Why tolerance should never be practiced

All over the world, I hear calls for tolerance.

We are supposed to tolerate other people.  We are supposed to tolerate other faiths, races, creeds, political views, opinions, and just about anything else.

Tolerance is a terrible thing, and it should never be practiced.

When I tolerate someone, I can still hate him.  When I tolerate someone, it demeans that person.  It is degrading and demeaning to be "tolerated."

Jesus never told us to tolerate anyone.  Jesus told us to love.

The greatest commandment in the Bible is not to "Tolerate the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and tolerate your neighbor as yourself."  We are to LOVE the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and LOVE our neighbor as ourselves.

Tolerance is easy.  All I have to do is put up with you.  But to love- now, that is hard.

With all the riots in the Middle East and the storming of American embassies, I hear all kinds of calls for tolerance.  Tolerance for our enemies.  Problem- that's not what Jesus told us to do.

He told us to love our enemies.  Jesus knew that a world that simply tolerated each other would still be a terrible place.  His commands were for the people of the world to love each other.

He told us not to tolerate our enemies.  He told us to love our enemies.

Someone might say, "Dave, love would be great.  But in reality, tolerance is all we can hope for."  Maybe that's why the world is in the shape it is in.

What would happen if Hillary Clinton, in her speeches, called for love instead of tolerance?  Why aren't our nation's leaders calling us to love the radical Muslims that burned our embassies and killed our ambassador?  That's what Jesus told us to do.  Why do we think that a world full of tolerance would be any good whatsoever?

What would a marriage be if husband and wife tolerated each other?  Pretty bad marriage.  Not a happy home.

What would a marriage be if husband and wife LOVED each other?  Good stuff.

Same thing is true in our world.  Tolerance is a terrible thing.  It degrades, dehumanizes, and calls us simply to put up with each other.  The result of that would be miserable.  Love, however, is a beautiful thing.  It's what Jesus calls us to do.

We shouldn't tolerate people of other faiths- we should love people of other faiths.  We shouldn't tolerate people of a different race- we should love people of a different race.  We shouldn't tolerate our enemies- we should love our enemies.

If you tolerate me, you put me down.  If you love me, you build me up.  There's a big difference.  Don't ever call for tolerance in this world.  Call for love.

Belonging

I heard Building 429's song, "Where I Belong" on the radio while taking my kids to school yesterday.  My daughter and I were singing along with it.  If you haven't heard it, the chorus goes something like this:

All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong

I look around at a world in rebellion to God and realize why my heart leaps when I hear this song.  In daily life, it is tempting to resign myself to the fact that I am a citizen of a world where riots break out over stupid amateurish films, or God's design for marriage is ridiculed and challenged, or children in utero are now "choices," or children are forced into sex slavery, or materialism and worldliness are celebrated and championed.

I think the biggest battle that the Christian must fight in today's world is this:  simple worldiness.  We are constantly in danger of planting both feet in this world, aligning our primary citizenship here in this world instead of in heaven.  The earliest Christians never saw themselves as citizens of this world- they saw themselves as "sojourners"- travelers- through this world on a temporary basis.  They saw their primary citizenship in heaven.

Simple love for the shallowness of what this world offers will destroy the faith of millions of Christians.  I see it every day.  Simple love for worldly comforts will keep thousands at home instead of answering the call to foreign missions.  Simple love for worldly things will keep millions of Christians from finding ultimate satisfaction in God.  Simple love for the conventions of this world will move people onto the broad road that Jesus says leads to destruction. 

We are in danger of believing that we belong in this world.

We are in danger of believing that we should get along with what this world says.

We are in danger of sacrificing our citizenship in heaven so that we can be better citizens of this world.

The words of the Building 429 song echo through my head as I write this- "All I know is I'm not home yet/this is not where I belong."  Yet, does that mean that I just throw this world to the wolves, wash my hands of the whole situation, and write this world off as lost?  I can't.  Neither can you.  Love does not allow us to do this.  As long as God loves the people of this world, so must we. 

