Monday, May 10, 2010

"But Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." -Jesus

If you don't mind the Holy Spirit giving you a loving blow to the gut, consider your life as I consider mine, asking the question: "What/who do I seek first?"

TIME: From sleeping to eating to bathing to work to studying to hobbies, I spend an enormous amount of time on myself. Although I do spend time with and for God and others, the overwhelming majority of my time is spent on me.

MONEY: From rent to food to savings to insurance to gas to frivolous luxeries/hobbies, I spend an enormous amount of money on myself. Although I do give to my local church and think of myself as generous with others, the overwhelming majority of my money is spent on me.

MIND: I am constantly thinking about myself. In the morning I think about my day ahead. Throughout the day, I think thoughts that give me pleasure. I even expose myself to entertainment and disengage my mind entirely for selfish reasons! Although I do love God and others with my mind, the overwhelming majority of my thoughts are focused on me.

HEART: My emotions are very self-centered. I am more emotionally moved if I am wronged than if someone else is wronged. I am more emotionally moved if I am loved than if someone else is loved. Although I do have emotions for God and others, the overwhelming majority of my emotions are surrounding me.

WILL: The decisions I make are far too often in my own interests. For a simple example: when I am deciding on which article of clothing to buy, I'm thinking, "What is cheap?" or "What is comfortable?" or "What will make me look awesome?" I rarely ever ask, "What inhumane cause am I supporting with this purchase?" or "How will this purchase affect others around me?" or "Does this purchase glorify God?" Although I do make decisions for the sake of God and others, the overwhelming majority of my decisions are for my own sake.

SPIRITUALITY: As a human, I am both material and spiritual. To my dismay, even my selfishness is misdirected! In other words, all of these above resources are centered around my material existence, rather than my infinitely more valuable spiritual existence. For example: I never forget to shower, but I quite often neglect the need to rid myself of spiritual impurities. Another example: I rarely forget to eat, but I quite often neglect my spiritual nourishment. Although I do occasionally spend my resources on my spiritual self, the overwhelming majority is spent on my material self.


And now, the most important question: what will I do after hearing this radical command of Jesus? How must my life change in order to obey this command?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Inspiration of this Blog

A few weeks ago I was walking into a bookstore and, upon bombardment with scores of covers and titles and authors and genres, I was arrested with a novel thought: "Everyone should write a book." As I continued perusing, I quickly realized the two compelling reasons that confirmed my conviction:

1) Surely, the gift of our being alive is too intriguing for anyone to hold a comment. God has awakened us to existence, the gift of being alive; a heartfelt, thoughtful gift wrapped in beauty and mystery. Mankind's inalienable desire to respond in some way to this Gift mustn't be snuffed with laziness, indifference, or ungratefulness; we must respond, because we were created to respond.

2) Surely, the wisdom/knowledge/truth one discovers as a result of being alive is far too valuable to keep to oneself. Others could be warned of our failings; others could be guided by our paths; others could further what we began; all the while completing the grand, ongoing project of humanity's response to God.

This blog is the seed of my personal response to these realized convictions.

"O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise."