Respect

Respect the Lord and be humble. Then you will have wealth, honor, and true life. (Proverbs 22:4)

If you have wondered what it takes to live a "blessed life", then you have to look no further than the examples we find in scripture. Yes, there is a whole lot of tragedy and suffering recorded in those pages, but all are written so we can live a blessed life. We are to learn much from our suffering - to be made stronger and grow in our relationship with Jesus and others. A blessed life is one in which the Lord receives the right placement and the right honor. When we are humble enough to acknowledge we have need of the Savior's oversight and work in our lives, we begin the journey toward true blessing. As long as we hold onto the reins of our lives, we won't realize the blessing of being in his protective care. It is much more work to hold on than it is to let go. As "hard" as we may think it is to "let go" of those reins, it is much, much harder to hold so tightly to them when the world around us is spinning in every direction!

- Appreciate God - we are to give him the place of the highest of regard in our lives. This means we do more than place him on a pedestal as some "thing" we worship, but rather we give him the prominent place in our lives. Imagine for a moment that the prime minister, highest government official, or President of your country announced he was going to take supper at your home next Monday and you had the time to prepare for his visit to your home, what would you do? I imagine you'd clean up the place, buy a few luxurious delicacies, and then ensure the nicest of meals was placed before him that night. Why? To show him honor or regard for his position. When we appreciate the position of Christ in our lives, we are acknowledging he holds the most prominent and influential position.

- Give him awe. The opposite of awe is none other than apathy. The opposite of apathy is passion, emotional investment, and excitement. Respecting the Lord brings into our lives a certain passion - because we begin to pour ourselves into the pursuit of the good things. At first, the relationship is definitely one of what we can imagine we will "get out of it", but in time, the relationship begins to turn to what we can "give back into it". We move from a place of "bless me, God" to a place of "God, make me a blessing". In essence, we are moving into a place of passion and excitement - a place where God can begin to use us. There is no greater honor or respect we can give him than to be of use to him in his kingdom!

- Recognize his presence. Give admittance to him so that we might learn to understand his ways and his movements. Whenever we let someone into our lives, don't we become more familiar with how they act, what they mean when they say something, how and where they move? Recognition of God's activity in and around us is a way of showing him respect. It is us taking notice of him which begins many a great work within us. Just sayin!

Life Hack #17: Recognize, Respect, and Uphold

Life Hack #17:

Listen with respect to the father who raised you, and when your mother grows old, don’t neglect her. Buy truth—don’t sell it for love or money; buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight. Parents rejoice when their children turn out well; wise children become proud parents. So make your father happy! Make your mother proud! (Proverbs 23:22-25)

In today's culture, we might find that parents have become "chums" to their kids rather than parents. The move toward "befriending" the child has brought about a kind of disrespect which society sees manifest in a multitude of ways - everything from the simple rebellions of back talk, crossing boundaries with too much ease, disrespecting teachers at school, engaging in rebellious behaviors, and keeping wrong company. Parents have a role in raising their kids - more than just to put food on the table and clothes on their back - just as much as kids have a role in bringing respect and honor to their parents. That said, the two roles need to be recognized, respected, and upheld - by all parties.

When an individual becomes a parent, it is a lifelong endeavor - not easily ended at the age when the minor becomes an adult. Kids start out in this life acting like little leeches, hanging on for dear life to their parents, sucking the very life from them. As time goes on, they want nothing to do with their parents. It is a sad fact, but today's society often separates parents from children by not only miles, but also by the demands on one's time, energies, and abilities. In turn, kids end up missing out on the tremendous blessing of the wisdom of the parent and parents end up missing out on the awesome honor of seeing how their kids really function in this world.

We are not to be easily separated from the structure God provided for our overall well-being. Parents are to raise us in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, giving us a set of standards upon which we can base our life decisions and daily choices. Children are not only to listen to the wisdom they receive, but embrace it, and then replicate it in the lives of their own children. 

It is a circle of sorts, passing down from one generation to the next the foundation of loving God first, serving him with all your heart, and then living out that love in the other relationships you form in this world. We bring joy to our parents when we model good behavior, wise choices, and live as examples of Christ in this world. Honor is not something our parents owe us; it is something we owe to them. We bring it to them by the evidence of Christ-centered "foundational living" in our lives. Recognize each other - respect one another - uphold those relationships. They matter! Just sayin!

Respect - who knew?