It's just that I can never allow myself to believe that my first allegiance is to this world and what it offers.  I have to constantly battle with the part of me that wants to believe that I need to fit in or be comfortable in this world, that if this world does not approve of what I am doing or saying that somehow I am in the wrong.  I have to constantly battle with a world that wants to make Jesus into its own image- the kind, loving, easy-pushover guy who was a butler and therapist to everyone (but who never once challenged or convicted or stated clear right from wrong, or who said that most people would walk the broad road leading to destruction, but only few would find the way to everlasting life).  I have to constantly be on my guard for what my heart desires, because every time I find myself desiring what this world offers, it's just another leash this world puts around my neck to stifle my freedom in Christ.

I have to be able to say, honestly, that there is nothing in this world that I need.  I only need Jesus.

Why the words "Who Cares" are essential to the Christian life

I was a middle school and high school soccer coach for many years.  The players I coached did what I told them to do without question.  I sometimes wondered why- why did these 20 players obey this one guy?

The reason they did what I told them to do is that they "needed" what I could give- playing time.

If they didn't do what I told them to do, they would sit the bench.  Ride the pines.  They would have sparkly clean uniforms at the end of the game and would be the laughingstock of the school.

So they did what I told them to do.

I remember one player I coached a long time ago who wouldn't do what I told him to do.  I told him to get in line for a drill- he said, "No."  I told him, "You get in that line, son, or you'll be running laps."  He said, "Who cares?"

I said, "Buddy, if you keep this up, you'll be on the bench the entire game tomorrow."  He said even louder, "WHO CARES?"  I said, "One more word, and you are off this team!"  This time he shouted, "WHO CARES??????"

I realized in that moment that I had no control over this kid, because he didn't value what I could give him.  He didn't want playing time, he didn't want to be on the team, and therefore I couldn't dictate to him what he should do.

I wonder if we as Christians are like the other players on the team being coached by the world and its values.  We don't speak up for our faith because we want what the world can give us- popularity.  We don't live any differently than the non-Christians around us because we want what the world can give us- comfort.  We adopt the same sexual values and same family decisions as the non-Christians around us because we want what the world can give us- approval.

Only when we as Christians can look at the world around us and say, "WHO CARES?" can we be out from under the influence of our non-Christian, secular culture.  We need to be able to look at a world that says, "Money is what you need!" and say "WHO CARES?"  We need to be able to look at a world that says, "Politics will solve all the problems!" and say, "WHO CARES?"

We need to be able to look at a world that says, "Get in line with how we dress, how we think, how we behave, how we do things, or you'll be an outcast!"  and say with a loud voice, "WHO CARES?"

We need to stop wanting what the world can give us.

When we stop wanting what the world can give us, it will have no more influence over us.

However, far too many Christians want what the world can give, and therefore allow it to dictate our values, agendas, lifestyles, and beliefs.  We are living under a tyrannical coach whose only power over us is there because we want the rewards only he can give.

What do you need to say "WHO CARES?" to today?

How to win the heart of your spouse

Marriage is tough.

It's great, wonderful, joyful, life-giving, rewarding . . . . .  but it's tough.  We as a culture aren't doing so great when it comes to seeing it through to the end, either. 

I had a couple in my office this week- a young couple that is struggling with weird work hours, young children, little time for each other, and all the other stresses that people go through in marriage.  I listened and counseled and we went through my all-time favorite prescription for marital success, James 1:19- "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."

As we talked through that verse, something just hit me.  I looked at the guy and said, "You know how to win her heart.  You've done it once already- that's why she married you.  I'm not telling you to do anything that you haven't already done before." 

I said the same thing to the lady.  "You know how to win his heart.  That's why he married you."

They looked at each other and smiled.  I said, "Right?"

They said, "Right."

I said, "So why did you stop?"

The guy looked at me and said, "What do you mean?"

I said, "You won her heart back when you were dating.  What did you do back then to win her heart, to make her feel special?"

He listed several things that he had done.  She did the same thing.  I finished the session with, "You both know how to win your spouses' heart.  So, this week- go out and win their heart back.  Do what you did in the beginning.  It worked, didn't it?"

