Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
We're hitting the road in less than an hour and am not sure if we'll have access to internet.
Have a good week.
Bill and Sue
www.amoymagic.com
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Whitewashed Ozymandius
Bill Brown .... Xiamen University
"When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, 'Where is the whitewash you covered it with?'" Ezekiel 13:12 NIV
"My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings, Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Percy Bysshe Shelly, 1817
I love to visit the ancient walled village of Chongwu, on the coast north of Quanzhou. It's hard to imagine that those walls were there long before my own country was even settled by Europeans. The walls have been rebuilt and repaired countless times, but they're still there, as are the descendants of the people who first built them. But many things built today are ready to fall down, or be replaced, within a decade (and not just in China).
Ezekiel spoke of flimsy city walls built for defense being covered by whitewash to disguise their shoddy construction. I suppose that analogy could apply to many things in life, but in this case Ezekiel was talking about prophets who proclaim the "word of the Lord," when in fact they were voicing only their own words. This angered our Father on two counts. One, they lied, claiming that God had said things he did not, and gave people a false sense of comfort that was no more secure than a whitewashed shoddy wall. Two, while speaking lies, they failed to speak the truth, and warn people to change the behavior that was leading them into the danger from which their white-washed walls would not protect them.
Jesus spoke of religious hypocrites being "whitewashed graves" (Matthew 23:27), beautiful outside but inside filled with rotting bones. In the same way, entire cultures and civilizations, though grand in appearance, may be whitewashed walls, ready to fall at the first onslaught of a foreign army, or a stock market tumble (who'd have thought a year ago that Iceland's government would completely fail?).
When we drove 40,000 Km. around China in 1994, to Tibet and back, one thing that impressed me was how we kept running into the Great Wall, from the coast way out into the Gobi Desert. And it is still impressive, stretching for thousands of miles, but much of it is now just mounds, barely distinguishable from the Gobi sand dunes.
In the end, even Great Walls fall. It is all the more reason to make sure that our lives, and our nations, are built upon the right foundation--and even then, to pay more heed to values, visions and works of eternal significance.
Ozymandius
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
First Published in 1817
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said--"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
www.amoymagic.com
"When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, 'Where is the whitewash you covered it with?'" Ezekiel 13:12 NIV
"My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings, Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Percy Bysshe Shelly, 1817
I love to visit the ancient walled village of Chongwu, on the coast north of Quanzhou. It's hard to imagine that those walls were there long before my own country was even settled by Europeans. The walls have been rebuilt and repaired countless times, but they're still there, as are the descendants of the people who first built them. But many things built today are ready to fall down, or be replaced, within a decade (and not just in China).
Ezekiel spoke of flimsy city walls built for defense being covered by whitewash to disguise their shoddy construction. I suppose that analogy could apply to many things in life, but in this case Ezekiel was talking about prophets who proclaim the "word of the Lord," when in fact they were voicing only their own words. This angered our Father on two counts. One, they lied, claiming that God had said things he did not, and gave people a false sense of comfort that was no more secure than a whitewashed shoddy wall. Two, while speaking lies, they failed to speak the truth, and warn people to change the behavior that was leading them into the danger from which their white-washed walls would not protect them.
Jesus spoke of religious hypocrites being "whitewashed graves" (Matthew 23:27), beautiful outside but inside filled with rotting bones. In the same way, entire cultures and civilizations, though grand in appearance, may be whitewashed walls, ready to fall at the first onslaught of a foreign army, or a stock market tumble (who'd have thought a year ago that Iceland's government would completely fail?).
When we drove 40,000 Km. around China in 1994, to Tibet and back, one thing that impressed me was how we kept running into the Great Wall, from the coast way out into the Gobi Desert. And it is still impressive, stretching for thousands of miles, but much of it is now just mounds, barely distinguishable from the Gobi sand dunes.
In the end, even Great Walls fall. It is all the more reason to make sure that our lives, and our nations, are built upon the right foundation--and even then, to pay more heed to values, visions and works of eternal significance.
Ozymandius
by Percy Bysshe Shelley
First Published in 1817
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said--"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
www.amoymagic.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
3-Strand New Year Resolutions (2x yearly)
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"There is a time for everything." Ecclesiastes 3:18
"It's not that I've already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me." Philippians 3:12 (God's Word Translation)
I love the holiday season in China because, for us Americans at least, it can take up almost 1/4 of the year. After we celebrate Thanksgiving, we put up our Christmas tree and decorations and leave them up through New Year, Chinese New Year, and Lantern Festival (15 days later). Depending upon how the Luny calendar falls, our holiday can last well into February.
By celebrating two New Year's, I can make New Year resolutions twice. Of course, that usually just means I have twice as many resolutions to break. Over my 20+ years in China I've resolved and countless times to spend at least 30 minutes a day on my written Chinese, or to quit wanting to lay an Oral Roberts headlock on crazy Darwinian Drivers, or to run daily to prep for the Xiamen International Marathon....
Dissolving Resolve And then over the next few weeks and months my resolutions don't break but dissolve slowly, almost imperceptibly. I study Chinese daily only for a few weeks. I keep my temper while driving for only a few days. I give up on the Marathon madness right out the gate because Xiamen government moved the date to January 1st, which I of course complain about but for which I breathe a quiet sigh of relief. So why even bother with resolutions?
Inner and Outer Resolve Resolutions at least give me some direction as to the course I should be following. But to persevere, I need not just inner resolve but also external accountability--from family, friends, co-workers. And I need to be frank with my Father about where I'm at, where I should be, and my need for His help. For example, I may be able to "control" my reactions towards crazy Darwinian drivers in China, but these are just outer symptoms of more deep-rooted problems, such as impatience and pride. To deal with these requires not mere resolve but rebirth, and daily renewal (Paul's "dying daily").
Three-Strand Resolutions. A solo resolution is easily broken, but as I remarked i
n "Made in Heaven--How to Break the 3 Strand Cord," a two strand cord is twice as strong as one strand, but a three strand cord is ten to fifteen times stronger--and infinitely stronger if that third is our Father.
Resolutions shared If I share my resolutions with others, I'm more likely to stick to them because I don't want to lose face. I'm even more likely to stick to a resolution if I encourage others to ask me how I'm doing with it--which is easy to do with today's technology. A friend can send me a weekly e-mail asking how I'm doing with my daily quiet times, my driving, or my Chinese study, and I have to respond--which forces me to face the truth. It is not as easy to hide the truth from myself when I must share it with others.
I will continue to make resolutions, both yearly and daily, even though I continue to fall short of achieving them. After all, even Paul failed daily (he "died daily" because he failed daily). But as much as possible I will try to avoid solo resolutions and their inherent capacity for denial, and make them 3-strand, sharing them with my loved ones and my Father.
I will also emphasize present-tense resolutions--avoiding daydreams that are too intangible to direct my steps today, and creating a vision of what can be done, here and now, if I move forward step by step in this marathon we call life. (Philippians 3:12).
And that's my resolution for today. As for yesterday's resolutions--"forgetting what is behind and pressing forward toward the prize...." (Philippians 3:13).
www.amoymagic.com
"There is a time for everything." Ecclesiastes 3:18
"It's not that I've already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me." Philippians 3:12 (God's Word Translation)
I love the holiday season in China because, for us Americans at least, it can take up almost 1/4 of the year. After we celebrate Thanksgiving, we put up our Christmas tree and decorations and leave them up through New Year, Chinese New Year, and Lantern Festival (15 days later). Depending upon how the Luny calendar falls, our holiday can last well into February.
By celebrating two New Year's, I can make New Year resolutions twice. Of course, that usually just means I have twice as many resolutions to break. Over my 20+ years in China I've resolved and countless times to spend at least 30 minutes a day on my written Chinese, or to quit wanting to lay an Oral Roberts headlock on crazy Darwinian Drivers, or to run daily to prep for the Xiamen International Marathon....
Dissolving Resolve And then over the next few weeks and months my resolutions don't break but dissolve slowly, almost imperceptibly. I study Chinese daily only for a few weeks. I keep my temper while driving for only a few days. I give up on the Marathon madness right out the gate because Xiamen government moved the date to January 1st, which I of course complain about but for which I breathe a quiet sigh of relief. So why even bother with resolutions?
Inner and Outer Resolve Resolutions at least give me some direction as to the course I should be following. But to persevere, I need not just inner resolve but also external accountability--from family, friends, co-workers. And I need to be frank with my Father about where I'm at, where I should be, and my need for His help. For example, I may be able to "control" my reactions towards crazy Darwinian drivers in China, but these are just outer symptoms of more deep-rooted problems, such as impatience and pride. To deal with these requires not mere resolve but rebirth, and daily renewal (Paul's "dying daily").
Three-Strand Resolutions. A solo resolution is easily broken, but as I remarked i
n "Made in Heaven--How to Break the 3 Strand Cord," a two strand cord is twice as strong as one strand, but a three strand cord is ten to fifteen times stronger--and infinitely stronger if that third is our Father.Resolutions shared If I share my resolutions with others, I'm more likely to stick to them because I don't want to lose face. I'm even more likely to stick to a resolution if I encourage others to ask me how I'm doing with it--which is easy to do with today's technology. A friend can send me a weekly e-mail asking how I'm doing with my daily quiet times, my driving, or my Chinese study, and I have to respond--which forces me to face the truth. It is not as easy to hide the truth from myself when I must share it with others.
I will continue to make resolutions, both yearly and daily, even though I continue to fall short of achieving them. After all, even Paul failed daily (he "died daily" because he failed daily). But as much as possible I will try to avoid solo resolutions and their inherent capacity for denial, and make them 3-strand, sharing them with my loved ones and my Father.
I will also emphasize present-tense resolutions--avoiding daydreams that are too intangible to direct my steps today, and creating a vision of what can be done, here and now, if I move forward step by step in this marathon we call life. (Philippians 3:12).
And that's my resolution for today. As for yesterday's resolutions--"forgetting what is behind and pressing forward toward the prize...." (Philippians 3:13).
www.amoymagic.com
Monday, January 26, 2009
Our Dark Chambers of Imagery (Shaping the Vacuum)
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Then said he to me, Son of man, have you seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the LORD sees us not; the LORD has forsaken the earth." Ezekiel 8:12
“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” Blaise Pascal
Not Just Doers but Hearers In yesterday's "Noodle," I reminded
myself of James' and Paul's warnings to not just be hearers but also doers of the word--but that does not mean that hearing is any less important. Far from it. If we do not hear first, then how shall we know what to do? But we must consciously choose what we listen to, or our our mind will fill the vacuum with whatever we encounter, or our own imaginings, and we will act upon these.
Shaping the God-Shaped Vacuum Blaise Pascal, the brilliant French mathematician, physicist and philosopher, said every person's heart has a God shaped vacuum. This vacuum is our lonely yearning to walk again, side by side, with our Father and Creator, and we try desperately to either fill the vacuum with our own gods and creations (religions, philosophies, science), or to escape the loneliness through distractions and pleasures that never quite bring lasting happiness. And when these fail some seek oblivion through drugs, alcohol, or, increasingly, suicide.
Vacuums do not exist long in nature, but are filled. So with our spiritual vacuum. From its earliest days, Israel worshiped its own handmade idols--even bowing down at a golden calf at the very foot of smoldering Mt. Sinai. By the time of Ezekiel, God warned that every man did evil in the dark chambers of his own imagery. Here, "imagery" referred to idols, but we can just as easily apply this verse to the dark chambers of our mind's imagery.
Our Mind's Imagery Just the past week, the news reported several shootings--include one in Belgium. But the rising violence is not surprising, given the violent images with which we fill our minds from movies, TV and games. What fills our minds shapes our thoughts, and influences our actions--and our minds will be filled.
Filling the Vacuum. Until we are with our Father again, face to face, we will have a vacuum that nothing on this earth can satisfy, but we can at least partially illuminate the dark chambers of our imagery with His Light. I marvel at how reading his Word each morning can set the pace for my day, or how listening to uplifting music sets a chord resonating within me that can, for a time at least, keep the noise of chaos at bay. And fellowship each Sunday at our Xiamen International Christian Fellowship is a great balm for beleaguered spirits.
Daily Filling the Vacuum. The problem is that one filling is not enough. If I do not consciously choose, daily, how the vacuum within me shall be filled, then the vacuum will quite literally fill itself, sucking in whatever is around me. No wonder Paul warned us to take captive every thought (2 Cor. 10:5)--but this is, when all is said and done, impossible. Trying to control one's every thought is about like a Zen master trying to think of nothing. Once he has achieved nothingness, he is now thinking that he has thought nothing.
Not even Paul could take captive every thought, which is why he died to himself daily, starting each day anew (1 Cor. 15:31). So rather than fend off evil thoughts, Paul suggested filling the vacuum with good thoughts: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things." Philippians 4:8.
His Chamber of Imagery Ezekiel wrote that each man worships in the dark temple chamber of his own imagery, but Paul wrote that our body is a temple of the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Today, I will not try to fend off the dark from without but rather dispel the darkness from within by filling this temple with Light. "As the ancient Chinese proverb goes, "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." As I am busy "doing" today, I will also pay attention to what I hear, and see, and think, and be alert for that still small voice (1 Kings 19:12) that, unlike the darkness, does not intrude but invites. And I hope to do this daily until the Vacuum is filled.
And now it is fitting to end with yet another quote from the brilliant Blaise Pascal, who wrote to a friend, "This letter is so long because I did not have time to make it shorter."
www.amoymagic.com
"Then said he to me, Son of man, have you seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the LORD sees us not; the LORD has forsaken the earth." Ezekiel 8:12
“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” Blaise Pascal
Not Just Doers but Hearers In yesterday's "Noodle," I reminded
myself of James' and Paul's warnings to not just be hearers but also doers of the word--but that does not mean that hearing is any less important. Far from it. If we do not hear first, then how shall we know what to do? But we must consciously choose what we listen to, or our our mind will fill the vacuum with whatever we encounter, or our own imaginings, and we will act upon these.Shaping the God-Shaped Vacuum Blaise Pascal, the brilliant French mathematician, physicist and philosopher, said every person's heart has a God shaped vacuum. This vacuum is our lonely yearning to walk again, side by side, with our Father and Creator, and we try desperately to either fill the vacuum with our own gods and creations (religions, philosophies, science), or to escape the loneliness through distractions and pleasures that never quite bring lasting happiness. And when these fail some seek oblivion through drugs, alcohol, or, increasingly, suicide.