If you have wondered what it takes to live a "blessed life", then you have to look no further than the examples we find in scripture.  Some will say there is a whole lot tragedy and suffering in those pages, so how can I ever equate that with living a blessed life.  It depends on how you view your blessings, my friend. I have learned much from the suffering in my own life - some might even say I have been made stronger, and grown in my relationship with Jesus and others as a result.  Now, in my estimation - that is a blessed life.

Respect the Lord and be humble. Then you will have wealth, honor, and true life. (Proverbs 22:4 ERV)

A blessed life is one in which the Lord receives the right placement and the right honor.  When we are humble enough to acknowledge we have need of the Savior's oversight and work in our lives, we begin the journey toward true blessing.  As long as we hold onto the reins of our lives, we won't realize the blessing of being in his protective care.  It is much more work to hold on than it is to let go, though.  As "hard" as we may think it is to "let go" of those reins, it is much, much harder to hold so tightly to them when the world around us is spinning in every direction!

I looked up synonyms for the word respect.  Do you know there are about twenty?  In fact, when I began to look at some of the synonyms, I was kind of amazed to see how much they really pointed toward the type of relationship we are to maintain with Christ.  Here are just a few:

- Appreciate.  In essence, when we say we are to "appreciate" the Lord, we are saying we are to place him in the place of the highest of regard in our lives. This means we do more than place him on a pedestal as some "thing" we worship, but rather to give him the prominent place in our lives.  Imagine for a moment that the prime minister, highest government official, or President of your country announced he was going to take supper at your home next Monday and you had the time to prepare for his visit to your home, what would you do?  I imagine you'd clean up the place, buy a few luxurious delicacies, and then ensure the nicest of meals was placed before him that night.  Why?  You want to show him honor or regard for his position.  When we appreciate the position of Christ in our lives, we are acknowledging he holds the most prominent and influential position.

- Awe.  Would you have equate respect with awe?  It came as a little bit of a surprise to find this in the list of synonyms, but it is listed as the second!  When I saw the opposite of awe as none other than apathy, it became clear to me why awe made it to the list for expressing respect.  The opposite of apathy is passion, emotional investment, and excitement.  Respecting the Lord brings into our lives a certain passion - because we begin to pour ourselves into the pursuit of the good things he calls us into.  At first, the relationship is definitely one of what we can imagine we will "get out of it", but in time, the relationship begins to turn to what we can "give back into it".  We move from a place of "bless me, God" to a place of "God, make me a blessing".  In essence, we are moving into a place of passion and excitement - a place where God can begin to use us. There is no greater honor or respect we can give him than to be of use to him in his kingdom!

- Recognition.  At first, I thought this just had to do with giving him the right place in our lives - like we give recognition to the one who wins the race, or plays the lead in a play.  It carries a much deeper meaning, though.  The idea is that of giving admittance to so that we might learn to understand his ways and his movements.  Whenever we let someone into our lives, isn't one of the things we do in the course of time is become more familiar with how they act, what they mean when they say something, etc.?  In much the same way, recognition of God's activity in and around us is a way of showing him respect.  It is us noticing him which begins many a great work within us.  Just sayin!

Cart before the horse?

Have you ever answered before you totally listened?  I think this is a plight common to mankind - we get ahead of ourselves and others on occasion.  Whenever we do, the natural outcome is to either to jump to conclusions before we have all the facts we need, or to think we know the solution when we have no idea we are really aiming at.  To this end, I find myself often "backing the boat up" to start over again when I find I have jumped ahead!  I need to regroup - something which can be costly, to say the least, because we expend our energies and often harm relationships when we have put the cart before the horse.  The core reason we suffer from this common ailment of "acting before listening" is this idea of pride.  This "superior" impression we have of ourselves, our abilities, and our stance in life often gets in the way of us really hearing!  When it does, we find the issues multiply - they don't seem to decrease!

Pride leads to destruction; humility leads to honor. It’s stupid and embarrassing to give an answer before you listen. (Proverbs 18:12-13 CEV)

Pride leads to destruction.  It is like a detour sign - you can be traveling along pretty well when all of a sudden you encounter this orange sign indicating your course is going to be changed.  You might find yourself in some of the most unfamiliar territory whenever you have to follow a detour!  So avoiding detours is probably a good thing!  Pride always leads somewhere - but the destination and the journey it takes us is not always that desirable.