Then I ask myself the same question- why have I stopped?  I know how to win my wife's heart.  I know exactly what to do to make her feel special, important, loved, cherished- all those things. 

So why did I stop?

I'm sure I can say the normal things such as, "Well, back then, we didn't have kids, or a mortgage, or all the stress of work, or worrying about retirement, or running kids to soccer games and tennis matches and baseball games and all that," but that's not the reason I stopped.

The reason I stopped is because all my incentive is gone.

See, men are hunters.  We see the quarry and go after it, doing whatever it takes to catch it.  Once we make the kill, we bring the deer or quail or moose or whatever it is back home, mount it on the wall as a trophy, and forget about it, moving on the next thing in life to be conquered.

That's where a lot of marriages are today.  We put in the hard work of dating and courtship and winning the heart, but now that we are married, all that stuff is over and we've mounted our marriage up on the wall like a trophy, never to be hunted or pursued again.

I see it all the time.  I see it in my marriage as well.  I have to constantly go back to the time when Rachel and I were teenagers- 19 year olds who had just met and were beginning the process of falling in love.  I always had time for her.  ALWAYS.  I didn't make excuses for why I couldn't see her- I made it happen, whatever it took.  I planned dates and surprised her with flowers, wrote her letters (that's HANDWRITTEN letters, guys, not text messages), and dressed up, looking my best whenever I would see her.

I know how to win my wife's heart.  But the list above is not something that resembles my life today whatsoever.  You are probably in the same boat as me.

I wonder why it is the universal assumption that the excitement of dating and the pursuing of courtship ends when we get married.  Why is that such a commonplace thing?

I challenge all married men (and women) to go back to the time when you won the heart of your spouse.  You know how to do it.  This isn't new territory.  This isn't a new skill.  You're a veteran at this.  You're good at this.  You are the master of winning the heart of your spouse.

It's just that if you are like me, you just haven't done it in awhile.

Go back in time.  Remember the days when just the touch of your spouse's hand sent about 600 volts of electricity up your spine?  Go back to the time when flowers and a date night trumped your TV show or Pinterest.  Go back to the time when you won the heart of the love of your life.  Let your home be filled with romance and passion, for that is the kind of home God desires for you to have. 

Start referring to your wife as your girlfriend or your husband as your boyfriend.  Or your fiance.  Enjoy each other.  Win their heart.  Be passionate.  Be loving.  Let the couple in the Song of Solomon inspire you.  Follow their example of lifelong love.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to get things ready for my date night with my wife.  I might be back by Sunday morning.

God has shown us the difference this week

Two major things have happened this week, involving the world's two largest religions:  Christianity and Islam.

One was a stupid amateurish film that insulted the prophet Muhammed.  We all saw the reactions to it- people murdered, embassies stormed, riots, mobs, destruction of property, etc.  Now, a week later, the violence has spread to other embassies- France and Germany are closing embassies for fear of more violence to their people and facilities.

The second was an article putting forth the proposition that Jesus might have been married.  This contradicts the Scriptural account of Jesus and could be seen as insulting to Jesus.  We all saw the reactions to this as well- Christian mobs rioting in the streets, bombing mosques and synagogues, murdering people and posting pictures of it, tearing down flags and putting up the cross, ripping up Korans and burning them while dancing and shouting.  Right?

Nope. 

I find it interesting that the two largest religions in the world have both been tested this week, both with potentially insulting messages lobbed at them.  I am very proud to say that while some Christians may have gotten upset and said some things on Facebook posts that were ugly, there has been and will be no violence from Christians because of it.  Jesus told us to turn the other cheek when insulted, and I am so very happy to see it happening, in contrast to what I see from the Islamic reaction to their test.

Now, before I go any further, I know that not every Muslim has reacted violently.  I would only be telling part of the story if I didn't note that I have heard from several Muslim people how grieved they are to see the violence and how embarrassed they are for this to be displayed for all the world to see.

