just keep on going. I like that we are given "permission" to not turn our backs on them, but to turn aside.  This implies we don't engage with their folly.  

God starts by reminding us of our priorities - him first, his teachings next, and then taking steps in the right direction to the best of the ability he gives us. If we encounter some fools along the way, we don't engage with them in their folly and we don't get stymied by their folly (road blocks).  Maybe this is why we don't argue with the fool - because all these arguments do is add "weight" like a burden a burro might carry upon its back.  We take on the fools misgivings, their protests, and even their arguments as though they were something we were to bear ourselves.  God's intent is not for us to bear their burdens of unbelief, argumentativeness, or even frustration - he will do that.  We just need to lead lives which present positive examples of his love and grace - let him deal with the fools.  Just sayin!

Speak not to the fool!

Did you know what a troponym is?  I didn't either, but learned it this morning!  I knew about synonyms, antonyms, and other "parts" of speech, but troponyms escaped me!  It is a word which denotes the manner we do something.  For example, shuffling is a manner of walking (a troponym which describes the manner in which walking is performed).  So, I had to look up the "troponym" for "ridicule" this morning, as this word came to me at about two this morning and just kept running through my mind.  Here's a little of what I discovered are the various "ways" we ridicule (poke fun at) another:

- We tease.  This is a type of mocking or playful "making fun of" kind of action.
- We lampoon.  This is a type of "satire" such as when we ridicule with sarcasm, often pointing out their vices with a little bit of humor.
- We expose.  This seemed like an odd way to describe ridicule, but it really does because we often "uncover" the truth about another with what begins as false claims.  
- We stultify.  This carries the idea of causing the other person to appear foolish.

Now, you know what a troponym is!  It is just another way of giving us the "definition" of what it is we are doing - but it describes more of the "how" of our action.  With this in mind, let's dig into our passage:

Don’t bother talking sense to fools; they’ll only poke fun at your words. (Proverbs 23:9 MSG)

Have you ever tried to talk to a fool in a sensible manner?  Ummm...I think this is an oxymoron!  You cannot use "sense" to reason with a "fool" - the two just don't go together!  In fact, Solomon tells us our "sensibilities" will be returned with "ridicule" (to poke fun at).  Now, look at our above troponyms.  When a fool hears "sensibility" being spoken, they don't see it as "reason" or "good advice", but as "teasing", "lampooning", or "exposing" the foolishness in us, not them!

You see, the fool cannot see the truth in your words.  Plain and simple, they don't find their actions exposed in your words, but find ways to turn those words back on you to expose your short-comings!  Now, a wise person already knows the value of exposure, for it is only in truthful exposure that we change.  But...at the hand of a fool, exposure can be a little demeaning, if not almost undermining of your character.

So, do we just refrain from ever speaking truth (sense) to a fool?  I don't think so, but we don't make a habit of it!  Sometimes we just need to speak the truth, then we need to allow God to do the rest.  I don't think there is value in repeating ourselves - because the fool won't see the value as intended for them.  There are times we get caught into conversation with someone who is just too foolish to listen to the words of advice - seeing them as something they can "poke fun at" with not only you, but with others, as well.  This is the problem with speaking to a fool - they spread the sensible words you spoke to others who also share in their folly - tearing them apart in such a way as to make YOU look the part of the fool!

Now, don't get me wrong - we need to bring truth where truth is needed.  Yet, in so doing, don't get caught up in the tremendous waste of time trying to "undo" the way the fool interprets truth than you did in bringing it!  You can spend a whole lot of time "undoing" the way a fool interprets truth and end up with nothing more than more untruth to sort out!  Speak the truth, prayerfully, then allow God to do the "sorting out".  You don't have to worry about the way the fool interprets truth - just your attitude and heart in delivering it!

If you have been caught up in the endless cycle of unraveling the foolishness of a fool's ridicule, you know what I mean.  The time and energy it takes will take a toll on you.  Maybe this is why Solomon advises us to not talk directly to the folly of the fool - because he will just despise the wisdom of our words!  When the folly of the fool affects you, what you do in that moment is judged not by the wisdom you speak, but by the attitude of your heart.  Choosing to forgive the ridicule of a fool is often the greatest piece of "wisdom" you can choose to "speak"!  Just sayin!

In a ditch? High-ended to boot?