Vacuums do not exist long in nature, but are filled. So with our spiritual vacuum. From its earliest days, Israel worshiped its own handmade idols--even bowing down at a golden calf at the very foot of smoldering Mt. Sinai. By the time of Ezekiel, God warned that every man did evil in the dark chambers of his own imagery. Here, "imagery" referred to idols, but we can just as easily apply this verse to the dark chambers of our mind's imagery.
Our Mind's Imagery Just the past week, the news reported several shootings--include one in Belgium. But the rising violence is not surprising, given the violent images with which we fill our minds from movies, TV and games. What fills our minds shapes our thoughts, and influences our actions--and our minds will be filled.
Filling the Vacuum. Until we are with our Father again, face to face, we will have a vacuum that nothing on this earth can satisfy, but we can at least partially illuminate the dark chambers of our imagery with His Light. I marvel at how reading his Word each morning can set the pace for my day, or how listening to uplifting music sets a chord resonating within me that can, for a time at least, keep the noise of chaos at bay. And fellowship each Sunday at our Xiamen International Christian Fellowship is a great balm for beleaguered spirits.
Daily Filling the Vacuum. The problem is that one filling is not enough. If I do not consciously choose, daily, how the vacuum within me shall be filled, then the vacuum will quite literally fill itself, sucking in whatever is around me. No wonder Paul warned us to take captive every thought (2 Cor. 10:5)--but this is, when all is said and done, impossible. Trying to control one's every thought is about like a Zen master trying to think of nothing. Once he has achieved nothingness, he is now thinking that he has thought nothing.
Not even Paul could take captive every thought, which is why he died to himself daily, starting each day anew (1 Cor. 15:31). So rather than fend off evil thoughts, Paul suggested filling the vacuum with good thoughts: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things." Philippians 4:8.
His Chamber of Imagery Ezekiel wrote that each man worships in the dark temple chamber of his own imagery, but Paul wrote that our body is a temple of the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Today, I will not try to fend off the dark from without but rather dispel the darkness from within by filling this temple with Light. "As the ancient Chinese proverb goes, "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." As I am busy "doing" today, I will also pay attention to what I hear, and see, and think, and be alert for that still small voice (1 Kings 19:12) that, unlike the darkness, does not intrude but invites. And I hope to do this daily until the Vacuum is filled.
And now it is fitting to end with yet another quote from the brilliant Blaise Pascal, who wrote to a friend, "This letter is so long because I did not have time to make it shorter."
www.amoymagic.com
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Spiritual Smoke and Mirrors
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." James 1:22--24
"The heart of the wise should reflect all things without being sullied by them." Confucius
"For now we see through a glass darkly." 1 Cor. 13:12
Spiritual Smoke and Mirrors James was quite blunt in
saying that we deceive ourselves by "merely" listening to sermons, or reading the bible, or having faithful daily quiet times. If we only hear but do not do, these things are worse than useless; they are downright dangerous because these outward observances can lull us into a false sense of spirituality that deadens us to the inner reality of who we really are--like the man who looks at himself in a mirror but immediately forgets what he looks like.
Pop Psychology, Pop Religion Pop psychology says to be positive, think good thoughts, know your self-worth. And these affirmations are indeed useful but they do not, in themselves, actually change us. In the same way, adherents of pop religion listen to weekly upbeat sermons and bible studies, and listen to "spiritual" music, as if this in itself will change us.
I Am or I Do? Both pop religion and pop psychology have a point: changed attitudes usually precede changed behavior. That's why Paul urged us to "take every thought captive" (1 Cor. 10:5), and in Philippians 4:8 said, "whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely...think on these things." But mere thinking is not enough.
Like James, Paul said "not the hearers of the law are justified before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." (Romans 2:13). We must go beyond affirming "I am" to become one who can say "I do"--and not just for a sprint but for the long haul.
Persistent in Doing Each year, countless people come out of motivational seminars fired up and ready to change the world, but a year later are still unsuccessful, and disillusioned. Many are professional participants, trekking from one seminar to the next. But hearing about success does not make one successful unless the principles are not only put into practice but done so persistently, over the long haul. Success is not a 100m dash but a marathon. The same goes for our spiritual walk. We must not just do what we hear but keep doing it until we finish the race and attain the prize (1 Cor. 2:24). As James wrote in 1:25, immediately after the "mirror" analogy,
"But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it-thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law requires-will be blessed in what he does."
Now that is real motivation, not seminar hype--with a real promise!
Hearing, and Doing Like participants in highly charged success seminars, we too can immerse ourselves in spiritual activities, soaking up the word from sermons and bibles studies, and deceive ourselves into fancying that we are spiritual when in reality we live no differently than those who never crack open a Bible. We must of course hear first, but then we must do.
Today, I will think positive, as advised by Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Schuller, and pop psychologists. Even Paul urged, "think on good things." But after fortifying myself with food for thought and positive attitudes, I'll put them into practice. I'll probably blow it too, first thing out the gate. I'll remind myself to show the fruits of the spirit--gentleness, patience, and self-control--and then want to lay an Oral Roberts headlock on the first Henan Chinese taxi driver that cuts me off the road as we engage in China's "Darwinian Driving" (Survival of the Fastest). But I'll persist in doing, in spite of my missteps.
And happily for me, not only do my attitudes affect my behavior but my behavior will also reinforce my attitudes, and the adrenaline from running the race may clear my head so I can not only remember who I am but Whose I am, until the day we no longer see through a glass darkly but face to face. (1 Cor. 13:12).
"Know Yourself." Sunzi's Art of War
www.amoymagic.com
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." James 1:22--24
"The heart of the wise should reflect all things without being sullied by them." Confucius
"For now we see through a glass darkly." 1 Cor. 13:12
Spiritual Smoke and Mirrors James was quite blunt in
saying that we deceive ourselves by "merely" listening to sermons, or reading the bible, or having faithful daily quiet times. If we only hear but do not do, these things are worse than useless; they are downright dangerous because these outward observances can lull us into a false sense of spirituality that deadens us to the inner reality of who we really are--like the man who looks at himself in a mirror but immediately forgets what he looks like.Pop Psychology, Pop Religion Pop psychology says to be positive, think good thoughts, know your self-worth. And these affirmations are indeed useful but they do not, in themselves, actually change us. In the same way, adherents of pop religion listen to weekly upbeat sermons and bible studies, and listen to "spiritual" music, as if this in itself will change us.
I Am or I Do? Both pop religion and pop psychology have a point: changed attitudes usually precede changed behavior. That's why Paul urged us to "take every thought captive" (1 Cor. 10:5), and in Philippians 4:8 said, "whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely...think on these things." But mere thinking is not enough.
Like James, Paul said "not the hearers of the law are justified before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." (Romans 2:13). We must go beyond affirming "I am" to become one who can say "I do"--and not just for a sprint but for the long haul.
Persistent in Doing Each year, countless people come out of motivational seminars fired up and ready to change the world, but a year later are still unsuccessful, and disillusioned. Many are professional participants, trekking from one seminar to the next. But hearing about success does not make one successful unless the principles are not only put into practice but done so persistently, over the long haul. Success is not a 100m dash but a marathon. The same goes for our spiritual walk. We must not just do what we hear but keep doing it until we finish the race and attain the prize (1 Cor. 2:24). As James wrote in 1:25, immediately after the "mirror" analogy,
"But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it-thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law requires-will be blessed in what he does."
Now that is real motivation, not seminar hype--with a real promise!
Hearing, and Doing Like participants in highly charged success seminars, we too can immerse ourselves in spiritual activities, soaking up the word from sermons and bibles studies, and deceive ourselves into fancying that we are spiritual when in reality we live no differently than those who never crack open a Bible. We must of course hear first, but then we must do.
Today, I will think positive, as advised by Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Schuller, and pop psychologists. Even Paul urged, "think on good things." But after fortifying myself with food for thought and positive attitudes, I'll put them into practice. I'll probably blow it too, first thing out the gate. I'll remind myself to show the fruits of the spirit--gentleness, patience, and self-control--and then want to lay an Oral Roberts headlock on the first Henan Chinese taxi driver that cuts me off the road as we engage in China's "Darwinian Driving" (Survival of the Fastest). But I'll persist in doing, in spite of my missteps.
And happily for me, not only do my attitudes affect my behavior but my behavior will also reinforce my attitudes, and the adrenaline from running the race may clear my head so I can not only remember who I am but Whose I am, until the day we no longer see through a glass darkly but face to face. (1 Cor. 13:12).
"Know Yourself." Sunzi's Art of War
www.amoymagic.com
Friday, January 23, 2009
Recovering Guilt Addict? (Guiltaholics)
Bill Brown .... Xiamen University
"My guilt has overwhelmed me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear." Psalm 38:4 (God's Word translation).
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30
"The guilty think all talk is of themselves." Geoffrey Chaucer
While leading singing a couple weeks ago at Xiamen International Christian Fellowship (XICF), G. Sobel said that one of the songs was a comfort for "recovering guilt addicts" like him. What a phrase! I later learned it struck a chord not only with me but several others in the congregation.
Is guilt bad? It depends. A person who never felt any guilt would be a psychopath, and need to be locked away to protect them and society. But most sane people carry a lot of baggage--loads of guilt accumulated over a lifetime of mistakes, and guiltaholics not only carry the load but are crushed beneath it. We can escape the paralysis of guilt only by discerning if we just feel feel guilty or if we are really guilty--and then dealing with the guilt.
There are many kinds of guilt, including real guilt, imaginary guilt, and needless guilt.
Real guilt: I did wrong, and feel guilty, and will feel guilty until I've made it right.
Imaginary guilt: I mistakenly think that I did wrong, and feel guilty, though I am not guilty. But imaginary guilt can be as paralyzing as real guilt.
Needless guilt: I did wrong, but was pardoned or forgiven, and yet still feel guilty. In this case, we need to "forgive ourselves as we forgive others." This is of course easier said than done, but if we don't deal with them, we can further harm relationships with loved ones who have forgiven us and want to move forward.
Right and Wrong? In determining if we are guilty, the question arises, what is really right or wrong? It can vary in different societies and cultures. Some resolve this by saying that there is no definitive right or wrong, that it is relative--and so there is no real guilt. Pop psychology says the key is realizing you are okay, and you've done nothing wrong. Accept yourself, be positive, and all will be well. And this is good to a point--but it doesn't fix the problem if you are really guilty.
As C.S. Lewis pointed out in "Mere Christianity," virtually every culture on the planet shares similar notions of what is right and wrong--the "natural law". Some deny there is right or wrong, but cheat them and they will demand their rights--though their are no "rights" if there is no right or wrong. Without a moral law, there is only survival of the fittest.
So daily we wrestle with real and imaginary guilt, and to confuse things, sometimes we have imaginary guilt that disguises real guilt. But it comes back to the first question: is guilt a state or a feeling? Am I really guilty or do I just feel guilty? And if I resolve my past problems, does that mean I can keep from making mistakes today?
Not Actions but Relation The root of my guilt is not my violation of the Moral Law but my wrong relationship with the Author of the Moral Law. Paul addressed this clearly:
"For I don't do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don't want to do." (Romans 7:19). Sounds like he felt some guilt! But in verses 20-24 he wrote that it is not him doing the evil but sin in him, and he concluded with, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is infected by death?"
Paul was well acquainted with guilt. He "died daily" (1 Cor. 15:31). If we are honest (and sane), we too add daily to our store of guilt--but it does not have to paralyze us.
The solution is not denying guilt, or chanting positive affirmations about our self worth. We deal with the guilt not by ceasing to do wrong (which we cannot) but by changing our relationship with the One who wrote the healthy natural laws of right and wrong that are appealed to even by those who deny that they exist.
If the governor or president pardons a criminal, they are no longer legally guilty, even if they continue to feel guilty. If our Father pardons us, we too are free from guilt, and we need to let go of the paralyzing imaginary guilt that constrains us. Like Paul, we need to "forget what is behind and press forward to what ahead (Philippians 3:!3), not in our strength but in our Fathers.
Tomorrow, I will no doubt do more to feel guilty about, but I won't wallow in the guilt and allow it to immobilize me, but let it be a prompt to draw even closer to the our Father, whose Light is the only lasting solution to the darkness of guilt.
Thanks, Mr. Sobel, for your good music, and your good words. By the way, I wish my guitar playing was as good as yours. I just don't practice enough, I guess, and I feel really guilty about that...
Related Blog: Pressing Forward without the Baggage
www.amoymagic.com
"My guilt has overwhelmed me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear." Psalm 38:4 (God's Word translation).
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30
"The guilty think all talk is of themselves." Geoffrey Chaucer
While leading singing a couple weeks ago at Xiamen International Christian Fellowship (XICF), G. Sobel said that one of the songs was a comfort for "recovering guilt addicts" like him. What a phrase! I later learned it struck a chord not only with me but several others in the congregation.
Is guilt bad? It depends. A person who never felt any guilt would be a psychopath, and need to be locked away to protect them and society. But most sane people carry a lot of baggage--loads of guilt accumulated over a lifetime of mistakes, and guiltaholics not only carry the load but are crushed beneath it. We can escape the paralysis of guilt only by discerning if we just feel feel guilty or if we are really guilty--and then dealing with the guilt.
There are many kinds of guilt, including real guilt, imaginary guilt, and needless guilt.
Real guilt: I did wrong, and feel guilty, and will feel guilty until I've made it right.
Imaginary guilt: I mistakenly think that I did wrong, and feel guilty, though I am not guilty. But imaginary guilt can be as paralyzing as real guilt.
Needless guilt: I did wrong, but was pardoned or forgiven, and yet still feel guilty. In this case, we need to "forgive ourselves as we forgive others." This is of course easier said than done, but if we don't deal with them, we can further harm relationships with loved ones who have forgiven us and want to move forward.
