Leah and I had a long day yesterday, but we got a lot accomplished…yard mowed (me), garage cleaned out (me), rearranging living room (both of us), and cleaning out Lexi’s room (Leah).  At the end of the day we sat down to watch TV and turned on a show we had never seen before called, Hoarding: Buried Alive.  According to wikipedia, hoarding is “a mental disorder marked by an obsessive need to acquire (and failure to use or discard) a significant amount of possessions, even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary.”  We could not stop watching the stories of these people whose lives had been ruined by their years of accumulating things.  While watching the show, I kept wondering why these people just didn’t clean up their house and move on with life, but with each story there was a significant or series of significant events which contributed to their hoarding behavior.  One lady shared how she had been raised by an very mean aunt who, at one point, took everything the girl owned and burned it in a barrel and made her watch.  This past experience caused her to cling tightly to the things she owned in the present.

Watching this show last night reminded me that our past experiences shape the person we become.  Although our past does not necessarily excuse our future actions, it does help explain why we do what we do.  Allow me to take this one step further.  I believe it is also important that we remain patient when a person struggles with behavior foreign to us.  Even though I do not struggle with hoarding, I am not better than the person who does struggle with it…I’ve got my own problems.

Those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ must learn to be patient with those who are in the process of changing because change is a lifelong process, not an overnight sensation.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFoFHVZ8_ro&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

Do I really look that suspicious? Really? Somebody thinks I do. It all started the other day when I had to stop by Wal-Mart to pick up a few basic things. I wasn’t inside too long before I was checking out and then heading out the automatic doors into the parking lot; however, as I exited the store, an armored truck guard must have also exited at the same time as me through the doors right next to me. We were now walking kind of parallel to each other. I finally noticed him because he was eyeing me. At first I did not realize who he was, but as soon as I saw him carrying a bag (probably full of money) and sporting a gun, I assumed he was not your friendly Wal-Mart greeter. I think what threw him off was the fact that I reached into my back pocket to retrieve my phone, but he must have assumed from my lighting fast moves that I was packing heat! His step quickened and the heavy truck door was thrown open and he disappeared into the great unknown…keeping his eye on me until the very last moment. The only thing that could have possibly made me look suspicious is the fact that I have a beard and was wearing a TOMS Shoes hat because all thieves have beards and wear hats!

I really hate it when people look at me suspiciously, especially when I know I haven’t done anything wrong. If I have done something wrong, that’s a different story. In my opinion, Christians are often on the suspicious list.

In your opinion, what makes Christians look suspect?

Since both of my kids have learned to ride their bikes this summer, I have been in search of a bike for myself so I can ride with them. In the meantime, I have been riding an electric scooter that requires me to push with one of my feet because the battery alone is not powerful enough to go up hills, even small ones. I’m pretty sure…let me rephrase that…I’m confident that a thirty-five year old man looks ridiculous riding a scooter; in fact, I caught a few people who saw me riding the scooter and ran inside their house in order to bring other family members outside to see the old guy on the scooter. Maybe I need to join the circus. I really didn’t care what everyone else thought about me because my kids thought I was really cool; of course, they don’t know any better, yet. After riding for a while, two middle school boys passed by us riding their bikes and looking at me they said, “Nice scooter. I wish I had one like that!” They rode away laughing. In the back of my mind I was thinking, “Listen, you little boys whose voices haven’t changed and whose armpits haven’t grown one hair yet. I’ll run over you with this scooter…if I can catch up with you!” For some reason, I allowed their snide comment to bother me.

It’s astounding how quickly we can be negatively affected by the comments of people who don’t really know us, barely know us, or don’t care about us. A judgmental word in passing, a controversial comment on your blog, an anonymous letter, or a criticizing e-mail can cause a person to re-examine his choices or even lose hope.

The voice which speaks only in passing is a voice which should be passed by.

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One day Jesus encounters a man who works for the IRS and asks him to change occupations. Instead of cheating people out of their hard earned money by collecting a little extra for himself, Jesus asks this man named Levi (Matthew) to work for Him. Without hesitation Levi closes his office, abandons everything he owns, and follows Jesus (Luke 5:27-28). This is a dramatic life change. After his early retirement from tax collecting, Levi holds a party in his home in honor of Jesus (his new boss) where the who’s who of losers and local outcasts attend alongside Jesus’ disciples (Luke 5:29). The people answering the door at Levi’s house obviously didn’t get the memo about sticking to the guest list because somehow the stuck-up religious people crashed the party accusing Jesus and His disciples of eating and drinking with losers (Luke 5:30). The so-called religious leaders thought that if Jesus and His followers were representing God, they should be a tad more discreet about the company they kept; after all, the scribes (interpreters of the Old Testament law) and Pharisees (group of people consumed with external rules) would never be caught dead befriending such outcasts.