Humility leads to honor.  A different path indeed - for in humility, we find we are no longer guided by our need to be in control, but can willingly submit to the will of another. In pride, we simply plunge ahead despite hearing the will of another, or without waiting to discover it!  The bulk of our relationship issues really stem from the times we allow pride to dictate our actions.  

If you have ever found yourself "backing the boat up", you know how this simple action makes you feel - humiliated!  Now, humiliation is when we "lose face", so to speak.  We take a blow to our self-respect.  Essentially, not listening is really a sign we don't respect ourselves in the first place!  If we did, we'd save ourselves the "rework" in life!  

So, how do we learn to listen THEN answer rather than answer THEN listen?  If we really want to avoid the rework,we have to get a handle on our feelings of "self-importance" and see how it is we move into a greater place of "self-respect".  These are different - one elevates one's worth to unreal heights; the other gives us a true sense of exactly where we stand.

It has been hard to learn not to "talk over" others - this is a constant life-lesson for me.  I think my ideas and stories matter, I guess, so I just start blurting them our on occasion when they neither matter, nor is the timing right for their sharing.  The times when I have deferred to another to just listen, I learn so much.  I learn about them as a person and I am able to hear the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit bringing clarity into my mind and heart.

This one action of listening FIRST has been the hardest lesson for me to learn, but it probably has been one of the most valuable.  Yet, there are times when others expect me to have more to say, or to jump to immediate action.  They don't understand this period of just "listening".  In fact, they misinterpret it as me being timid at times.  In fact, I am not timid - I am just trying to avoid the "rework"!  If I were totally honest, I have been embarrassed by my quick conclusions in the past and don't want to repeat that same action in the present!

A couple of things to remember:

- Rework happens anytime we don't take the time to listen up front.  Pride keeps us from listening - because we think we have it all figured out, know best, have been this way before, etc.  We have to move from being "self-important" to being able to respect the decisions we make - this only comes when we take time consistently to listen.

- Humility is not being abased.  It is being aware of one's value and then allowing that value to lend to the moment.  We don't flaunt our value - we lend it.  The difference is that of being available to do as God says, when he says.  Pride gets us acting out of our own impressions - humility helps us to act on the impression God plants within.

- Relationships are made better in the listening.  We discover so much about ourselves when we take time to be quiet!  You may think the opposite would be true, but when I don't immediately launch into action, I find my thoughts allow me to digest the truths I am hearing and weed out the untruths just as well.

We may not get this down the first time we try it, but if we consistently ask God to assist us in being more in tune with where and when we might just be displaying a little too much self-importance, he will reveal not only those places and times, but a consistent theme of where we have been less than respectful of others and ourselves.  We don't avoid detours by ignoring the signs - we manage to avoid them by never traveling down the road in the first place!  Just sayin!

Principle 16: Do Your Parents Proud

Parents don't seem to get the same respect they once received, do they?  In today's culture, parents become "chums" to their kids, rather than parents. The move toward "befriending" the child has brought about a kind of disrespect which society sees manifest in a multitude of ways - everything from the simple rebellions of back talk, crossing boundaries with too much ease, up to dropping out of school, engaging in rebellious behaviors, and keeping wrong company.  No wonder our sixteenth principle deals with the attitude we are to have toward our kids and the attitude they are to exhibit toward us!  Parents have a role in raising their kids - more than just to put food on the table and clothes on their back - just as much as kids have a role in bringing respect and honor to their parents.  That said, the two roles need to be recognized, respected, and upheld.

Listen with respect to the father who raised you, and when your mother grows old, don’t neglect her.  Buy truth—don’t sell it for love or money; buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight.  Parents rejoice when their children turn out well; wise children become proud parents.  So make your father happy!  Make your mother proud!  (Proverbs 23:22-25 MSG)

Parents - those who give life to the child.  When an individual becomes a parent, it is a lifelong endeavor - not easily ended at the age when the minor becomes an adult.  To this day, my 95 year old mother worries about me - those things which affect me at work life, in my home life, and even in my spiritual life.  She will shuffle over, sit down beside me on the couch, pat my knee and just sit there.  I know this is a sign of her just being concerned about how I am doing.  In the mornings, she will find her way to wherever I am perched at the computer, kiss the top of my head, tell me she loves me, and then she might return to bed or go make her cup of tea.  At night, she tells me she loves me and that she hopes I sleep well.  She is limited in sight, but she picks up on me having a hard day at work when she hears it in my voice or notices me being a little more quiet than usual.  In turn, she asks what she can do for me.  At 95, I should be asking what I can do for her!