Right and Wrong? In determining if we are guilty, the question arises, what is really right or wrong? It can vary in different societies and cultures. Some resolve this by saying that there is no definitive right or wrong, that it is relative--and so there is no real guilt. Pop psychology says the key is realizing you are okay, and you've done nothing wrong. Accept yourself, be positive, and all will be well. And this is good to a point--but it doesn't fix the problem if you are really guilty.
As C.S. Lewis pointed out in "Mere Christianity," virtually every culture on the planet shares similar notions of what is right and wrong--the "natural law". Some deny there is right or wrong, but cheat them and they will demand their rights--though their are no "rights" if there is no right or wrong. Without a moral law, there is only survival of the fittest.
So daily we wrestle with real and imaginary guilt, and to confuse things, sometimes we have imaginary guilt that disguises real guilt. But it comes back to the first question: is guilt a state or a feeling? Am I really guilty or do I just feel guilty? And if I resolve my past problems, does that mean I can keep from making mistakes today?
Not Actions but Relation The root of my guilt is not my violation of the Moral Law but my wrong relationship with the Author of the Moral Law. Paul addressed this clearly:
"For I don't do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don't want to do." (Romans 7:19). Sounds like he felt some guilt! But in verses 20-24 he wrote that it is not him doing the evil but sin in him, and he concluded with, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is infected by death?"
Paul was well acquainted with guilt. He "died daily" (1 Cor. 15:31). If we are honest (and sane), we too add daily to our store of guilt--but it does not have to paralyze us.
The solution is not denying guilt, or chanting positive affirmations about our self worth. We deal with the guilt not by ceasing to do wrong (which we cannot) but by changing our relationship with the One who wrote the healthy natural laws of right and wrong that are appealed to even by those who deny that they exist.
If the governor or president pardons a criminal, they are no longer legally guilty, even if they continue to feel guilty. If our Father pardons us, we too are free from guilt, and we need to let go of the paralyzing imaginary guilt that constrains us. Like Paul, we need to "forget what is behind and press forward to what ahead (Philippians 3:!3), not in our strength but in our Fathers.
Tomorrow, I will no doubt do more to feel guilty about, but I won't wallow in the guilt and allow it to immobilize me, but let it be a prompt to draw even closer to the our Father, whose Light is the only lasting solution to the darkness of guilt.
Thanks, Mr. Sobel, for your good music, and your good words. By the way, I wish my guitar playing was as good as yours. I just don't practice enough, I guess, and I feel really guilty about that...
Related Blog: Pressing Forward without the Baggage
www.amoymagic.com
Thursday, January 22, 2009
New Day, New Song (Karaoke Theology)
Bill Brown .... Xiamen University
"I will sing a new song unto You, O God." (Psalm 144:9 NAS).
“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” Maya Angelou
Last night in Xiamen, former Vice Premier Madame Wuyi (吴仪) let her hair down (sort of; her hair is short, and unlike other leaders she does not try to hide the gray).
Forbes recognized this "Iron Lady" as China's second most powerful woman in 2004, 2005, and 2007. A Chinese Margaret Thatcher, she's been a troubleshooter, and gets things done because she speaks her mind (Time Magazine called her the "Goddess of Transparency"). But last night at a Xiamen dinner, the lady who speaks her mind also sang from her heart to local leaders at a dinner. And if this wasn't surprising, those leaders sang to her this morning at our annual Xiamen New Year Reception (photo to right).
Not all of the couple dozen Xiamen leaders were good singers but that did not stop them. They did not sing to sound good but to celebrate--a good lesson for the rest of us.
Like other Americans, I used to laugh at Chinese who sang badly in karaokes. I wondered why they would put themselves and their audience through such torment. But eventually I realized that Chinese care not about how they sing but why; they sing not from the head -- "how do I sound?"-- but from the heart--"I'm happy, so I'll sing, whether I can sing or not!" It reminds me of Psalm 98:6, "make a joyful noise." It may be noise, but at least it is joyful.
Over the years, I've come to admire how Chinese, whether Iron Ladies from Beijing or local farmers, can put aside their cares and their egos and sing. They don't think about how they sing but why, and they have plenty to sing about. They can look back at the last 30 years with pride and thankfulness, and look forward to the next 30 years with a hope that is hard to find in many other countries nowadays.
So next time I'm at a karaoke and asked to sing--I'll probably still decline! But at least I'll enjoy listening to my Chinese friends sing because I know why they sing.
Give the Sacrifice of Joy If Chinese can sing so joyously, with abandon, why can't we do the same for our Father?
Nothing makes me happier than to see my children happy. The same goes for our Heavenly Father. He's happy when we sing, in spite of the seemingly insurmountable problems around the planet. When we sing, it shows that we are joyful because we know that He is in control, and we trust him--and we are thankful for all that we do have.
Jesus enjoyed life, and I suspected he sang! In Matthew 11:19, Jesus said, "The Son of Man came eating and drinking..." Of course, this upset the more "spiritual" religious leaders, who complained that Jesus was "a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" Jesus had strong words for these people who spurn joy.
In Luke 7:32, Jesus said that the people of the world "are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance..."
Sing for the Father. We should sing for the Father, not because of problems but in spite of them, for singing shows our joy, and our confidence that, in spite of appearances, He is in control.
New Day, New Year, New Song David said, "I will sing a new song unto You, O God." (Psalm 144:9 NAS). This is a new day, a new year, so let's sing a new song. My singing may be just noise to many but it will at least be a joyful noise, and I'm certain my Father will appreciate joyful noise much more than sad silence.
Happy Niu Year! (this is the Chinese year of the "ox," or "niu").
www.amoymagic.com
"I will sing a new song unto You, O God." (Psalm 144:9 NAS).
“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” Maya Angelou
Last night in Xiamen, former Vice Premier Madame Wuyi (吴仪) let her hair down (sort of; her hair is short, and unlike other leaders she does not try to hide the gray).
Forbes recognized this "Iron Lady" as China's second most powerful woman in 2004, 2005, and 2007. A Chinese Margaret Thatcher, she's been a troubleshooter, and gets things done because she speaks her mind (Time Magazine called her the "Goddess of Transparency"). But last night at a Xiamen dinner, the lady who speaks her mind also sang from her heart to local leaders at a dinner. And if this wasn't surprising, those leaders sang to her this morning at our annual Xiamen New Year Reception (photo to right).
Not all of the couple dozen Xiamen leaders were good singers but that did not stop them. They did not sing to sound good but to celebrate--a good lesson for the rest of us.
Like other Americans, I used to laugh at Chinese who sang badly in karaokes. I wondered why they would put themselves and their audience through such torment. But eventually I realized that Chinese care not about how they sing but why; they sing not from the head -- "how do I sound?"-- but from the heart--"I'm happy, so I'll sing, whether I can sing or not!" It reminds me of Psalm 98:6, "make a joyful noise." It may be noise, but at least it is joyful.
Over the years, I've come to admire how Chinese, whether Iron Ladies from Beijing or local farmers, can put aside their cares and their egos and sing. They don't think about how they sing but why, and they have plenty to sing about. They can look back at the last 30 years with pride and thankfulness, and look forward to the next 30 years with a hope that is hard to find in many other countries nowadays.
So next time I'm at a karaoke and asked to sing--I'll probably still decline! But at least I'll enjoy listening to my Chinese friends sing because I know why they sing.
Give the Sacrifice of Joy If Chinese can sing so joyously, with abandon, why can't we do the same for our Father?
Nothing makes me happier than to see my children happy. The same goes for our Heavenly Father. He's happy when we sing, in spite of the seemingly insurmountable problems around the planet. When we sing, it shows that we are joyful because we know that He is in control, and we trust him--and we are thankful for all that we do have.
Jesus enjoyed life, and I suspected he sang! In Matthew 11:19, Jesus said, "The Son of Man came eating and drinking..." Of course, this upset the more "spiritual" religious leaders, who complained that Jesus was "a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" Jesus had strong words for these people who spurn joy.
In Luke 7:32, Jesus said that the people of the world "are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance..."
Sing for the Father. We should sing for the Father, not because of problems but in spite of them, for singing shows our joy, and our confidence that, in spite of appearances, He is in control.
New Day, New Year, New Song David said, "I will sing a new song unto You, O God." (Psalm 144:9 NAS). This is a new day, a new year, so let's sing a new song. My singing may be just noise to many but it will at least be a joyful noise, and I'm certain my Father will appreciate joyful noise much more than sad silence.
Happy Niu Year! (this is the Chinese year of the "ox," or "niu").
www.amoymagic.com
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Hang out or Hang on?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” Charles R.Swindoll
Here in Xiamen 150 years ago, William Burns, the famous Scottish evangelist, bemoaned the fact that he had labored seven years without a single convert. But he stuck at it, and though he personally never saw a lot of fruit, he helped lay the groundwork for the Amoy Mission, which was the most successful of its kind. (Today, we have almost 1 million believers in Fujian province!).
"Trials of many kinds" are not my idea of a joyful experience, but they are the only way to develop the perseverance to "finish the race," as Paul put it, and as I was reminded while watching the annual Xiamen international marathon a few weeks ago, which is held on the island ring road, near our beautiful Xiamen boardwalk.
I used to run long distance (just for fun) and each year watching the runners fires me up to resolve to enter the following year. But after a few weeks, or months, other matters press, I spend less time jogging, and I end up running only part of it (10km) or none at all.
Persevere in Priorities I'd like to be an "iron man", like John Fischer, of our Xiamen International Christian Fellowship, but I don't persevere because, frankly, it is not a priority. But I do persevere in areas that are necessary for me--my daily quiet times, caring for my family, teaching, writing... And even in those areas I've been discouraged and thought of throwing in the towel at times. But I don't quit because I know that these are what I am clearly called to do. And while I can't say with James that trials are joy, they have indeed brought joy. It has been a joy to have a family, to teach, and to live in China (which was a trial in many ways!).
Trials Reap Joy I don't think trials are joy, but I do know that trials can bring joy if, unlike most people, we don't just go with the flow and hang out, but hang on. People are average not for lack of brains or talent but simply because they give up. Successful people are not necessarily smarter or more talented than average people; the big difference is that they persevere when those around them quit. They may joke that they're "cutting their losses" but they are also cutting off any hopes of gain as well. As Einstein said, It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." If you are clearly led to do something, don't quit, whether it is great or small--especially if it is small, for it is the small things that lead to greatness.
From Small to Great The best Chinese MBA student I ever had was not only an excellent scholar but good at sports, social activities--everything she put her hand to. Her parents were teachers, and poor, but they taught her, whatever you do, do your best, and if you do small things well you may be allowed to do bigger things." That became her motto, and today she is very successful.
Dale Carnegie put it well. "Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves."
As we face trials today, I cannot, like James,"count them all joy," but I can look forward to the joy we will experience if we persevere and finish the great race set before us.
Related Blog: Want Success? Wash Those Dishes Well!
Favorite Perseverance Quotes
Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines. Robert Schuller
Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. William Feather
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another. Walter Elliott, "The Spiritual Life"
The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings. Ralph Waldo Emerson
www.amoymagic.com
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” Charles R.Swindoll
Here in Xiamen 150 years ago, William Burns, the famous Scottish evangelist, bemoaned the fact that he had labored seven years without a single convert. But he stuck at it, and though he personally never saw a lot of fruit, he helped lay the groundwork for the Amoy Mission, which was the most successful of its kind. (Today, we have almost 1 million believers in Fujian province!).
"Trials of many kinds" are not my idea of a joyful experience, but they are the only way to develop the perseverance to "finish the race," as Paul put it, and as I was reminded while watching the annual Xiamen international marathon a few weeks ago, which is held on the island ring road, near our beautiful Xiamen boardwalk.
I used to run long distance (just for fun) and each year watching the runners fires me up to resolve to enter the following year. But after a few weeks, or months, other matters press, I spend less time jogging, and I end up running only part of it (10km) or none at all.
Persevere in Priorities I'd like to be an "iron man", like John Fischer, of our Xiamen International Christian Fellowship, but I don't persevere because, frankly, it is not a priority. But I do persevere in areas that are necessary for me--my daily quiet times, caring for my family, teaching, writing... And even in those areas I've been discouraged and thought of throwing in the towel at times. But I don't quit because I know that these are what I am clearly called to do. And while I can't say with James that trials are joy, they have indeed brought joy. It has been a joy to have a family, to teach, and to live in China (which was a trial in many ways!).
Trials Reap Joy I don't think trials are joy, but I do know that trials can bring joy if, unlike most people, we don't just go with the flow and hang out, but hang on. People are average not for lack of brains or talent but simply because they give up. Successful people are not necessarily smarter or more talented than average people; the big difference is that they persevere when those around them quit. They may joke that they're "cutting their losses" but they are also cutting off any hopes of gain as well. As Einstein said, It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." If you are clearly led to do something, don't quit, whether it is great or small--especially if it is small, for it is the small things that lead to greatness.
From Small to Great The best Chinese MBA student I ever had was not only an excellent scholar but good at sports, social activities--everything she put her hand to. Her parents were teachers, and poor, but they taught her, whatever you do, do your best, and if you do small things well you may be allowed to do bigger things." That became her motto, and today she is very successful.
Dale Carnegie put it well. "Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves."
As we face trials today, I cannot, like James,"count them all joy," but I can look forward to the joy we will experience if we persevere and finish the great race set before us.
Related Blog: Want Success? Wash Those Dishes Well!
Favorite Perseverance Quotes
Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines. Robert Schuller
Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. William Feather
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another. Walter Elliott, "The Spiritual Life"
The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings. Ralph Waldo Emerson
www.amoymagic.com
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Our Flights to Egypt
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"...and they went ... on their way to Egypt to escape the Babylonians." Jeremiah 41:17,18
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. "Ambrose Redmoon
Confucius said "The man of courage is never afraid," but I disagree. To lack fear in the face of danger is a quick ticket to the next life. Fear is normal, natural, and healthy; it spurs us to survive. As Dan Rather said, "Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow." Courage is not ignorance, and lack of fear. Courage is going forth in spite of fear because we are doing what is right, regardless of the very real consequences to us. But sometimes even the courageous, even those who trust in our Father, are called upon not to fight but flee.