Here in Lexington, there is a billboard up advertising atheism.  Still no violent Christian mobs running through the streets, setting fire to the billboard, murdering the people who put it up.  I guess the people who put up the billboard were counting on the nonviolence and character of Christians, because I would imagine they wouldn't have the guts to put that billboard up in Pakistan or Egypt or Libya.  They knew if they did that, they could count on a mob coming after them.  But not here among the Christians.  Christians may criticize and be opposed to it, but there will be no violence because of it.  For that I am very thankful.

I find it very interesting that these two tests came within one week of each other.  Each major religion was tested.  The test scores speak for themselves.

The Part of God's Will I Don't Want To Know

I was listening to a message by Francis Chan called, "Passionately Loving God in a Lukewarm Church," and he talked about his prayers for his church- that they would know God's will for their lives.

Then he stopped and asked, "Do the people in my church even WANT to know the will of God?"

I ask myself that same question all the time.  If you ask most of the people in my church if they would like to know the will of God, they would eagerly say, "Yes!"  I want to say, "Really?  Do you REALLY want to know the will of God for your life?"

I would go on, "Do you REALLY want to know what God would do with you, where He would send you, how you would live, if God had complete control over your time, schedule, energy, etc?  Isn't there a small part of you that says, 'Well, I really DON'T want to know.  Can't I just be a good person and live my life and die and stand before God and tell Him, 'I just didn't know what You wanted me to do!'

Honestly, Christians, how many of us truly want to know God's will?  How many of us want to know what time in the morning He wants us to get up, possibly to spend uninterrupted time in prayer, fasting, or study?  How many of us truly want to know how God would spend our paycheck?  How many of us truly want to know what profession God would send us into, how many children God would have us adopt, where He would have us live, and how He would have us treat the people we meet today?

All of a sudden, God's will doesn't look all that attractive.

At least, it doesn't look attractive to people who don't have the key element that the Christian faith is built on.  The key element that many Christian lack, yet I don't believe you can truly be a Christian without it.

That key element is trust.

When the Christian has the key element of trust in God as his or her foundation, all of a sudden God's will looks like the greatest thing in the world.  If you trust God to provide for your needs, then spending your paycheck the God would have it spent becomes the most natural thing in the world.  If you have trust in God to provide for your safety, then going where God sends you is the most natural thing in the world. 

Only with TRUST does the will of God look attractive.

If the will of God doesn't look attractive to you, if you are afraid of what God would have you do, if you are tentative in taking that next step of faith in God, it is probably because you don't trust God as much as you think you do.  Trust is built up over time in a relationship.  There is no way you can be the kind of person God wants you to be, to be sold out to His will, to accomplish the things that God wants for you in this world without trust.  Trust in the Almighty.

Maybe today you need to stop asking God to reveal His will for you.  Maybe you need to ask Him to help you trust Him more.

Only when there is trust will God bother to tell you His will for your life.  He doesn't waste time telling His will to people that want to make final judgment on whether or not to do what He asks.  He tells His will to people who trust Him enough that they've already agreed to do His will before they even know what it is.

That, my friends, is what trusting God is all about.

Reaping what we sow . . . .

"A young man had a terrible falling out with a neighboring farmer.  One night, in an act of cruel vengeance, he crept through the neighboring field, sowing the seeds of a persistent, virulent weed.  The weeds sprang up, and no amount of effort would eradicate them.

Years passed, and eventually the young man fell in love with the farmer's daughter.  He married her and, at length, inherited the farm.  He later confessed that he was spending the rest of his life reaping what he had sown in that one act of angry folly."- story told by Robert J. Morgan, pastor of Donelson Fellowship.

I wonder how many of us will do the same thing- spend the rest of our lives reaping what we sow during one moment of anger.  One moment of vengeance, which seems so justified at the time.  One moment of revenge.  Acting on a fleeting emotion that we know will be gone in a few hours, minutes, or even seconds- yet we will spend a lifetime paying for it.

Realize today that we DO reap what we sow.  We sow anger, we reap bitterness.  We sow drama, we reap more drama.  We sow kindness, we reap love and warmth.  Today, realize that you may spend a lifetime reaping what you sow in one moment.   Make each moment count.

Why I Stopped Supporting the War on Terror

While I am hacking everyone off, I might as well hack some more people off.