When Jesus got word that the partypoopers had busted up the celebration, He immediately defended Himself and His disciples’ associations saying, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come not to call those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent” (Luke 5:31 NLT). Jesus’ defense here is simple. Rather than waste His time catering to people who thought they had God all figured out, He would instead spend His days offering hope and life to those who needed it most.

A lot of religious people are more concerned about who they can stay away from rather than being concerned about who needs Jesus.

“The locals are pretty nice around here,” I thought as the tall, elderly man standing at the door awaited our family to enter the store. I smiled and he spoke to me right before allowing us to pass through the entrance. At first I could not understand what he said because he was a “low talker.” No puffy shirt, though (only Seinfeld fans will understand)! “Excuse me,” my wife responded. “Don’t you know how to use the left hand turn lane?” the man inquired. His words made no sense and I must have looked confused so he provided further details of my supposed infraction. “I was turning in here right behind you, but you cut me off,” he continued. My wife quickly spoke up, “We’re not from around here. We’re just visiting from out of town.” Her answer did not seem to satisfy him so he mumbled something else and walked into the store. Now I know why he waited at the door for us. He wasn’t interested in welcoming us, but in making sure we were aware of the “code of conduct” in his town. Maybe I did do something wrong, but he saw my license plate. He knew I wasn’t familiar with his town.

I wonder how many people will visit churches this weekend and feel the same way?

As a side note, I figured that he may have also been an embittered Michigan football fan who was still nursing some wounds from Ohio State kicking their rear-ends this season. Just sayin…

What was I writing one year ago? Click here to read Trapped in a Room with a Fly

I was minding my own business last night. My kids were in bed. My wife was watching a crime drama downstairs (hopefully not one about a wife murdering her husband while he is asleep) and I was zoning in and out of consciousness in the bed upstairs while also watching some television. As you can tell, Leah and I have very distinct TV viewing habits. She likes shows where people die and I like shows where animals are given life! I can’t even remember what I was watching, but out of the corner of my eye I detected some quick movement. For whatever reason, I immediately went from oblivious mode to ninja mode (I think I pulled a muscle) by jumping out of the bed and toward whatever had moved. Instead of the object of movement being a crime drama crazed wife or an intruder, I discovered that a white moth had entered one of the doors of our house, which was probably left open by one of our non-energy conscious kids. I guess they are trying to do their part in the fight against global warming by letting all the cool air in our house outside into the atmosphere. Al Gore would be proud.

After getting a handle on my surroundings, I realized that I had overreacted. Rather than rapidly going on the offensive against an “unidentified object,” I should have been slow to counter. Many conflicts could be avoided if people would show restraint and examine all the facts before responding.

Have you gone on the offensive against someone or something without first exploring the whole truth?

RIP – the moth

Sitting at a stop sign with five cars in front of me, I began to wonder how long I’d be waiting at this infamous intersection in my town. While tightly gripping the steering wheel with both hands and starring straight ahead at the long line of cars ahead, I noticed a jogger slowly moving across the intersection. Great! More wasted time. As I looked closer, I noticed this guy was not the “normal” jogger type; in fact, his sweatpants were so tight that they looked as if they had been painted on and his stomach was so big that it was hanging out of his sweatshirt. I snickered to myself as I watched him shuffle across the street. My laughter at his expense had finally caused the time to go faster and before I knew it I had had moved to the front of the line. As I made a brief stop at the sign, I found myself looking to the left to catch one final glimpse of the non-typical jogger and I could still see him in the distance slowly moving along.That was pretty shallow of me considering the last time I jogged was…I’m not even sure when that would be. But, I guess it is easier to sit in judgment of someone else instead of first examining myself. “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5).

I’ve been in the same office for several years. It is relatively small but I have grown to like it. Recently I did some rearranging and decided to accent it with a new chair. You are probably thinking that I went out to purchase a brand new chair, but I actually chose to “steal” a very used one from our high school ministry room. It all started a couple years ago when someone donated old furniture to our high school ministry which most interior designers would consider “nasty looking stuff.” Our students didn’t care…they just thought it was cool that our space was being spruced up with something other than tables and chairs. Of all the furniture which was given to us, there was one piece which caught my attention – an ugly, green recliner/chair possibly used in a 1970’s disco club or John Travolta’s living room.

I have been surprised at the reaction of most people when they discover this chair in my office… they enter my office, look inquisitively at the chair, and request to sit in it. Almost always, they respond by saying “this chair is REALLY comfortable” as if they are shocked. After this scenario has been repeated over and over, I have come to realize that most people (including me) determine value by outward appearances. I admit – the chair is ugly; however, I didn’t choose the chair based on its looks, but its worth to me.

I believe James wrote about this issue of judging value simply based on outward appearance: “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor” – well, doesn’t this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives?” (James 2:1-4)

People deserve more than a judgmental eye – they can get that anywhere.