Fight or Flee. The two natural responses to stress (danger) are fight and flee (or we can do freeze, like a deer in headlights, and die). Our body and mind both equip us to fight or flee. When in danger, a "super fuel" called epinephrine pumps through our body to help us fight harder or flee faster. This super fuel is what explains amazing news stories about petite women lifting wrecked cars to save a loved one (this has been reported in the U.S., Britain, and China!).
"Fear and courage are brothers." A proverb
Courage is Obedience Courage is not lack of fear but discernment, and obedience in spite of fear, for sometimes our Father tests us by having us do the exact opposite of what we want to do. Myself, for example--from my youth I was interested in Australia, South America, and Africa, and had zero interest in Asia. But here I am (nd happy to be here, too). But we are all tempted to flee to Egypt at times--which is fine, if it is His timing. As Marvin Kitman said, "If God wanted us to be brave, why did He give us legs?
Our Egypts Egypt was the Bible's usual "land of refuge." Jacob fled famine by going to Egypt, where his son Joseph ruled. Uriah fled to Egypt to escape King Jehoiakim. Rehoboam fled to Egypt to escape Solomon. And sometimes we are even told to flee to Egypt. When Herod tried to kill the infant Jesus, God didn't remove the threat but warned Mary and Joseph to make a difficult, 200 mile ten day escape from Bethlehem to Egypt (Matthew 2:!3).
Return from Egypt. If we are called to an Egypt, we will also be called out of Egypt. "Out of Egypt I called my son." Matthew 2:15. Israel fled to Egypt to escape famine, but was also led out of Egypt after 400 years of captivity had refined Israel and cultivated the courage and conviction to seek change.
His Timing, His Purposes. Courage is not fearlessness but obedience, in spite of the consequences. Fighting for our own purposes and in our own strength is just as wrong as fleeing to Egypt out of fear, which shows our cowardice and lack of trust in our Father (and allies ourselves with Egypt instead of our Father).
Whatever God Wants, But... When the Israelites were fleeing the Babylonians, they asked Jeremiah, "Ask God if we should stay or flee. We will do whatever He tells you, so that he will bless us." They really laid it on, too, because they were desperate. In Jer. 42:2, they said, "We were once many but now few," so they said, "As God is our witness we will do anything he tells us to do, so He will bless us..."
Jeremiah came back ten days later to tell them that God promised to protect them and give them favor if they stayed put and did not flee their enemies, but to destroy them if they fled to the safety of Egypt. And the men who swore to do anything God asked said, "Liar! God never told you that! You're selling us out to the enemy!" (Jer. 43:3). And they fled to Egypt.
Fight or Flee? We too must sometimes fight and sometimes flee to Egypt. We need discernment about whether to make our stand or make our escape. Is it His battle, or just our own? Is it His timing, or our own?
Prayer, reading the Word, and good council are necessary. But once the way is clear, then we demonstrate our courage not by bravado and supposed lack of fear but by our obedience, whether it be to fight or flee (which sometimes is as hard as fleeing! Imagine Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus making a 200 mile ten day journey to Egypt!).
In closing, it is almost Chinese New Year, and soon we'll be besieged by invitations to attend long and loud Chinese celebrations. I think this is the time to flee....
My Favorite Courage Quotes
"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid." Franklin P. Jones
"Courage is tiny pieces of fear all glued together." Irisa Hail
"Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men." Confucius
"Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage." Confucius
www.amoymagic.com
"...and they went ... on their way to Egypt to escape the Babylonians." Jeremiah 41:17,18
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. "Ambrose Redmoon
Confucius said "The man of courage is never afraid," but I disagree. To lack fear in the face of danger is a quick ticket to the next life. Fear is normal, natural, and healthy; it spurs us to survive. As Dan Rather said, "Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow." Courage is not ignorance, and lack of fear. Courage is going forth in spite of fear because we are doing what is right, regardless of the very real consequences to us. But sometimes even the courageous, even those who trust in our Father, are called upon not to fight but flee.
Fight or Flee. The two natural responses to stress (danger) are fight and flee (or we can do freeze, like a deer in headlights, and die). Our body and mind both equip us to fight or flee. When in danger, a "super fuel" called epinephrine pumps through our body to help us fight harder or flee faster. This super fuel is what explains amazing news stories about petite women lifting wrecked cars to save a loved one (this has been reported in the U.S., Britain, and China!).
"Fear and courage are brothers." A proverb
Courage is Obedience Courage is not lack of fear but discernment, and obedience in spite of fear, for sometimes our Father tests us by having us do the exact opposite of what we want to do. Myself, for example--from my youth I was interested in Australia, South America, and Africa, and had zero interest in Asia. But here I am (nd happy to be here, too). But we are all tempted to flee to Egypt at times--which is fine, if it is His timing. As Marvin Kitman said, "If God wanted us to be brave, why did He give us legs?
Our Egypts Egypt was the Bible's usual "land of refuge." Jacob fled famine by going to Egypt, where his son Joseph ruled. Uriah fled to Egypt to escape King Jehoiakim. Rehoboam fled to Egypt to escape Solomon. And sometimes we are even told to flee to Egypt. When Herod tried to kill the infant Jesus, God didn't remove the threat but warned Mary and Joseph to make a difficult, 200 mile ten day escape from Bethlehem to Egypt (Matthew 2:!3).
Return from Egypt. If we are called to an Egypt, we will also be called out of Egypt. "Out of Egypt I called my son." Matthew 2:15. Israel fled to Egypt to escape famine, but was also led out of Egypt after 400 years of captivity had refined Israel and cultivated the courage and conviction to seek change.
His Timing, His Purposes. Courage is not fearlessness but obedience, in spite of the consequences. Fighting for our own purposes and in our own strength is just as wrong as fleeing to Egypt out of fear, which shows our cowardice and lack of trust in our Father (and allies ourselves with Egypt instead of our Father).
Whatever God Wants, But... When the Israelites were fleeing the Babylonians, they asked Jeremiah, "Ask God if we should stay or flee. We will do whatever He tells you, so that he will bless us." They really laid it on, too, because they were desperate. In Jer. 42:2, they said, "We were once many but now few," so they said, "As God is our witness we will do anything he tells us to do, so He will bless us..."
Jeremiah came back ten days later to tell them that God promised to protect them and give them favor if they stayed put and did not flee their enemies, but to destroy them if they fled to the safety of Egypt. And the men who swore to do anything God asked said, "Liar! God never told you that! You're selling us out to the enemy!" (Jer. 43:3). And they fled to Egypt.
Fight or Flee? We too must sometimes fight and sometimes flee to Egypt. We need discernment about whether to make our stand or make our escape. Is it His battle, or just our own? Is it His timing, or our own?
Prayer, reading the Word, and good council are necessary. But once the way is clear, then we demonstrate our courage not by bravado and supposed lack of fear but by our obedience, whether it be to fight or flee (which sometimes is as hard as fleeing! Imagine Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus making a 200 mile ten day journey to Egypt!).
In closing, it is almost Chinese New Year, and soon we'll be besieged by invitations to attend long and loud Chinese celebrations. I think this is the time to flee....
My Favorite Courage Quotes
"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid." Franklin P. Jones
"Courage is tiny pieces of fear all glued together." Irisa Hail
"Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men." Confucius
"Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage." Confucius
www.amoymagic.com
Monday, January 19, 2009
Love the One You're With
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
Love the One You're With
"Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." Leviticus 19:15.
"Behave toward everyone as if receiving a great guest." Confucius
During my first semester at XMU, I visited the dean of the MBA Center late one evening about a problem. He warmly welcomed me, fixed tea, listened patiently as if he had not a care in the world. I later learned from someone else that he had to stay up almost the entire night to finish the report that I had interrupted, but while I was with him, I was his priority.
Whether a dean, a mayor, or a peasant fixing bicycles, Chinese are hospitable hosts, and will stop everything to fix tea for a guest. They may very subtly hint they have things to do, but if you're too dense to take the hint, they would never make you loose face by showing you the door. And I've seen leaders treat peasants as patiently as the dense foreign professor. Chinese are, of course, not perfect, but on the whole they are certainly a lot farther along the path to impartiality than I am, and after 20 years I'm still trying to learn from them.
Favoritism is Fatal As I teach in Organizational Behavior, few things are more demotivating in the workplace than favoritism, but the same goes for life in general. When Joseph's brothers "saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him, and could not speak a kind word to him." (Gen. 37:4 NIV).
Favoritism is Unwise Favoritism is not just wrong but unwise because we cannot tell a person's worth from their bank account or even their appearance. "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Sam. 16:7
God shows no favoritism (Rom. 2:11) because, regardless of our status, or lack of it, in the long run we are but dust (Psalm 103:14). "He bears in mind that we are dust"). A century ago, John D. Rockefeller owned the world. Today, he is no richer than I am, and a century from now I'll have as much in the bank as Bill Gates. Whether Rockefeller, Gates and I are ever more than mere dust depends not upon how we invest our money but upon how we invest our lives.
Earthdust or Stardust? If we were but the dust of the earth, we would be poorer than paupers, but we are dust animated by the very breath of God (Gen. 2:7). Our life is His life, our breath is His breath--an average of 4.2 billion breaths from God for each life. If we waste this precious gift of life, we are paupers indeed, but if we invest our life wisely, we are more than princes--we are stardust, created a little lower than the angels (Heb. 2:7).
Love the One You're With. In 1970, Stephen Stills sang, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." Of course, he did not mean "love" but "making love" ("She's a girl and you're a boy..."), but if we take it to mean reallove instead, the song has a point. We should love as ourselves (Luke 10:27) all whom our Father allows to cross our paths, whether they appear to be princes or paupers.
James, the most straightforward of NT authors, wrote, "Dear brothers, how can you claim that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people? If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes, and you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, 'You can stand over there if you like, or else sit on the floor'—well, judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives." James 2:1-4 TLB
Treat a prince like a pauper, and a pauper like a prince, for in the end we are all both paupers and princes. We are simply the dust of the earth if we waste our life. But if we steward well our 4.2 billion breaths, we are star dust
"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it." Confucius
Stephen Stills
If you're down and confused
And you don't remember who
You're talking to
Concentration slips away
Cos your baby is so far away
[Chorus]
And there's a rose in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you can't be with the one
You love honey
Love the one you're with...
www.amoymagic.com
Love the One You're With
"Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." Leviticus 19:15.
"Behave toward everyone as if receiving a great guest." Confucius
During my first semester at XMU, I visited the dean of the MBA Center late one evening about a problem. He warmly welcomed me, fixed tea, listened patiently as if he had not a care in the world. I later learned from someone else that he had to stay up almost the entire night to finish the report that I had interrupted, but while I was with him, I was his priority.
Whether a dean, a mayor, or a peasant fixing bicycles, Chinese are hospitable hosts, and will stop everything to fix tea for a guest. They may very subtly hint they have things to do, but if you're too dense to take the hint, they would never make you loose face by showing you the door. And I've seen leaders treat peasants as patiently as the dense foreign professor. Chinese are, of course, not perfect, but on the whole they are certainly a lot farther along the path to impartiality than I am, and after 20 years I'm still trying to learn from them.
Favoritism is Fatal As I teach in Organizational Behavior, few things are more demotivating in the workplace than favoritism, but the same goes for life in general. When Joseph's brothers "saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him, and could not speak a kind word to him." (Gen. 37:4 NIV).
Favoritism is Unwise Favoritism is not just wrong but unwise because we cannot tell a person's worth from their bank account or even their appearance. "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Sam. 16:7
God shows no favoritism (Rom. 2:11) because, regardless of our status, or lack of it, in the long run we are but dust (Psalm 103:14). "He bears in mind that we are dust"). A century ago, John D. Rockefeller owned the world. Today, he is no richer than I am, and a century from now I'll have as much in the bank as Bill Gates. Whether Rockefeller, Gates and I are ever more than mere dust depends not upon how we invest our money but upon how we invest our lives.
Earthdust or Stardust? If we were but the dust of the earth, we would be poorer than paupers, but we are dust animated by the very breath of God (Gen. 2:7). Our life is His life, our breath is His breath--an average of 4.2 billion breaths from God for each life. If we waste this precious gift of life, we are paupers indeed, but if we invest our life wisely, we are more than princes--we are stardust, created a little lower than the angels (Heb. 2:7).
Love the One You're With. In 1970, Stephen Stills sang, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with." Of course, he did not mean "love" but "making love" ("She's a girl and you're a boy..."), but if we take it to mean reallove instead, the song has a point. We should love as ourselves (Luke 10:27) all whom our Father allows to cross our paths, whether they appear to be princes or paupers.
James, the most straightforward of NT authors, wrote, "Dear brothers, how can you claim that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people? If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes, and you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, 'You can stand over there if you like, or else sit on the floor'—well, judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives." James 2:1-4 TLB
Treat a prince like a pauper, and a pauper like a prince, for in the end we are all both paupers and princes. We are simply the dust of the earth if we waste our life. But if we steward well our 4.2 billion breaths, we are star dust
"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it." Confucius
Stephen Stills
If you're down and confused
And you don't remember who
You're talking to
Concentration slips away
Cos your baby is so far away
[Chorus]
And there's a rose in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you can't be with the one
You love honey
Love the one you're with...
www.amoymagic.com
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Discipline, or Death?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." Proverbs 19:18 NIV
"The emperor as well as an ordinary man must first develop self discipline." Confucius
I've probably read Proverbs 19:18 a dozen times, but even so I was shocked this morning when I read it and realized that, had I failed to discipline my sons as they were growing up, I would have been a "willing party" to their deaths! My discipline of my own sons, whom I love more than life, helped me to appreciate my own need need for discipline by my Heavenly Father, who loves me even more than I could love my own sons.
But what has really taught me the power of daily discipline has been teaching Chinese MBA students for 20 years, and listening to the complaints a
nd excuses I'm given each semester from those who fail--even though I start off each semester by explaining to students how to guarantee a passing grade. I even have them sign sign a student-teacher contract, and I hold them, and myself, to it. Still, some fail anyway because they cannot or will not follow the simple, weekly guidelines.