11 years ago, I was as stunned as anyone when I watched planes fly into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  I was enraged and called for blood like everyone else, and I even laughed at the jokes and pictures ridiculing Muslims that flew around the internet in the days following 9/11.  I called for immediate annihilation of all things opposed to the USA, my homeland.

I rallied around President George Bush and agreed that "if you aren't for us, you are against us."  I celebrated the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan and watched the invasion of Iraq, celebrating the fall of Saddam Hussein.  I was like many conservatives- I didn't listen to "the liberals" who criticized Bush for going into Iraq and who called for restraint in retaliation, believing them to be weak and anti-American.

I still believe that justice should have been done due to 9/11.  I don't believe in letting mass murderers get away without facing justice, and I don't have any other good solutions to what we did.  I don't envy the leaders in our country who have to make these kinds of tough decisions.

However, I am a Christian.  I stand with Christians all over the world, many of whom live in countries where it is illegal and dangerous to even own a Bible, let alone worship God publicly and openly.  To put it plain and simple, the war on terror has been the absolute WORST thing for worldwide Christianity that I've ever seen.

Prior to our invasion of Iraq, there was a thriving Christian population there.  There were more than 1.5 million Christians living with a fair amount of protection from the government.  Saddam was a tyrant and a despot, but he had no love for radical Islam and persecution of Christians was fairly rare.  Now, the Christian population in Iraq is slightly less than 300,000.  We killed the guy who was protecting Christians, and now it is open season.  Christian businesses are burned, churches are shot up, and Christians are either dead or forced to leave the country now.  I wonder what Iraqi Christians think about the US-led war on terror.

My Pakistani brothers tell me that every time there is a drone strike in Pakistan, the Christians there are persecuted.  They are seen, because of the war on terror, as US collaborators.  When Osama Bin Laden was killed, Pakistani Christians went into hiding for two to three days, fearing retribution.  Persecution of Christians in Pakistan has been exponentially intensified since the war on terror began.

Now, in Egypt, where Mubarek has been displaced (again, a tyrant who deserved to be brought to justice) persecution of Christians has intensified.  I have seen footage of Egyptian soldiers running over Christians with military vehicles and have seen footage of blood-splattered corpses of Christians shot by the military there.  This didn't happen under Mubarek.  We, as a nation, have killed the leaders that were protecting Christians within their borders.

Like I said before, I don't have any good alternative solutions to the war on terror- killers have to be brought to justice.  I just know that my Christian brothers and sisters in the countries affected have been hurt.  They have lost their protection from persecution.  Their populations have been decimated, and I can't support a war where the end result is a decimation of Christian populations.  I know too many kind, loving brothers and sisters in those countries who have lost everything, been forced to move, been jailed, beaten, or on the run for their lives because of our actions.  And for this I am truly sorry.

I write this blog to raise awareness of what the war on terror has done to Christian populations around the world.  Most of us aren't aware of this unintended side effect of our country's military action, and when I found out about it, it broke my heart.  I was overwhelmed with sorrow that I had supported a war that had these consequences on people that would host in me in their home if I was to journey there, who would pray for me if I asked them to, who identify themselves with Christ even though it costs them everything, and who face daily hardship for their beliefs. 

Now, with the attacks on the embassies in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, my only thoughts are to the Christian populations there.  How terrible it must be for them right now.  May God bless them and protect them.  Because of my love for them, and Christians in other parts of the persecuted world, I will no longer support the war on terror.

THIS guy is attractive . . . .

An old family friend told me on the day of my wedding, "Look, boy.  See that beautiful woman in that white dress?  This is the best she will ever look.  This is the best YOU will ever look. From this point forward, it's ALL downhill.  She won't ever look as good as she does today.  Neither will you."

He added, "I hope there's something more between you two than looks, because if there isn't, today is the best your marriage will ever be.  Every day from this point forward will be a disappointment."

I remember the first time I ever heard about an "arranged marriage."  I thought about how barbaric that was- someone's family picking your future spouse for you?  What did they know about marriage?  What if the person they picked out was ugly?  Or mean?  Or nasty?  Or, you had nothing in common with them whatsoever?