My pastor aptly states, "Wisdom is not what you know, but what you show."  I cannot think of a better way to describe wisdom.  Many think wisdom comes with age - the older we are, the more wise we become because of what we have experienced.  Not always true!  Sometimes we can experience the same "bad" events over and over again, never learning anything from them!  There has been no learning - so there is nothing new to "show" from the event.  It is likely to be repeated until we learn to "show" what it is God desires to see!

The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track; the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.  (Proverbs 14:8 MSG)

The writer of Proverbs gives us two scenarios - one of a life which seems to be on track, the other of one which leaves us stuck in the ditch.  As a teenager, I took driver's education classes, but never got my driver's license until I entered the military.  Needless to say, when I finally held the shiny little card in my hand, I was anxious to show the world I could drive!  My friends and I were out one day, enjoying some time at the lake.  I guess my pride got the best of me, not to mention my unwillingness to admit I had never had the opportunity to drive more than a couple of "training" vehicles while in high school!  So, when the keys of my friends car were offered to me, I scampered behind the wheel, charged up to "show" my friends just how good of a driver I was!

The gravel road laid out in front of me as I accelerated into what would turn out to be a wild ride!  With dust flying high in my wake, tunes blaring on the radio, friends yacking about what to do next, we made our way down the road.  Little by little, I began to accelerate until I was doing close to 50 on a road which would have been best maneuvered at a speed of about 30!  Do you ever find yourself gradually "accelerating" into "danger zones" without really knowing you are "getting close"?  Well, I do!  That day was just one of the more salient examples.  

As you can imagine, I misread a curve, over-corrected and landed my friend's car in the ditch.  Some folks call it "luck" that no one was hurt - I call it God's grace and mercy!  We were stuck!  All because of my doing.  To make matters worse, we were not only in a ditch, but we were "caught" on a mound of dirt, high-ended in the ditch.  Not only were we in the ditch, but our tires were not touching the ground!  Not an easy place to get any "traction" to get out of the ditch!  Sometimes our misadventures in life get us "high-ended", unable to get any "traction" to get out of the fix we got ourselves into!

Thank goodness the car was filled with people!  At least we had enough muscle power to push the car out of the ditch.  But...we had to get its wheels on the ground again in order to get a start on getting it out of the ditch!  The folly of fools is kind of like being not only in the ditch, but without wheels on the ground!  This "fool" learned a lot from this most humbling of moments.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I found all kinds of excuses for why we ended up in the ditch - most of which pointed the finger somewhere other than at me!  The fool learns quickly to shift blame - assuming others will not see through their feeble attempts to cover-up their wrong actions.  

We eventually were back on the road, and I found it quite amazing to hear my friend actually tell me to drive us home!  Here I had landed them all in a ditch, high-ended her car, and put us through about another hour of agony attempting to free the vehicle from the mound of dirt and the unpacked gravel of the ditch - and she was trusting me to get them home safe!  I am not so sure this would have been my response, but she somehow saw through my shame (cleverly masked by all my excuses) and trusted me to "learn" from this moment.

It was not until the next morning when she went to drive to work, recognizing an empty gas tank and a strong smell of gas vapors around her car, that we discovered the "damage" of my folly.  Yep, a hole in the gas tank!  Thankfully, the guys we knew from the barracks were able to fix the leak, but the "patch" would always stand as a reminder of my folly!  Try as I might, hidden from the view of the public, it still was there to remind me of my escapade.  I lived with the fear the patch might not hold, it could cost me hundreds of hard-earned cash to fix, and I would have further inconvenienced my friend by having her car laid up for another period of time while repaired.  

Sin is often a result of our folly.  We set out on some venture in life, most of the time without any real thought, and find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of a muddle before we know it.  In those moments, what we do with the mess we are in makes all the difference!  It determines whether we will "show" wisdom, or just proclaim to have learned our lesson!  Just as the gas tank held the patch, our lives sometimes hold some pretty significant patches, as well.  At best, they are just that - patches.  There is always the "niggling" feeling the patches may not hold.  After all, patches are not only unreliable, they are also a little bit of a painful reminder of what went wrong!  As long as we focus on the patch we can "work out" in our lives, we fail to ever want to have the "fix" which will be permanent and reliable - God's grace.

Yep, the fool ends up in the ditch!  The place where traction for correction is hard to find.  The place where unrealized damage can occur - often not discovered until later.  Yet, when we admit our misguided actions, seek to have the "damages" permanently fixed by the one who put us together in the first place, and then begin to "navigate" life by his leading, we begin to "show" how wise we have become!  Just sayin!