Weekly Needs, Weekly Goals. Unless I intervene, some students wait until the final week (or final days!) to complete an entire semester's assignments. Other students rush through the entire homework book in a week or two to "get it out of the way." But learning is maximized when student's neither rush nor delay, but discipline themselves to do the homework weekly, as needed.
Not Spectators but Participators Another incentive for doing homework well is that the final exam is based on homework content. In addition, homework is half the grade because I grade them on how they learn as well as on what they learn. I expect students not to just listen but to participate, and I liven up every class with case studies, projects, role plays, etc. Active participation, rather than passive listening, helps students learn more, and makes learning fun.
Laugh, but Learn In my classes, learning always comes with laughter. I continually pull surprises on the students, so that by halfway through the semester they are on the edge of their seats each class, wondering what I'm going to do to them that day. They have fun, and I have fun--which makes the shock that much greater when some students, in spite of my warnings, fail!
You're so Kind! I had 260 grad students last semester, and those who failed had the same complaints I've heard for 20 years. "How could you fail me! You are so nice! You are so kind! You love China! You...." [Yes, they really do think that because I "love China" I should let them pass!] But I fail them precisely because I do love them.
Unwilling Party I hate failing students, but to pass the students who don't work would be unfair to others, and I would have become a "willing party to their death," reinforcing the wrong attitudes about not just class but life. So I warn, I plead, and as a last resort, I fail. But the students who take my class the second time always work much harder. They take the class, and me, much more seriously, and they learn more. And happily, I've had several actually thank me for failing them the first time, and awakening them to the realities of life.
School of Life The longer I am a teacher, and the more excuses I hear from students, the more I appreciate how great a teacher is our Heavenly Father, and how well he has planned his course. And I see that I make the same mistakes as my students! I try to rush here, or delay there, when all I need to do is take one day at a time, and do my homework daily.
School Schedule. As I wrote in a previous blog, my Air Force drill sergeant literally drilled the need for discipline into my head when he made us "Jump Up!" on day one. But even today, over 30 years later, I find discipline a challenge. It still takes discipline to start each day with a quiet time, but that quiet time is my daily homework, and I marvel how often the message I read turns out to be just what I need for that particular day. What a great Teacher we have!
Day by Day. Our Heavenly Father loves us, but he still disciplines us precisely because he does love us, and does not want to be a "willing party" to our death (Proverbs 19:18).
A Thousand Miles, Countless Steps Lao Tzu was wrong when he said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." The journey should begin first with choosing the destination!. But once we set foot upon the Way, the journey is completed step by step. There are no shortcuts. We can't rely upon copying others' work. We can't appeal to the Teacher's kindness if we fail. He has set up the Course, given us very clear guidelines. And fortunately for us, our Teacher's Son has taken the course before us, and if we allow him, will walk with us daily until we too graduate.
Whether Emperor or peasant, King or commoner, we all need daily discipline until we pass the course and see our Teacher face to face.
Time for class...
"Virtue should be as common in the laborer as in the king." Confucius
www.amoymagic.com
"Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." Proverbs 19:18 NIV
"The emperor as well as an ordinary man must first develop self discipline." Confucius
I've probably read Proverbs 19:18 a dozen times, but even so I was shocked this morning when I read it and realized that, had I failed to discipline my sons as they were growing up, I would have been a "willing party" to their deaths! My discipline of my own sons, whom I love more than life, helped me to appreciate my own need need for discipline by my Heavenly Father, who loves me even more than I could love my own sons.
But what has really taught me the power of daily discipline has been teaching Chinese MBA students for 20 years, and listening to the complaints a
nd excuses I'm given each semester from those who fail--even though I start off each semester by explaining to students how to guarantee a passing grade. I even have them sign sign a student-teacher contract, and I hold them, and myself, to it. Still, some fail anyway because they cannot or will not follow the simple, weekly guidelines.Weekly Needs, Weekly Goals. Unless I intervene, some students wait until the final week (or final days!) to complete an entire semester's assignments. Other students rush through the entire homework book in a week or two to "get it out of the way." But learning is maximized when student's neither rush nor delay, but discipline themselves to do the homework weekly, as needed.
Not Spectators but Participators Another incentive for doing homework well is that the final exam is based on homework content. In addition, homework is half the grade because I grade them on how they learn as well as on what they learn. I expect students not to just listen but to participate, and I liven up every class with case studies, projects, role plays, etc. Active participation, rather than passive listening, helps students learn more, and makes learning fun.
Laugh, but Learn In my classes, learning always comes with laughter. I continually pull surprises on the students, so that by halfway through the semester they are on the edge of their seats each class, wondering what I'm going to do to them that day. They have fun, and I have fun--which makes the shock that much greater when some students, in spite of my warnings, fail!
You're so Kind! I had 260 grad students last semester, and those who failed had the same complaints I've heard for 20 years. "How could you fail me! You are so nice! You are so kind! You love China! You...." [Yes, they really do think that because I "love China" I should let them pass!] But I fail them precisely because I do love them.
Unwilling Party I hate failing students, but to pass the students who don't work would be unfair to others, and I would have become a "willing party to their death," reinforcing the wrong attitudes about not just class but life. So I warn, I plead, and as a last resort, I fail. But the students who take my class the second time always work much harder. They take the class, and me, much more seriously, and they learn more. And happily, I've had several actually thank me for failing them the first time, and awakening them to the realities of life.
School of Life The longer I am a teacher, and the more excuses I hear from students, the more I appreciate how great a teacher is our Heavenly Father, and how well he has planned his course. And I see that I make the same mistakes as my students! I try to rush here, or delay there, when all I need to do is take one day at a time, and do my homework daily.
School Schedule. As I wrote in a previous blog, my Air Force drill sergeant literally drilled the need for discipline into my head when he made us "Jump Up!" on day one. But even today, over 30 years later, I find discipline a challenge. It still takes discipline to start each day with a quiet time, but that quiet time is my daily homework, and I marvel how often the message I read turns out to be just what I need for that particular day. What a great Teacher we have!
Day by Day. Our Heavenly Father loves us, but he still disciplines us precisely because he does love us, and does not want to be a "willing party" to our death (Proverbs 19:18).
A Thousand Miles, Countless Steps Lao Tzu was wrong when he said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." The journey should begin first with choosing the destination!. But once we set foot upon the Way, the journey is completed step by step. There are no shortcuts. We can't rely upon copying others' work. We can't appeal to the Teacher's kindness if we fail. He has set up the Course, given us very clear guidelines. And fortunately for us, our Teacher's Son has taken the course before us, and if we allow him, will walk with us daily until we too graduate.
Whether Emperor or peasant, King or commoner, we all need daily discipline until we pass the course and see our Teacher face to face.
Time for class...
"Virtue should be as common in the laborer as in the king." Confucius
www.amoymagic.com
Friday, January 16, 2009
Have Faith, then Shovel Mountains
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." John 6:12
Yu Gong Moves Mountain"[Yugong Yishan 愚公移山]
Yu Gong Moves the Mountain In ancient China, the 90-year-old Yu Gong was upset because a mountain blocked the pass to the Han River, so he had his sons help him start to move it, using nothing more than shovels and wheelbarrows. People ridiculed him, but he said, "The mountain will not grow in size, but my sons and their sons will carry on until it is moved"). Today, "Yu Gong moves mountain" is used as an encouragement to persist, and never give up.
Shovel or Faith? Yu Gong Moves Mountain reminds me of Jesus saying that if we had faith as small as a mustard seed we could move mountains, but Jesus' taught us by hiw own example that if our Father plants a mountain in our path, he'll probably expect us to move it not with faith but a shovel, because the Kingdom of Heaven is not a blank check but stewardship.
Waste Not Want Not. Jesus fed thousands of people on five loaves of bread and two small fish, but then had the leftovers gathered up to avoid waste! I can understand why Benjamin Franklin said, "Waste not want not. " Franklin had limited resources. But Jesus' supply was unlimited, so why was he so frugal?
Power for others, but not self. Jesus not only preached good stewardship but modeled it for us. His Father could have given him anything, but Jesus used miracles only sparingly--and Jesus never, ever, used his Father's power on himself.
Jesus was hungry after fasting 40 days in the wilderness, but the man who miraculously fed thousands refused to use make one loaf of bread for himself when the tempter said, "If you are the Son of God, turn this stone into bread." Jesus, the ultimate steward, refused to use his powers on himself, relying instead upon his Father to feed his child, and afterward "the angels came and attended to him," and probably fed him better fare than just bread.
The Figless Fig When Jesus hungered and found that a fig tree had no figs, he said, "May you never bear figs again!" The tree withered from its very roots. (Matt. 21:19) It seems rather unfair to the fig, given that this was not the right season for bearing figs (Mark11:14), but Jesus made two points here:
1. Jesus hungered, just as we do, but He did not use miracles to feed himself.
2. What is impossible for the world is possible for us. We should bear fruit year round, in and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2)
Jesus was the ultimate steward, and the ultimate servant. He was born not in a palace but a stable. He grew up as a common carpenter's son. He hungered, and thirsted like us, but he used his Father's power and resources for others, not himself. Even when on the cross, and thirsty, he did not cry to his Father for legions of angels to rescue him, or even for an angel to quench his thirst, but simply said to those watching, "I'm thirsty."
From the manger to the cross, the man with miraculous power to do anything did absolutely nothing miraculously for himself. He cared for others, trusting his own words, "Give and it shall be given unto you."
Today, it is tempting to read passages such as "If you have faith like a mustard seed you can move mountains Luke 17:6), and then hope for miracles--like Adrian Plass trying to move a paper clip by faith! (Click here for excerpts from his hilarious "diary").
Not Blank Check but Stewardship Miracles do happen, but if they happened daily, every time we wanted to move a mountain or a paper clip, they would cease to be miracles--and there would also no longer be a need for us to be good stewards. But the Kingdom of Heaven is not a blank check but stewardship. Jesus' example teaches us that, on a day to day basis, we are not to expect a blank check from heaven to do anything we want, when we want. We are to steward, daily, what is given us today, giving to others. Give and it shall be given. If we care for others, our Father will care for us even as he cares for the sparrows of the field.
And that, to me, is a miracle in itself.
www.amoymagic.com
"Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." John 6:12
Yu Gong Moves Mountain"[Yugong Yishan 愚公移山]
Yu Gong Moves the Mountain In ancient China, the 90-year-old Yu Gong was upset because a mountain blocked the pass to the Han River, so he had his sons help him start to move it, using nothing more than shovels and wheelbarrows. People ridiculed him, but he said, "The mountain will not grow in size, but my sons and their sons will carry on until it is moved"). Today, "Yu Gong moves mountain" is used as an encouragement to persist, and never give up.
Shovel or Faith? Yu Gong Moves Mountain reminds me of Jesus saying that if we had faith as small as a mustard seed we could move mountains, but Jesus' taught us by hiw own example that if our Father plants a mountain in our path, he'll probably expect us to move it not with faith but a shovel, because the Kingdom of Heaven is not a blank check but stewardship.
Waste Not Want Not. Jesus fed thousands of people on five loaves of bread and two small fish, but then had the leftovers gathered up to avoid waste! I can understand why Benjamin Franklin said, "Waste not want not. " Franklin had limited resources. But Jesus' supply was unlimited, so why was he so frugal?
Power for others, but not self. Jesus not only preached good stewardship but modeled it for us. His Father could have given him anything, but Jesus used miracles only sparingly--and Jesus never, ever, used his Father's power on himself.
Jesus was hungry after fasting 40 days in the wilderness, but the man who miraculously fed thousands refused to use make one loaf of bread for himself when the tempter said, "If you are the Son of God, turn this stone into bread." Jesus, the ultimate steward, refused to use his powers on himself, relying instead upon his Father to feed his child, and afterward "the angels came and attended to him," and probably fed him better fare than just bread.
The Figless Fig When Jesus hungered and found that a fig tree had no figs, he said, "May you never bear figs again!" The tree withered from its very roots. (Matt. 21:19) It seems rather unfair to the fig, given that this was not the right season for bearing figs (Mark11:14), but Jesus made two points here:
1. Jesus hungered, just as we do, but He did not use miracles to feed himself.
2. What is impossible for the world is possible for us. We should bear fruit year round, in and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2)
Jesus was the ultimate steward, and the ultimate servant. He was born not in a palace but a stable. He grew up as a common carpenter's son. He hungered, and thirsted like us, but he used his Father's power and resources for others, not himself. Even when on the cross, and thirsty, he did not cry to his Father for legions of angels to rescue him, or even for an angel to quench his thirst, but simply said to those watching, "I'm thirsty."
From the manger to the cross, the man with miraculous power to do anything did absolutely nothing miraculously for himself. He cared for others, trusting his own words, "Give and it shall be given unto you."
Today, it is tempting to read passages such as "If you have faith like a mustard seed you can move mountains Luke 17:6), and then hope for miracles--like Adrian Plass trying to move a paper clip by faith! (Click here for excerpts from his hilarious "diary").
Not Blank Check but Stewardship Miracles do happen, but if they happened daily, every time we wanted to move a mountain or a paper clip, they would cease to be miracles--and there would also no longer be a need for us to be good stewards. But the Kingdom of Heaven is not a blank check but stewardship. Jesus' example teaches us that, on a day to day basis, we are not to expect a blank check from heaven to do anything we want, when we want. We are to steward, daily, what is given us today, giving to others. Give and it shall be given. If we care for others, our Father will care for us even as he cares for the sparrows of the field.
And that, to me, is a miracle in itself.
www.amoymagic.com
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Practicing the Peace of God in China
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Finally, brethren, rejoice; be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Cor. 13:11 NAS
"The superior man is quiet and calm, waiting for the appointments of Heaven." Confucius
Years ago, Jim and Judy Mackey gave me "Practicing the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence. I've read that slim volume countless times, and the more I practiced His presence, the more I appreciated the value of practicing His peace as well--though our move to China in 1988 was to teach us much more about practicing His presence, His peace, and His patience.
In the early 1990s, Old Huang, in Xiamen University Foreign Affairs, said to me, "I saw you cycling so fast downtown yesterday. What was the hurry?"
The Hurry Habit My immediate (but unspoken) thought was, "I had things to do, of course." But as I thought about it, I saw that nothing was really urgent enough to warrant my pace that day. I was rushing from habit, not necessity, just as I had when I was in Los Angeles and driving daily from one side of the congested city to the other.
Pedal Slowly. A common Chinese farewell is "Walk slowly!" (man zou--rather like "take it easy"). So I literally forced myself to pedal slowly, to avoid "looking at flowers on horseback," as the Chinese put it, and to live life and not just view it as I rushed past it.
Have some tea? As I rushed about town, Chinese often called out, "Have some tea?" I often thought, "Yeah, you can sit around all day and drink tea because you have nothing to do." And that was a little true back in the days of the Iron Rice Bowl (which collapsed when everyone broke their teeth on their Ir
on Chopsticks), but I started to force myself, at least every couple days, to stop and have tea with a shopkeeper or a laborer. Inwardly, I chomped at the bits as they labored for 15 minutes over a tiny Minnan teapot, elaborately pouring, rinsing, brewing, serving--all this for a thimbleful of tea (I'm used to all-American two-liter mugs). But I forced myself to sit, watch, chat, and sip--and marveled at the reaction upon me.
Behavior--Attitudes. It is well known that attitudes affect behavior, but our behavior also affects our attitudes, and I slowly began to appreciate nuances of Chinese life, and my own family life, that I had overlooked. I forced myself to not only slow down when possible but also to rethink priorities--and to make sure that I started each day out with a Quiet Time, so I could listen to that still small voice for direction. At first I thought I did not have time for quiet times, or time to slow down. Now I realize that I don't have time NOT to slow down. Life is too short not to live it.
New England Lesson Norman Vincent Peale was riving like mad trying to make an 11 A.M. appointment to meet their son at Deerfield Academy. When his his wife pointed out the beauty of the New England countryside in October, he said, "What hillside? What tree?"
Mr. Peale's wife said to her oblivious husband, "This is one of the most glorious days I have evern seen. How could you possibly imagine such amazing colors as these New England hillsides in October? In fact, it makes me happy inside."
Mr. Peale was so struck by his wife's comments that he turned the car around, and they spent some time on the grass enjoying their Father's handiwork. They then resumed their journey and arrived, on time, refreshed.
Practice the Peace Mr. Peale concluded, "To help reduce this tension which seems to dominate our people everywhere, you can start by reducing your own pace. To do that you will need to slow down, quiet down. Do not fume. Do not fret. Practice being peaceful. Practice "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." (Philippians 4:7). Then note the quiet power sense that wells up within you."
Thank you, Jim and Judy--and thank you, all of you Chinese shopkeepers, street sweeper, and patient neighbors, who for twenty years have called out to his busy foreigners, "Go slowly!"
Related Blogs:
Why Six is Greater than Seven
Merry, Mary or Martha Christmas?
Unsent E-mail Anger Therapy
Jephthah Vow's
www.amoymagic.com
"Finally, brethren, rejoice; be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Cor. 13:11 NAS
"The superior man is quiet and calm, waiting for the appointments of Heaven." Confucius
Years ago, Jim and Judy Mackey gave me "Practicing the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence. I've read that slim volume countless times, and the more I practiced His presence, the more I appreciated the value of practicing His peace as well--though our move to China in 1988 was to teach us much more about practicing His presence, His peace, and His patience.
In the early 1990s, Old Huang, in Xiamen University Foreign Affairs, said to me, "I saw you cycling so fast downtown yesterday. What was the hurry?"
The Hurry Habit My immediate (but unspoken) thought was, "I had things to do, of course." But as I thought about it, I saw that nothing was really urgent enough to warrant my pace that day. I was rushing from habit, not necessity, just as I had when I was in Los Angeles and driving daily from one side of the congested city to the other.
Pedal Slowly. A common Chinese farewell is "Walk slowly!" (man zou--rather like "take it easy"). So I literally forced myself to pedal slowly, to avoid "looking at flowers on horseback," as the Chinese put it, and to live life and not just view it as I rushed past it.
Have some tea? As I rushed about town, Chinese often called out, "Have some tea?" I often thought, "Yeah, you can sit around all day and drink tea because you have nothing to do." And that was a little true back in the days of the Iron Rice Bowl (which collapsed when everyone broke their teeth on their Ir
on Chopsticks), but I started to force myself, at least every couple days, to stop and have tea with a shopkeeper or a laborer. Inwardly, I chomped at the bits as they labored for 15 minutes over a tiny Minnan teapot, elaborately pouring, rinsing, brewing, serving--all this for a thimbleful of tea (I'm used to all-American two-liter mugs). But I forced myself to sit, watch, chat, and sip--and marveled at the reaction upon me.Behavior--Attitudes. It is well known that attitudes affect behavior, but our behavior also affects our attitudes, and I slowly began to appreciate nuances of Chinese life, and my own family life, that I had overlooked. I forced myself to not only slow down when possible but also to rethink priorities--and to make sure that I started each day out with a Quiet Time, so I could listen to that still small voice for direction. At first I thought I did not have time for quiet times, or time to slow down. Now I realize that I don't have time NOT to slow down. Life is too short not to live it.
New England Lesson Norman Vincent Peale was riving like mad trying to make an 11 A.M. appointment to meet their son at Deerfield Academy. When his his wife pointed out the beauty of the New England countryside in October, he said, "What hillside? What tree?"
Mr. Peale's wife said to her oblivious husband, "This is one of the most glorious days I have evern seen. How could you possibly imagine such amazing colors as these New England hillsides in October? In fact, it makes me happy inside."
Mr. Peale was so struck by his wife's comments that he turned the car around, and they spent some time on the grass enjoying their Father's handiwork. They then resumed their journey and arrived, on time, refreshed.
Practice the Peace Mr. Peale concluded, "To help reduce this tension which seems to dominate our people everywhere, you can start by reducing your own pace. To do that you will need to slow down, quiet down. Do not fume. Do not fret. Practice being peaceful. Practice "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." (Philippians 4:7). Then note the quiet power sense that wells up within you."
Thank you, Jim and Judy--and thank you, all of you Chinese shopkeepers, street sweeper, and patient neighbors, who for twenty years have called out to his busy foreigners, "Go slowly!"
Related Blogs:
Why Six is Greater than Seven
Merry, Mary or Martha Christmas?
Unsent E-mail Anger Therapy
Jephthah Vow's
www.amoymagic.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Centurions, Mandarins, Servants
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
Pecking Order or Serving Order
"For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me..." Matthew 8:9
"He who rules by moral force is like the pole star, which remains in place while all the lesser stars do homage to it." Confucius
"...there exists among the Chinese a strong democratic element... elders are chosen by the people, and their authority is potent and generally ultimate...both unpopular officers and offensive acts of government are sometimes criticized and denounced with irresistible logic and overwhelming ridicule." Maclay, 1861
China's Ancient Authoritarian Democracy For 2000 years, Chinese government was a great contradiction, authoritarian and yet, for practical purposes, democratic as well, for the country was governed by mandarins who rememberd that they were not only subject to the Emperor in Beijing but to the people they served as well.
The non-Jew that most impressed Jesus was a Roman centurion in similar circumstances--a man obedient to Rome but also faithful to those below him, as he proved when he personally appealed to Jesus to heal his servant. What impressed Jesus about him was that this Roman, who had authority, recognized that Jesus healed because of his own authority, which was higher than that of Rome. The examples of Roman centurions and Chinese mandarins give valuable insights into leadership.
Leaders Serve The Roman centurion understood that power comes from knowing one's position in a hierarchy, and faithfulness both to those above and those below. He said that he had "soldiers under me. "I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this, and he does it.' (Matt. 8:9). But before the centurion spoke of his power over others, he said, "For I myself am a man under authority."
Leaders have Humility. The Roman centurion commanded, but also served. And he recognized Jesus has having a power higher than his own. When Jesus said he'd go to the centurion's house to heal his servant, he replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me..." (Matt.8:8,9)
How easily power can turn our heads, but no one is indispensable. Even popes, premiers and presidents have been toppled from their lofty thrones; how much more precarious is our position if we fail to be faithful to those above us and compassionate upon those below us?
Leaders Have Compassion Lixi, our Chinese helper, has been with us over twenty years now, which Chinese friends say is a record! When she'd been with us for several years, she developed a serious illness, and fellow teachers recommended we replace her. I asked them, "How would you feel if the university fired you because you were ill?"
Teacher argued, "But we're teachers, not a common worker!" So much for the notion of classless society! We helped Lixi get good medical care, she recovered, and she's still with us today. We blessed her, but she has blessed us and many others. and when I was gravely ill several years later, others in turn cared for me. [Read about Lixi in "Half the Sky" Note: Xiamen government's Worker's Union now has many programs to help workers in difficulty].
Compassionate Centurion The centurion did not cast out his ill servant but personally sought out Jesus to heal him. The centurion had compassion,but he was also wise. He knew that his own position on the pecking order was secured only by serving those above and caring for those below. Even as Jesus said the branches can do nothing without the vine, so we upon the ladder of life cannot maintain our position without the help of those above and below us.
Life is a Ladder Life is a ladder which we ascend or descend daily. If we help those below and serve those above, we will inevitably ascend, for we will be lifted from above by the powers that need faithful stewards, and pushed up from below by those whom we have proven faithful to. This is a fundamental rule of life. We daily ascend or descend, reaping what we have sown-always moving, for life is movement.
No Clinging There is neither time nor place to cling complacently to one rung. The unfaithful steward tried to cling to security by hiding his money in a hole rather than investing it, and the master took even the little that he had and gave it to others who had proven faithful. Likewise, we must wisely steward both our possessions and our positions. The higher we go, the more we can be given. But should we forget our place, and those above and below, it could be a long fall.
"The Master said about government, Encourage the people to work hard by setting an example yourself." Said of Confucius
Reference
Ancient Chinese Democracy (Maclay, 1861, pp. 86,89)
"...there exists among the Chinese a strong democratic element, which finds expression and scope for action in their municipal regulations. Every ward in China has its elders, its public hall, where the people meet for the transaction of business, and its placards or public manifestoes, in which the popular sentiments are boldly expressed; and both unpopular officers and offensive acts of government are sometimes criticized and denounced with irresistible logic and overwhelming ridicule. These elders are chosen by the people, either by seniority or by the sentiment of the ward, and their authority is potent and generally ultimate in adjudicating the cases brought before them… The government regards them as the patriarchs of the people, and holds them responsible for the acts of the ward in which they reside….Public meetings may be convened in the ward at any time, and notice is usually given by sounding a gong through the streets, or by written placards posted in public places. At these meetings all the people may be present and participate in the proceedings.
Reference
Maclay, Rev. R. S., “Life Among the Chinese: With Characteristic Sketches and incidents of Missionary Operations and Prospects in China,” Carlton & Porter, New York, 1861, pp. 86,89
www.amoymagic.com
Pecking Order or Serving Order
"For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me..." Matthew 8:9
"He who rules by moral force is like the pole star, which remains in place while all the lesser stars do homage to it." Confucius
"...there exists among the Chinese a strong democratic element... elders are chosen by the people, and their authority is potent and generally ultimate...both unpopular officers and offensive acts of government are sometimes criticized and denounced with irresistible logic and overwhelming ridicule." Maclay, 1861
China's Ancient Authoritarian Democracy For 2000 years, Chinese government was a great contradiction, authoritarian and yet, for practical purposes, democratic as well, for the country was governed by mandarins who rememberd that they were not only subject to the Emperor in Beijing but to the people they served as well.
The non-Jew that most impressed Jesus was a Roman centurion in similar circumstances--a man obedient to Rome but also faithful to those below him, as he proved when he personally appealed to Jesus to heal his servant. What impressed Jesus about him was that this Roman, who had authority, recognized that Jesus healed because of his own authority, which was higher than that of Rome. The examples of Roman centurions and Chinese mandarins give valuable insights into leadership.
Leaders Serve The Roman centurion understood that power comes from knowing one's position in a hierarchy, and faithfulness both to those above and those below. He said that he had "soldiers under me. "I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this, and he does it.' (Matt. 8:9). But before the centurion spoke of his power over others, he said, "For I myself am a man under authority."
Leaders have Humility. The Roman centurion commanded, but also served. And he recognized Jesus has having a power higher than his own. When Jesus said he'd go to the centurion's house to heal his servant, he replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me..." (Matt.8:8,9)
How easily power can turn our heads, but no one is indispensable. Even popes, premiers and presidents have been toppled from their lofty thrones; how much more precarious is our position if we fail to be faithful to those above us and compassionate upon those below us?
Leaders Have Compassion Lixi, our Chinese helper, has been with us over twenty years now, which Chinese friends say is a record! When she'd been with us for several years, she developed a serious illness, and fellow teachers recommended we replace her. I asked them, "How would you feel if the university fired you because you were ill?"
Teacher argued, "But we're teachers, not a common worker!" So much for the notion of classless society! We helped Lixi get good medical care, she recovered, and she's still with us today. We blessed her, but she has blessed us and many others. and when I was gravely ill several years later, others in turn cared for me. [Read about Lixi in "Half the Sky" Note: Xiamen government's Worker's Union now has many programs to help workers in difficulty].
Compassionate Centurion The centurion did not cast out his ill servant but personally sought out Jesus to heal him. The centurion had compassion,but he was also wise. He knew that his own position on the pecking order was secured only by serving those above and caring for those below. Even as Jesus said the branches can do nothing without the vine, so we upon the ladder of life cannot maintain our position without the help of those above and below us.
Life is a Ladder Life is a ladder which we ascend or descend daily. If we help those below and serve those above, we will inevitably ascend, for we will be lifted from above by the powers that need faithful stewards, and pushed up from below by those whom we have proven faithful to. This is a fundamental rule of life. We daily ascend or descend, reaping what we have sown-always moving, for life is movement.
No Clinging There is neither time nor place to cling complacently to one rung. The unfaithful steward tried to cling to security by hiding his money in a hole rather than investing it, and the master took even the little that he had and gave it to others who had proven faithful. Likewise, we must wisely steward both our possessions and our positions. The higher we go, the more we can be given. But should we forget our place, and those above and below, it could be a long fall.
