Carry me

Greatness lies, not in being strong, but in the right using of strength; and strength is not used rightly when it serves only to carry a man above his fellows for his own solitary glory. He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own. (Henry Ward Beecher)

I pose the question today of who specifically it is that you are carrying? Are you carrying yourself, concerned only with your own reputation, focused merely on what you find you will obtain from the 'greatness' you are portraying? Or are you carrying others, sometimes without number, into that place of greatness, not on your coat-tails, but in the places of your heart and soul that truly help get them from where they are to where you imagine they can be? We might think we need to develop more strength for the battle, but it could be we just need to come alongside someone so that we both make it through the battle together!

No king succeeds with a big army alone, no warrior wins by brute strength. Horsepower is not the answer; no one gets by on muscle alone. Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body and soul together. We’re depending on God; he’s everything we need. What’s more, our hearts brim with joy since we’ve taken for our own his holy name. Love us, God, with all you’ve got—
that’s what we’re depending on. (Psalm 33:16-22 MSG)

We can be very strong, but quite weak at the same time. Some might find that hard to imagine, but if we stop to really consider it, we might just find it true. The strongest among us are sometimes the loneliest! They are sometimes the hardest to get to know and are the hardest to be around! Why? It could be they haven't learned how to use their strength as wisely as they should, or it could be they have no idea how to use that strength to better the lives of another. Strength alone doesn't make us strong - it is the combined 'strength' that comes from realizing grace carries us so that we can in turn assist in carrying others!

I ask again - who are you carrying? If there is no one, you are likely most miserable in your journey! The strength we are given not just for our own benefit - it is meant to be used to assist another in the journey. Greatness is not strength and strength is not greatness. Sometimes we equate the two, but I have seen many a strong person with no position or power other than that they immensely love God and have been touched deeply by his grace. I have observed many a 'great person' who possesses absolutely no strength themselves, relying on the efforts of others for everything they achieve. 

God isn't after our greatness - he is after our hearts. In touching our hearts, he makes us great! In making us great, he desires for us to help others be great. In giving us strength, he hopes we will use that strength to urge another along their course, or carrying them for a while when they cannot do it any longer on their own. We don't find our strength in all the places the world seems to think we will. It isn't in stature, or fame, or money. It is simply found in the deepest places of our need - for in those places we come face-to-face with his grace and nothing, absolutely nothing, makes us stronger than grace! Just sayin!

A mind wasted?

Rene Descartes said, "It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well." How many times do we use our minds as they are intended to be used? I daresay that we probably 'daydream' a little too much at times, veg out on some meaningless TV program, or lull ourselves into blissful repose by counting sheep - all use our minds, but when pursued for way too long, we might not be using our minds as well as we should. The mind is meant to be active - at least a good part of our day - but in activity that is honoring to God. It is meant to consider, concentrate, calculate, and create. It is made to prompt action and stimulate appreciation. A mind focused on self all of the time is indeed wasted - it is indeed not what God intended.

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. (Romans 8:5-8 MSG)

The mind is used in a good many ways, but there isn't always room for thinking on the things of God. Sometimes our minds get so filled with other thought - shutting out thought of God's grace, his actions on our behalf, and his intense carefulness over our lives. We miss the moments to consider what he has done and continues to do in our lives - all because we get so focused on self. Self is indeed a formidable barrier to considering God - to worship. Worship is a form of 'purposeful thought' - to worship, one focuses their thoughts on the object of their worship. We can worship a good many things. I propose the things we think upon the most - focusing the attention of our minds upon most frequently - these are the things we worship the most. If that object of our attention is self, then our worship is really of all the things that build self up, keep self satisfied, and create a sense of well-being in self.

Self is really demanding - it wants to be satisfied the majority of the time. This is where we get the idea of being 'selfish' - wanting self to get what it wants regardless of the needs of those around us. The thought life focused on self is not easily persuaded toward different thought. It finds no need in thinking of others, or of the circumstances outside of one's own life. Why? Self demands the focus remain inward, refusing to allow the concentration to drift outward. When we are this absorbed in self, we ignore what is right there in front of us. We ignore the things that should trigger actions outside of ourselves. Actions that are directed toward the needs of others are not the object of our thoughts - at least not most of the time. Yes, the selfish thought life can be directed external to self on occasion, but it is not the most common use of one's thoughts!

If we find ourselves a little too 'inward' in our focus, it might just be time to ask God to help us explore the space in our thought life he created for the consideration of the needs of others and the enjoyment of those things he has provided in our lives. If we find we cannot easily do this, we only need ask for his help. He delights in being asked to reorder our focus - to help us be less selfish and more open to those around us. There is no true joy in only catering to self - only focusing on selfish demands. There is genuine joy and tremendous peace in realizing grace delivers us from a selfish mind intent on nothing more than the building up of self. Just sayin!