I think we can ask the same questions in our society as marriages continue to dissolve at the 50% rate- what do WE know about marriage?  Why did this person turn out mean?  Why did she turn out nasty?  Why did he become so ugly?  Why do we have nothing in common?

The hard truth is- arranged marriages in other cultures have a better track record than we do.  It's true.  One of the reasons is that people who are older and who have been married longer know that beauty is fleeting.  It is character that makes a marriage last, not physical beauty.  If physical beauty was the thing that made marriage last, Hollywood would have the best marriage rate.  We all know THAT isn't the case.

In cultures that arrange marriage, the parents look for things like work ethic, responsibility, family history, honesty, etc.  They then choose a mate for their son or daughter based on character.  Then, over time, romance develops.  In our culture, the opposite is true.  We base our relationships on the temporary and fleeting thing we call "love"- and watch the passion fade as it always does.  We then realize that the man we married is a pouty, whiny baby who cries when he doesn't get his way and the woman we married is a screeching owl with all the gentleness and soul of a wolverine.

 So what do we truly find attractive?  In the Bible, it tells the women to look for a man who has a Name.  This is not just a word describing a person- a Name, biblically, is the man's unchanging character.  His Name is his honesty, his uprightness, his strength.  This Name is described as "perfume poured out" (Song of Solomon 1:3)- pleasing and desirable.

The guys are told to look for a woman who is hardworking, who has a servant's heart, and whose beauty comes from a gentle and lovely spirit (Song of Solomon 1:5-7).  These are characteristics that increase over time, unlike physical attractiveness, which fades over time.

I am very excited about the upcoming Catalyst Christian Church series- "What's Love Got To Do With It?" It is a seven-week series based on the Song of Solomon, and we will cover every aspect of attraction, dating, marriage, sex, romance, and longevity that this amazing book of the Bible talks about.  If you are in the Lexington/Nicholasville area, I strongly urge you to come and experience this series with us.  If you are not from this area, which many of you aren't, you can listen to the podcast each week.  Go to www.catalystchristian.net and click our podcast link.

Here is the series schedule:
September 16- Who Should I Be Attracted To? 
September 23- How To Date
September 30- Winning the Heart- Courtship
October 7- God's Path to Sexual Intimacy . . . .  That LASTS
October 14- How To Fight Fair
October 21- Winning the Heart for a Lifetime- God's Path to Romance
October 28- Finishing Strong- The Art of Longevity

I pray that this series will cast a new light on something that our culture has simply gotten so wrong.  I hope to see you there!

5 Things We Never Learn . . . No Matter How Often It Happens

Have you ever seen ten different people make the exact same mistake, right in a row?  I have.

They installed a speed bump on the road outside a church that I was on staff at.  People sped through there all the time, and this particular Sunday was no exception.  Several of the elders and staff members sat in front of the church and laughed our heads off as ten different people in ten different cars sped down the road, each hitting the speed bump at around forty miles per hour causing their cars to launch into the air.  Not one of them learned the lesson from the previous car.

I laughed at that until I realized that I do the same things in my own life year after year after year.  You do too!  Here are a few things we refuse to learn from year to year:

1.  We need money for Christmas gifts!  Seriously, why does this surprise us each year?  It surprised us last year too.  I guess we didn't realize Christmas would come again this year too.  Instead of budgeting for it, it becomes a budget-breaker for many.

What happens in many cases is that the Christmas gifts are put on a credit card, which ends up getting paid off many months and many more dollars later.  That turns a simple life lesson into a very costly one, as well as a case of poor stewardship.

2.  I lost an hour of sleep because of Daylight Savings Time!  It amazes me, year after year, how surprised people are when they "lose an hour of sleep" on this sadistic day as if we didn't know it was coming.  I guess going to bed an hour earlier (because we remember how bad we felt last year, right?) just doesn't work for most people, and every year we are surprised that we wake up feeling tired.  Many people skip church that Sunday because they didn't learn last year's lesson.