"The Master said about government, Encourage the people to work hard by setting an example yourself." Said of Confucius
Reference
Ancient Chinese Democracy (Maclay, 1861, pp. 86,89)
"...there exists among the Chinese a strong democratic element, which finds expression and scope for action in their municipal regulations. Every ward in China has its elders, its public hall, where the people meet for the transaction of business, and its placards or public manifestoes, in which the popular sentiments are boldly expressed; and both unpopular officers and offensive acts of government are sometimes criticized and denounced with irresistible logic and overwhelming ridicule. These elders are chosen by the people, either by seniority or by the sentiment of the ward, and their authority is potent and generally ultimate in adjudicating the cases brought before them… The government regards them as the patriarchs of the people, and holds them responsible for the acts of the ward in which they reside….Public meetings may be convened in the ward at any time, and notice is usually given by sounding a gong through the streets, or by written placards posted in public places. At these meetings all the people may be present and participate in the proceedings.
Reference
Maclay, Rev. R. S., “Life Among the Chinese: With Characteristic Sketches and incidents of Missionary Operations and Prospects in China,” Carlton & Porter, New York, 1861, pp. 86,89
www.amoymagic.com
Chinese Hummers in New York
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"A person without good sense closes a deal with a handshake. He guarantees a loan in the presence of his friend." Prov. 17:18 (God's Word translation--the best for this passage).
"When prosperity comes, do not use all of it." Confucius
"It isn't so much that hard times are coming; the change observed is mostly soft times going." Groucho Marx
A Chinese newspaper recently boasted that mainland Chinese are driving Hummers around the U.S. snatching up foreclosed properties. My, how China has changed during our 20 years here! But if I were the Chinese, I'd remember that the pendulum always swings the other way, and stick with the age-old Chinese values of hard work and frugality, lest China too end up paying the piper.
For years I have joked that Chinese immigrants in America can save more than they earn while other Americans all spend more than they earn--but unfortunately for us, it is no joke. Thrift used to be an American virtue, but today debt is the norm. Even worse, our so-called economic growth depends upon us consuming ourselves into oblivion.
Tomorrow's Bread A word used too often loses its meaning. Consider "consumer." Is that all I am? A mere consumer? And we are pushed, even by the government that decries our debt, to consume not only our daily bread but tomorrow's bread, and next week's as well, and to borrow to buy it.
About a decade ago I was shocked to learn that the U.S. government was studying ways to promote the growth of personal debt (already high) to stimulate so-called economic growth. "Buy now, pay later" is the mantra for those who think "delayed gratification" is unAmerican. But the "pay later" phase is upon us, and our reaction to paying the piper reminds me greatly of what we faced 100 years ago.
A century ago, Western countries enjoyed great prosperity built upon the unimaginable profits of the opium trade in China. We forced the opium trade on China, at gunpoint, not because we needed the immense profits to survive but to finance our imports of such luxuries as Chinese tea and silk. As late as the 1920s, one half of Europe's profits in Asia were from opium!. China appealed to our morality. When that failed, Chinese warned that global drug trafficking might "come home to roost" and we could have opium addiction in our own home countries. That is exactly what happened, and then the nations that had earned enormous profits from a century of nationalized opium traffic held two international opium conferences to debate the causes of the global opium problem! Their conclusion? They blamed China--the one nation that for a century had tried to stop the trade.
Recently, some friends complained to me that the U.S. was borrowing too much money from China, and they were angry not at the U.S. but at China. That is rather like blaming China for buying the opium we forced on them, and our motives today are the same as a century ago. We are not financing our survival but our luxuries, and a way of life that most of the planet could not dream of.
Our Way of Life A few years ago, an American said "Nothing is going to change our American way of life." That was a real vote-grabber, but it was wishful thinking. We are now two trillion in debt, and mainland Chinese in Hummers are buying up the country.
If I were the Chinese, I'd be slow to boast, because the pendulum will swing again; China is already facing ,serious problem just like the rest of us. But that pendulum won't swing back for America unless we abandon the much vaunted "way of life" that is built on debt, which is as wrong today as it was 3000 years ago when Solomon warned against the evils of both borrowing and lending.
Giving vs. Lending. It is ironic that while the Bible urges us to give freely, it warns again loaning money--and especially against taking the responsibility for others' loans. Once the borrowing starts, it snowballs, as I learned when loaning to friends and family. With hindsight, I now prefer to just give, with no strings attached, rather than to loan money and end up with both the strings and the relationship severed by the borrower.
Only our Daily Bread. We should not just pray "Forgive us our debts," but also make a point of getting out of debt, and avoiding future debt. Going into debt only suggests two things: 1) we are too immature to delay gratification, so we seize what our Father has not yet given us, and 2) we don't trust our Father to give us our needs and desires in His timing, so we seize tomorrow's bread as well.
"Our Father, give us this day only our daily bread, and not others' bread, and help us to wait until tomorrow to buy tomorrow's bread, with money that you will entrust to us tomorrow."
Related "Our Daily Noodles" Entries
The Millionaire's Heart
Want Success? Wash Those Dishes Well!
Only our Daily Bread
www.amoymagic.com
"A person without good sense closes a deal with a handshake. He guarantees a loan in the presence of his friend." Prov. 17:18 (God's Word translation--the best for this passage).
"When prosperity comes, do not use all of it." Confucius
"It isn't so much that hard times are coming; the change observed is mostly soft times going." Groucho Marx
A Chinese newspaper recently boasted that mainland Chinese are driving Hummers around the U.S. snatching up foreclosed properties. My, how China has changed during our 20 years here! But if I were the Chinese, I'd remember that the pendulum always swings the other way, and stick with the age-old Chinese values of hard work and frugality, lest China too end up paying the piper.
For years I have joked that Chinese immigrants in America can save more than they earn while other Americans all spend more than they earn--but unfortunately for us, it is no joke. Thrift used to be an American virtue, but today debt is the norm. Even worse, our so-called economic growth depends upon us consuming ourselves into oblivion.
Tomorrow's Bread A word used too often loses its meaning. Consider "consumer." Is that all I am? A mere consumer? And we are pushed, even by the government that decries our debt, to consume not only our daily bread but tomorrow's bread, and next week's as well, and to borrow to buy it.
About a decade ago I was shocked to learn that the U.S. government was studying ways to promote the growth of personal debt (already high) to stimulate so-called economic growth. "Buy now, pay later" is the mantra for those who think "delayed gratification" is unAmerican. But the "pay later" phase is upon us, and our reaction to paying the piper reminds me greatly of what we faced 100 years ago.
A century ago, Western countries enjoyed great prosperity built upon the unimaginable profits of the opium trade in China. We forced the opium trade on China, at gunpoint, not because we needed the immense profits to survive but to finance our imports of such luxuries as Chinese tea and silk. As late as the 1920s, one half of Europe's profits in Asia were from opium!. China appealed to our morality. When that failed, Chinese warned that global drug trafficking might "come home to roost" and we could have opium addiction in our own home countries. That is exactly what happened, and then the nations that had earned enormous profits from a century of nationalized opium traffic held two international opium conferences to debate the causes of the global opium problem! Their conclusion? They blamed China--the one nation that for a century had tried to stop the trade.
Recently, some friends complained to me that the U.S. was borrowing too much money from China, and they were angry not at the U.S. but at China. That is rather like blaming China for buying the opium we forced on them, and our motives today are the same as a century ago. We are not financing our survival but our luxuries, and a way of life that most of the planet could not dream of.
Our Way of Life A few years ago, an American said "Nothing is going to change our American way of life." That was a real vote-grabber, but it was wishful thinking. We are now two trillion in debt, and mainland Chinese in Hummers are buying up the country.
If I were the Chinese, I'd be slow to boast, because the pendulum will swing again; China is already facing ,serious problem just like the rest of us. But that pendulum won't swing back for America unless we abandon the much vaunted "way of life" that is built on debt, which is as wrong today as it was 3000 years ago when Solomon warned against the evils of both borrowing and lending.
Giving vs. Lending. It is ironic that while the Bible urges us to give freely, it warns again loaning money--and especially against taking the responsibility for others' loans. Once the borrowing starts, it snowballs, as I learned when loaning to friends and family. With hindsight, I now prefer to just give, with no strings attached, rather than to loan money and end up with both the strings and the relationship severed by the borrower.
Only our Daily Bread. We should not just pray "Forgive us our debts," but also make a point of getting out of debt, and avoiding future debt. Going into debt only suggests two things: 1) we are too immature to delay gratification, so we seize what our Father has not yet given us, and 2) we don't trust our Father to give us our needs and desires in His timing, so we seize tomorrow's bread as well.
"Our Father, give us this day only our daily bread, and not others' bread, and help us to wait until tomorrow to buy tomorrow's bread, with money that you will entrust to us tomorrow."
Related "Our Daily Noodles" Entries
The Millionaire's Heart
Want Success? Wash Those Dishes Well!
Only our Daily Bread
www.amoymagic.com
Monday, January 12, 2009
Healing Words Silence Red Guard
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life..." Proverbs 15:4a
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1
Is Silence the Solution? Confucius said "Silence is a true friend who never betrays," but is silence a friend when we see a blind man walking off a cliff?
James wrote that the tiny tongue can be a great evil, and "If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check" (James 3:2). He likened the tongue to ta ship's rudder, small but steering the great ship's course. We would indeed do well not to multiply our words like a fool (Ecc. 10:14; Prov. 10:18), but that does not mean that silence is the solution.
Silence, or Healing Words? Silence is of course often safer. "Even a fool keeping silence is reckoned wise" (Proverbs 17:28). But if we are concerned for others as well as ourselves, we cannot hide behind silence. As Solomon wrote centuries before the Chinese sage's birth, there is "a time to keep silence, and a time to speak." Eccles. 3:7.
When Silence? There are times when words are wasted. Proverbs 23:9 says, "Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of your words." And Proverbs 26:!7 says "Like one who grabs a dog's ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own..." But even here silence is not always warranted. The Bible says to speak for the oppressed, even if we ourselves are not being oppressed. As for the fool...we need wisdom to discern if the person is a bona fide fool or merely acting the fool--as was common during the Cultural Revolution.
Healing Tongues are not Silent The "healing tongue" of Proverbs 15:4a is not a silent tongue. It is a tongue that speaks gently, patiently, and above all, compassionately, as in the true story of my late friend Zhang Li (张力). While he was an angry Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution, his entire life was transformed by the "soft answers" of a gentle but persistent lady working in the Xiamen Botanical Garden.
Back to the Garden--True Tale of Cultural Revolution
(adapted from "Magic Xiamen--Guide to Xiamen")
Zhāng Lì set his clay teacup on the brown plastic tray and said, “I was a Red Guard, you know. As insolent as they came. But I was given a new heart in the 10,000 Rock G
arden.
“During the Cultural Revolution, public property was up for grabs by any Red Guard who wanted it.
"We used to seize whatever we wanted and no one dared stop us. And one day, my friend and I decided we wanted rare and beautiful flowers for our room, so we each grabbed a sack and headed for the Botanical Garden.
“In the green house we were overwhelmed by the variety and beauty of the tropical flowers. I was about to put a beautiful plant in my sack when I heard a noise and turned to see an old lady bent over some plants, weeding them.
“We didn’t fear her, because no one dared question or hinder a Red Guard. But when she looked up at us she didn’t seem fearful either, or surprised that we had barged into her greenhouse, or that we obviously planned to steal some flowers. In fact, she smiled!
“Before I could move she walked over and picked up the plant I had been eyeing and held it before my eyes. ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ she exclaimed. ‘These are very rare and come from South America. They are difficult to grow but well worth the effort. Do you like it?’
“I was speechless! I glared at her and headed for another exotic plant, but before I could even reach for it she had set the other plant down and rushed up to my side, and asked, “Do you know what this plant is called?”
“‘No,’ I snarled. She was getting on my nerves.
“She smiled, and patiently explained the plant’s name, origin, and how to keep it alive. She concluded, ‘It is very beautiful, isn’t it?’
“I stomped away, frustrated, but every time we reached for a plant she was beside us, smiling, patiently explaining the plant’s origins, habitats, and needs. She never raised her voice, and when I picked up a plant anyway and started to put it in my bag, she just looked at me silently, with a little smile, but sad eyes.
“I melted. I had been so angry and bitter, and determined to take it out on society, but her gentleness and patience defused my anger, and my friend’s too, and we walked out, leaving our sacks behind us, defeated, and renewed.
“We were so glad when the Cultural Revolution ended soon afterward. It has been two decades now, and I’ve returned to the garden many times hoping to see the lady, to tell her how much she changed my life, but I’ve never seen her again. Maybe she’s dead now. But I’ll never forget her…”
Postscript: Zhang Li became a dockworker in Xiamen, wrote in his spare time, and won national awards for his TV scripts and books (especially his children's books). He touched many hearts, including mine, and to my utter shock, died of cancer just after I wrote this, and before he could even read it. I'm so thankful to the unknown botanical garden worker's "soft answers" that became healing words not just for Zhang Li but for countless others.
Zhang Li told me many other heartwarming true Cultural Revolution Tales, many of them quite humorous. I'm thinking of posting them as "Light Tales from a Dark Decade."
Banana Photo Note: Zhang Li had a farm in Changtai, which is part of Zhangzhou, west of Xiamen, and when I visited he gave me a large stalk of bananas. When we got it home we found it had a nest of field mice--much to our cat's delight.
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Proverbs 10:18
www.amoymagic.com
"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life..." Proverbs 15:4a
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1
Is Silence the Solution? Confucius said "Silence is a true friend who never betrays," but is silence a friend when we see a blind man walking off a cliff?
James wrote that the tiny tongue can be a great evil, and "If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check" (James 3:2). He likened the tongue to ta ship's rudder, small but steering the great ship's course. We would indeed do well not to multiply our words like a fool (Ecc. 10:14; Prov. 10:18), but that does not mean that silence is the solution.