Children - those who take life.  Kids start out in this life acting like little leeches, hanging on for dear life to their parents, sucking the very life from them.  As time goes on, they want nothing to do with the parent, leaving them alone to fend for themselves, even in the advancing years of "old age". One of the things I hear my mom say quite often is that she wished this friend or that one had someone as good as her children to take care of them in their elder years.  It is a sad fact, but today's society often separates parents from children by not only miles, but also by the demands on one's time, energies, and abilities.  In turn, kids end up missing out on the tremendous blessing of the wisdom of the parent and parents end up missing out on the awesome honor of seeing how their kids really function in this world.

Our writer puts the two together as a reminder that we are not to be easily separated from the structure God provided for our overall well-being.  Parents are to raise us in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, giving us a set of standards upon which we can base our life decisions and daily choices. Children are to not only listen to the wisdom they receive, but embrace it, and then replicate it in the lives of their own children.  It is a circle of sorts, passing down from one generation to the next the foundation of loving God first, serving him with all your heart, and then living out that love in the other relationships you form in this world.  We bring joy to our parents when we model good behavior, wise choices, and live as examples of Christ in this world.  Honor is not something our parents owe us, it is something we owe to them.  We bring it to them by the evidence of "foundational living" in our lives.  Just sayin!

Investing or Divesting?

We may think we have good friends, but in the midst of crisis, friendship is tested.  Those who come out on top are those who actually stick with you when all the blessings appear to be gone.  A man or woman of integrity has this unique way of being sensitive to the needs around them.  They are moved into action to meet those needs, no matter how small they may seem.  Even the smallest need met in the roughest of times for a friend can make the difference between going under, or rising above the circumstances.  As we have been studying throughout the past month or so, a man or woman of integrity actually lives in such a way so as to avoid the planning and action of evil.  God's unfailing love and his faithfulness surrounds those who will choose to align their priorities with his, remaining open and sensitive to the needs which are all around them.

Reverence for God gives a man deep strength; his children have a place of refuge and security. Reverence for the Lord is a fountain of life; its waters keep a man from death.  (Proverbs 14:26-27 TLB)

Riddled in between various passages throughout Proverbs is this concept of exhibiting a strong work ethic.  In essence, we are reminded of the "gift" of working - it is a privilege to fulfill the work we are given.  Did you ever stop to think of just how many ways we actually engage in "work" outside of the workplace?  Yes, we are called to be good stewards of our time and talent IN the workplace, bringing a good return to our company.  We are also called to be good stewards of the relationships God gives us and the truths he provides for our learning.  Both of these actually require a great deal of "work" on our parts, so when God speaks of having a good work ethic, we can apply this to our willingness to really commit to and work at solid relationships, as well as our actions of getting as much out of his Word as we possibly can.

Reverence is something we kind of associate with "church", right?  Really, it is the regard with which we hold something or someone.  It is the idea of both respect and honor.  When we place God in a place of honor in our lives - at the central control panel, so to speak - we are reverencing him.  When we commit to relationships with others by holding those relationships in a place of respect and honor, we are showing we "reverence" those relationships as "special".  Taking time to really explore the Word of God in order to do more than read its words, but to allow them to impact the way we live is to reverence the very truths we are given by a loving God.  So, reverence is more than a "church" word - it is a way of living - even a way of "working".

I love this idea of God being a place of refuge and safety for those who love him and hold him in a place of "reverence" in their lives.  As we know, a refuge is a place of shelter from danger or distress - a means of resort for help in times of difficulty.  Most shelters have a means of entry, don't they? Even putting up an umbrella to shelter yourself from falling raindrops has a way of "entry" into that shelter - you step under it, or move it over your head. God's shelter is no different - there is a way of entry into his place of refuge and safety.  It is "reverence" - honoring and respecting his rightful position in our lives.  There is a way of entry into solid relationships and deep learning - both require commitment, integrity, and fortitude - three characteristics of honoring and respecting the value of both.  

There is one thing which we are also warned about throughout much of this book of Proverbs which appears to influence how well we manifest our "reverence" of God, each other and the Word.  The idea of anger is considered repeatedly - almost as much as this idea of working hard.  There is much which occurs when anger - displeasure expressed or repressed - is allowed to enter into our "work".  We "divest" ourselves of the commitment we have toward the work at hand.  If it is the "work" of maintaining close relationship with God, or even one of his children, we can "divest" ourselves of commitment, causing each relationship to begin to crumble and fail.  Simply put, when we "divest" ourselves from the relationship, we strip the relationship of what it needs to remain strong and vital.

Attitude reveals how much we are really "invested" in relationship - almost as much as it manifests just how much we have "divested" ourselves.  Just as a relaxed attitude will lengthen life since stress cannot perform its destructive work within, the right attitude can lengthen and strengthen our relationship with others, God, and even his Word!  I think God wants us to recognize how much our attitude reflects our intent; intent reflects our desire; desire reflects our reverence.  The child of God not only finds refuge in times of trouble in the shelter God provides, but they also find refuge from their sins.  Remember how I said we need a point of access into any refuge?  The point of access into God's refuge is always confession - confession of our need for his forgiveness, our inability to live upright on our own, and the need for a Savior. Access into his presence is through Jesus - he is the door.  

Just a few lessons from Proverbs to bring us together this morning.  How is your attitude today?  You showing your "investment" or your "divestiture" in your relationship with God today?  How about with each other?  How about toward the truths he wants to teach you?  Remember, reverence is really holding something or someone in the place of deep respect and highest honor in your life.  This place belongs to God first - then the "investment" into another is an outflow!  Just sayin!

Vote Biblically, Not Republican or Democratic!

Today is election day in the United States.  Even countries around the world will watch in anticipation of the outcome of today's votes.  Why?  The next leader of these United States will do a lot to either continue to support or disintegrate world peace, and even to drive forward or veer dangerously from the founding principles upon which this nation was first formed.  They have an "interest" in the outcome - we, as citizens, have a "vested interest"! 

Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.  (Romans 13:1-3 MSG)

Paul lays it out well - be a good citizen.  Today is your day to either approve or disapprove candidate after candidate - federal, state, or local.  Propositions have been carefully placed on the ballot to receive the opinion of the people related to raising taxes, funding this growth opportunity or the other.  It is YOUR day - don't waste it!  Now that we have that non-paid political announcement out of the way, let me begin by sharing something my pastor shared this weekend.  We vote, not Democrat or Republican - but as a Christian, we vote the Bible!  As you well know, not any one candidate or specific proposition will totally and completely match up with scripture, but there are points with each which will come closer or be farther away from the scriptural foundations we all believe.  Some will support abortion, others will not.  Some will give way for our seniors to be well cared for in their old age, others will reduce their benefits even further.  When we look at today's choices, we need to keep in mind what scripture declares to be the standards upon which the founding fathers envisioned this country being solidly built upon - the Word of God.

Paul gives us a couple of salient points to keep in mind - even when the votes may not being the way we hoped.  First, and definitely foremost, God is in charge.  ALL governments are UNDER God.  Not some, but ALL.  Where are they?  UNDER God.  No one will enter office by accident - it is fully under his control....BUT remember what I blogged the other day.  Israel wanted a "king like all the other nations" had.  If all we hope for is what the other nations have, we will vote far below our potential as a nation!

Second, WE have a responsibility as citizens.  Not only to vote, but to live well within the rules of our states.  Paul goes on to say we only feel threatened by those in positions of authority when we are doing what is wrong.  If we are rightly aligned under God's authority, it is easier to submit to the authorities over us.  Keeping in mind, ALL governments are UNDER his authority, we are indirectly submitting to God when we submit to the leadership we have elected.  

Third, peace and order are not created by any man or woman - they are totally God's doing.  He directs the course of the world - not us.  We do our part in being responsible citizens by using the privilege we have been given - to vote.  He does his part by guiding the hands, heads, and hearts of the leaders placed into office.  He will always allow for their freewill, but if we are sensitive to vote "biblically", we will be placing those in office with hands, heads, and hearts more inclined to listen to his leading.  

Last, descent citizens have nothing to fear.  It is easy to get all worked up about the unknown.  Yet, in God's foresight, his all-knowing ability, nothing is truly unknown.  If we are prayerful in our vote, doing our "homework" on the candidates, getting past the smear campaigns on the TV, and really "honker down" to vote the scriptures, we are placing our vote in God's hands.  Did you hear that?  We are placing our vote in GOD's hands!  This is the best we can do!  Just sayin!