The week following Daylight Savings Time is a down week.  Ask any teacher or any pastor or well, just about anyone, and they will tell you that people truly pay for that lost hour of sleep for a while.  It happens every year- you'd think one of these years we would wise up and learn from it.

3.  What?  Taxes are due on April 15th this year?  Yes, and they were due April 15th the last year as well.  Yet, how many of us see that day "sneak up on us" each year?  Surprise!

It's much easier to do taxes online now, but I remember the days when you had to mail them in.  I will never forget driving by the post office at 11:30 pm on April 14th, seeing the mile-long line of cars at every mailbox dropping off their tax returns.

4.  I don't know why I keep getting sick!  But shhhh!  I can't hear my late-night movie!  It never fails- every time we stay up too late and don't get enough sleep, we get sick.  But it still surprises us when it happens- like it has never happened before.

As a parent, I think the #1 predictor of whether or not my kids will get sick is how much sleep they get at night.  That goes for myself as well.  

5.  Why are my kids driving me crazy today?  Why are they so whiny today?  Why are they so rude today?  Along those same lines, we get after our kids for being whiny, rude, or disrespectful . . . but we are the ones who let them stay up two hours past their bedtime and they are exhausted.  It shouldn't surprise us, but it does.  Instead of blaming the kids, we need to blame ourselves, and we need to quit being surprised that they are acting like they are when they are tired. 

I'm sure there are more, but those were the only ones I could think of today.  Winston Churchill said, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." 

Political Conventions: Two groups of fleas arguing about the best plan for the dog they live on

I wondered why the temperature in the last two weeks seems to be very hot and humid.  I announce now that I believe in man-made global warming:

The hot air from the two political conventions raised the temperature in the world at least 10 degrees.

Political convention- noun, a place where you spend $70 million in three days for the purpose of criticizing the other person's lack of fiscal responsibility.

Facebook lit up with posts about how great their candidates were and how awful the other party's candidates are.  I like the picture of Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, and Jar-Jar Binks- I think that picture describes it best.

The reason I say all this is that I have lived through seven presidents now (Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama) and I can honestly say that none of them has really affected my daily life much at all.  Under each president, I got up and went to school (or work), played soccer, paid taxes, raised a family, had friends over for dinner, etc.  As a matter of fact, I seriously doubt that I would even really know someone was there if it weren't for cable news and social media. 

Maybe I've studied too much social history.  In Russia under the Czars, the average common laborer lived in poverty and went to work each day.  When the communists took over in 1917 (promising a better life for the middle class, interestingly enough) the average common laborer lived in poverty and went to work each day.  It mattered very little outside the city of Moscow who was in power- they did the same things and took care of the same people:  themselves.

It's beginning to feel like that in America.  Seriously- I don't hate Obama.  I don't even know him.  He's some faceless picture on a television screen to me.  So is Mitt Romney.  I don't like or dislike either one of them.  And I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever gets elected will beat the drum about how much he cares about me and my family, talk about how much better America will be during his leadership . . . .  and I will get up and go to work, raise my family, and live my life.  That's what I've been doing under the past 7 presidents and will probably do under whoever is president next.

What I am saying is that what we have heard from the conventions the past two weeks is pretty much a bunch of hot air.  We all know that they won't do what they say they will do.  The system doesn't allow it.  We all know by now that the "platform" each party proposes is a bunch of hogwash and will get stalled down in a bureaucratic nightmare of bills, motions, debates, and maybe a vote if the party in power allows it.

I wonder what the political process looks like to God from His point of view.  He must get a good laugh every 4 years, watching people holler and scream about things that won't even be issues in a hundred years.  I wonder if He likens us to two powerful groups of fleas, each with a better vision for ruling the dog they live on.  He knows that the fleas live a short time, don't really own the dog they live on, and really don't have a clue about anything.  One group of fleas claims that the dog owner is on their side, while the other gets in a shouting match, some saying that the dog owner is an important part of their history and some denying the existence of him (as if their belief or lack of belief determined whether he was there).  Sheesh. 

We are here on earth for a very short time.  We live, we get upset and stressed and holler and scream, and then we die.  Another generation comes along and lives, gets upset and stressed out and hollers and screams, then they die.  And another, and another, and another.  Each one thinks that the issues they face in their time are the most important the world has ever known.  Each one thinks the world is coming to an end.  All the while, from God's perspective, not much has changed. 

Whatever happens, it will still be two groups of fleas arguing over who has a better vision for ruling the dog they inhabit.  Yep.  That's pretty much it.

Why does God allow children to die?

I don't know.  If you ever figure it out, please let me know.  Every September 5, I ask myself this question as today is the birthday of my deceased son Jacob.

People ask all the time, "Why does God allow suffering?"  That's actually not a very good question.  People suffer all the time and never question why.  Women go through labor and never question why they are suffering, because they know that their child is coming.  Athletes go through the absolute hell of preseason conditioning and never ask God why they are suffering, because they know that their training will pay off during the season. 

I guess the question that people are truly asking is, "What's the purpose behind this suffering?"  People will go through hard times if they know the purpose.  So, I find myself asking, "What's the purpose of going through the death of my infant son?"

I truly don't know.  Maybe I will one of these days, but right now, I don't fully know the purpose.  However, an obscure passage in the book of Luke helped me immensely.

In Luke 4, we see the baptism of Jesus.  Great moment.  Voice from heaven, the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and the Son of God- all in the same moment (the only time in Scripture where we see all three parts of the Trinity at once).  Stellar moment.  Greatest moment in Scripture.

After His baptism, the Bible says that Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit."

However, after He was baptized, Jesus was driven into the desert where He fasted for 40 days.  He suffered.  He questioned.  He was tempted by Satan.  This was not a great stellar moment.  It was probably one of the hardest times in Jesus' life, save for the crucifixion.

After the desert, the Bible says "He returned in the POWER of the Spirit."

Big difference.  After the big, great grandiose moment, He was full of the Holy Spirit.  After the terrible, suffering moment, He was in the power of the Spirit.

There is a big difference between being full of the Holy Spirit and living life in the power of the Holy Spirit.  As Christians, many of us go from high moment to high moment- a great worship service, a mission trip, a great conference, etc- and avoid the desert experiences like the plague.  It seems, however, that the powerful Christian life can only be lived after a time of suffering.  It seems that suffering leads us to be people we would not be otherwise.  It seems that suffering produces character, humility, wisdom, and faith that are essential for being the kind of human beings that God wants us to be.

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "God only uses you powerfully after He hurts you deeply."  I see that is true in the heroes of the Bible.  Joseph spent 12 years in prison and in slavery before he became ruler of Egypt.  Paul was beaten and arrested many times before he became the greatest missionary of all time.  King David was on the run for his life for many years before he became king and was labeled "a man after God's own heart."  Jesus suffered the cross before conquering death and becoming the Savior of the world.

Does any of this help to allay the grief of the loss of my son?  Yes and no.  I like knowing that there is a purpose behind what goes on.  I know that God has developed many things in me since the death of my son.  Does this mean that I miss my son any less?  No.  Only parents who have lost children know the ache of empty arms that should be holding a child that is no longer there.  Only parents who have lost children know the painful reminder of the start of the school year, knowing that your son or daughter should be in the 4th grade, or 5th grade, or graduating high school or college, but they are not.

But I rest assured that Jacob is at my Lord and Savior's side right now, not in a hospital bed with wires and tubes facing multiple surgeries.  He will never need another dose of medicine.  He will never see the inside of a hospital or feel the cut of a surgeon's knife again.  He will never cry, be betrayed, have his heart broken, or feel pain ever again.  For this, I am very grateful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I guess I could say that his being gone makes me more homesick than ever.  I realize that he is the one that is home and I am the one that is away.  If Jacob had not died, I doubt I would have ever really been homesick for heaven.  I would be in danger of thinking that this world is my home, that I belong here, that this is all there is.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The Bible says that we are simply passing through this life, that we will spend 99.9999999999% of our existence somewhere else.  On a day like today, I feel my homesickness for heaven more intensely than just about any other day.

 Jacob Benjamin Kibler, 9/5/04- 9/15/04

Our little man