Silence, or Healing Words? Silence is of course often safer. "Even a fool keeping silence is reckoned wise" (Proverbs 17:28). But if we are concerned for others as well as ourselves, we cannot hide behind silence. As Solomon wrote centuries before the Chinese sage's birth, there is "a time to keep silence, and a time to speak." Eccles. 3:7.
When Silence? There are times when words are wasted. Proverbs 23:9 says, "Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of your words." And Proverbs 26:!7 says "Like one who grabs a dog's ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own..." But even here silence is not always warranted. The Bible says to speak for the oppressed, even if we ourselves are not being oppressed. As for the fool...we need wisdom to discern if the person is a bona fide fool or merely acting the fool--as was common during the Cultural Revolution.
Healing Tongues are not Silent The "healing tongue" of Proverbs 15:4a is not a silent tongue. It is a tongue that speaks gently, patiently, and above all, compassionately, as in the true story of my late friend Zhang Li (张力). While he was an angry Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution, his entire life was transformed by the "soft answers" of a gentle but persistent lady working in the Xiamen Botanical Garden.
Back to the Garden--True Tale of Cultural Revolution
(adapted from "Magic Xiamen--Guide to Xiamen")
Zhāng Lì set his clay teacup on the brown plastic tray and said, “I was a Red Guard, you know. As insolent as they came. But I was given a new heart in the 10,000 Rock G
arden.“During the Cultural Revolution, public property was up for grabs by any Red Guard who wanted it.
"We used to seize whatever we wanted and no one dared stop us. And one day, my friend and I decided we wanted rare and beautiful flowers for our room, so we each grabbed a sack and headed for the Botanical Garden.
“In the green house we were overwhelmed by the variety and beauty of the tropical flowers. I was about to put a beautiful plant in my sack when I heard a noise and turned to see an old lady bent over some plants, weeding them.
“We didn’t fear her, because no one dared question or hinder a Red Guard. But when she looked up at us she didn’t seem fearful either, or surprised that we had barged into her greenhouse, or that we obviously planned to steal some flowers. In fact, she smiled!
“Before I could move she walked over and picked up the plant I had been eyeing and held it before my eyes. ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ she exclaimed. ‘These are very rare and come from South America. They are difficult to grow but well worth the effort. Do you like it?’
“I was speechless! I glared at her and headed for another exotic plant, but before I could even reach for it she had set the other plant down and rushed up to my side, and asked, “Do you know what this plant is called?”
“‘No,’ I snarled. She was getting on my nerves.
“She smiled, and patiently explained the plant’s name, origin, and how to keep it alive. She concluded, ‘It is very beautiful, isn’t it?’
“I stomped away, frustrated, but every time we reached for a plant she was beside us, smiling, patiently explaining the plant’s origins, habitats, and needs. She never raised her voice, and when I picked up a plant anyway and started to put it in my bag, she just looked at me silently, with a little smile, but sad eyes.
“I melted. I had been so angry and bitter, and determined to take it out on society, but her gentleness and patience defused my anger, and my friend’s too, and we walked out, leaving our sacks behind us, defeated, and renewed.
“We were so glad when the Cultural Revolution ended soon afterward. It has been two decades now, and I’ve returned to the garden many times hoping to see the lady, to tell her how much she changed my life, but I’ve never seen her again. Maybe she’s dead now. But I’ll never forget her…”
Postscript: Zhang Li became a dockworker in Xiamen, wrote in his spare time, and won national awards for his TV scripts and books (especially his children's books). He touched many hearts, including mine, and to my utter shock, died of cancer just after I wrote this, and before he could even read it. I'm so thankful to the unknown botanical garden worker's "soft answers" that became healing words not just for Zhang Li but for countless others.
Zhang Li told me many other heartwarming true Cultural Revolution Tales, many of them quite humorous. I'm thinking of posting them as "Light Tales from a Dark Decade."
Banana Photo Note: Zhang Li had a farm in Changtai, which is part of Zhangzhou, west of Xiamen, and when I visited he gave me a large stalk of bananas. When we got it home we found it had a nest of field mice--much to our cat's delight.
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Proverbs 10:18
www.amoymagic.com
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Desires or Dreads?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"What the wicked dread will overtake him; what the righteous desire will be granted." Proverbs 10:24
"He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it." Proverbs 11:27
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life." Charles Swindoll
We Are What We Think A century ago, William James wrote "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." Since then, science has reaffirmed scripture's affirmation that attitudes shape lives as much as lives shape attitudes. It is literally true that "what you think you become." but what we become also shapes what we desire--or what we dread.
We Reap What we Dread. All religions and philosophies, and even psychology, admit that we reap what we sow. If we sow evil, we will live with the dread of sooner or later reaping the consequences. No matter how "great" we may become, those who do wrong are like "grass that will soon wither" (Psalm37:1,2).
The Two Remedies to Dread. The only ways to eliminate the dread of reaping the harvest of our actions are 1), cease doing evil and 2) start doing good--though this is easier said than done.
Eliminate or Supplant We cannot cease thinking and doing, any more than a Zen monks can think of nothing (as soon as they realize they've achieved thoughtlessness, they are thinking). But even if we could cease thinking and doing evil, it would not be enough.
We cannot simply "do no evil," anymore than a Zen monk can think of nothing. But while we cannot cease evil, we can supplant evil by "delighting in the Lord," and filling our minds and lives with the good written about in Phil. 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things." ISV.
The Righteous Delight and Receive. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4" Delight" does not mean to simply delight in His existence, and to mouth praise, but to delight in serving Him. "Obedience is better than sacrifice" (1 Sam. 15:22).
Sacrifice of the Righteous: Transformation of Minds Paul says to "present our bodies as living sacrifices" for service. Rom. 12:1. Romans 12:2 follows this with, "Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is-what is proper, pleasing, and perfect." The alternative to transforming our minds is to live like everyone else, and then expect a few prayers, praises and acts of worship to rescue us. This is the sacrifice of fools.
Sacrifice of Fools Ecclesiastes 5:1 warns, "Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil." When we live lives like others but mouth empty praise to make us "righteous," we are offering the sacrifice of fools.
Attitudes <--> Actions We continually renew our minds not just by guarding our thoughts but by our actions, for even as attitudes determine actions, so our actions shape our attitudes. If we do evil, for example, we will adjust our attitudes to rationalize it.
Delight or Dread? We do reap what we sow in our hearts, minds, and actions. What we sow, today, determines whether we await our own Harvest with delight or dread.
"He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it." Proverbs 11:27
In closing, a quote from Charles Swindoll:
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes."
www.amoymagic.com
"What the wicked dread will overtake him; what the righteous desire will be granted." Proverbs 10:24
"He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it." Proverbs 11:27
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life." Charles Swindoll
We Are What We Think A century ago, William James wrote "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." Since then, science has reaffirmed scripture's affirmation that attitudes shape lives as much as lives shape attitudes. It is literally true that "what you think you become." but what we become also shapes what we desire--or what we dread.
We Reap What we Dread. All religions and philosophies, and even psychology, admit that we reap what we sow. If we sow evil, we will live with the dread of sooner or later reaping the consequences. No matter how "great" we may become, those who do wrong are like "grass that will soon wither" (Psalm37:1,2).
The Two Remedies to Dread. The only ways to eliminate the dread of reaping the harvest of our actions are 1), cease doing evil and 2) start doing good--though this is easier said than done.
Eliminate or Supplant We cannot cease thinking and doing, any more than a Zen monks can think of nothing (as soon as they realize they've achieved thoughtlessness, they are thinking). But even if we could cease thinking and doing evil, it would not be enough.
We cannot simply "do no evil," anymore than a Zen monk can think of nothing. But while we cannot cease evil, we can supplant evil by "delighting in the Lord," and filling our minds and lives with the good written about in Phil. 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things." ISV.
The Righteous Delight and Receive. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4" Delight" does not mean to simply delight in His existence, and to mouth praise, but to delight in serving Him. "Obedience is better than sacrifice" (1 Sam. 15:22).
Sacrifice of the Righteous: Transformation of Minds Paul says to "present our bodies as living sacrifices" for service. Rom. 12:1. Romans 12:2 follows this with, "Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is-what is proper, pleasing, and perfect." The alternative to transforming our minds is to live like everyone else, and then expect a few prayers, praises and acts of worship to rescue us. This is the sacrifice of fools.
Sacrifice of Fools Ecclesiastes 5:1 warns, "Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil." When we live lives like others but mouth empty praise to make us "righteous," we are offering the sacrifice of fools.
Attitudes <--> Actions We continually renew our minds not just by guarding our thoughts but by our actions, for even as attitudes determine actions, so our actions shape our attitudes. If we do evil, for example, we will adjust our attitudes to rationalize it.
Delight or Dread? We do reap what we sow in our hearts, minds, and actions. What we sow, today, determines whether we await our own Harvest with delight or dread.
"He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it." Proverbs 11:27
In closing, a quote from Charles Swindoll:
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes."
www.amoymagic.com
Friday, January 9, 2009
Chinese Fisher of Men
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19
"The Master angled, but did not fish with a net; he shot, but not at birds sitting." Said of Confucius
Loi Faat was born about a century ago in
a small Chinese village. His poor parents sacrificed to send him to school because, as firstborn, and as a boy, he was their hope for the future. And Loi Faat studied hard--until he was struck down by the smallpox that ravaged his village.
Loi Faat was one of the few young survivors, but over the following weeks he went totally blind. The family was devastated; having a blind son was even worse than having a daughter. Faced with a life of begging, Loi Faat decided to end his life, and after days of agonizing over how to do it, he bundled up one cold night, felt his way to the raging river, and threw himself in--only to encounter not death but a new life.
Loi Faat could not sink because his clothes buoyed him up like a raft. A mile down the river, an old Christian fishermen felt an urge to pull in his net. He expected a few small fish at best, and was shocked to pull in blind Loi Faat instead. The fishermen immediately thought of the verse, "And I will make you fishers of men." and he hastily carried Loi Faat to his small hut to build a fire. He fed him, warmed him up, and shared with the boy why he must never abandon hope.
With nothing but the old fisherman's stories as training, Loi Faat began sharing his own story, and his new found hope, with others, learned to read the Braille Bible (which he called his "life"), and over the years traveled all over China, sharing his message with tens of thousands--thanks to one old fishermen who braved a cold winter's night to fish, and who heard the still, small voice when it said "pull in your net."
We too are fishermen, but to catch anything we need to be prepared and obedient:
1. Fishermen Prepare Fishermen need experience and knowledge to choose the right equipment--rods, nets, boats, bait. Paul told young Timothy, "Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:16). Our Father sometimes brings the fish to us--but only if we know what to do with the fish.
2. Fishermen Choose Where to Fish You can't just throw your line or your net anywhere and expect a catch. A good catch takes knowledge, and experience--or a hint from other fishermen, who tell you that bass feed under a certain log in the evening. But if we show we are good fishermen, our Father will tell us where to fish, or even bring the fish to us. In Luke 5:6, after Simon had fished all night without success, Jesus told him to cast the net again in deeper water. Simon said it was useless, but did so anyway--and caught so many fish the net nearly broke.
Jesus told Simon where to fish only after Simon had spent long hours fishing without results. Simon was, after all, a fishermen, who fished day after day and took catching fish for granted. Jesus wanted to remind him that, in spite of his expertise and skill, he should not take fish, or life, for granted. Fishing is far more profitable when it is a partnership between the fishermen and the maker of fish.
3. Fishermen Fish. Jesus gave Simon a net full of fish but Simon, not Jesus, had to row out into deeper water, lower the net, and then struggle to pull it up, and afterward clean and gut the fish, and sell them. If Simon had been incapable or unwilling to do the work, Jesus would have never wasted the fish on him. "To him who has much, much is given; to him who has little, even the little he has shall be taken away" (Luke 12:48).
Loi Faat touched thousands of lives only because he was saved by a poor hardworking fishermen who stayed up fishing on a cold winter's night, and whose heart was attuned to the still, small voice within that said "pull in the net" He was also a fisherman who knew what to do with the catch afterward.
We are all fishermen, prepared over the years and decades to fish in different ways, in different places. But preparation and experience isn't enough. If we are ready, our Father may well bring the fish to us, but even then we must cast our nets into deep water, and haul the catch in.
Go fishing.
The Loi Faat story was adapted from:
Miller, Basil, “Twenty Four Missionary Stories from China,” Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City, Missouri, 1948 Miller's source: Rev. H.G. Rodine, Secretary of Foreign Mission, The Evangelical Free Church of America; personal letter to the author.
www.amoymagic.com
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19
"The Master angled, but did not fish with a net; he shot, but not at birds sitting." Said of Confucius
Loi Faat was born about a century ago in
a small Chinese village. His poor parents sacrificed to send him to school because, as firstborn, and as a boy, he was their hope for the future. And Loi Faat studied hard--until he was struck down by the smallpox that ravaged his village.Loi Faat was one of the few young survivors, but over the following weeks he went totally blind. The family was devastated; having a blind son was even worse than having a daughter. Faced with a life of begging, Loi Faat decided to end his life, and after days of agonizing over how to do it, he bundled up one cold night, felt his way to the raging river, and threw himself in--only to encounter not death but a new life.
Loi Faat could not sink because his clothes buoyed him up like a raft. A mile down the river, an old Christian fishermen felt an urge to pull in his net. He expected a few small fish at best, and was shocked to pull in blind Loi Faat instead. The fishermen immediately thought of the verse, "And I will make you fishers of men." and he hastily carried Loi Faat to his small hut to build a fire. He fed him, warmed him up, and shared with the boy why he must never abandon hope.
With nothing but the old fisherman's stories as training, Loi Faat began sharing his own story, and his new found hope, with others, learned to read the Braille Bible (which he called his "life"), and over the years traveled all over China, sharing his message with tens of thousands--thanks to one old fishermen who braved a cold winter's night to fish, and who heard the still, small voice when it said "pull in your net."
We too are fishermen, but to catch anything we need to be prepared and obedient:
1. Fishermen Prepare Fishermen need experience and knowledge to choose the right equipment--rods, nets, boats, bait. Paul told young Timothy, "Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:16). Our Father sometimes brings the fish to us--but only if we know what to do with the fish.
2. Fishermen Choose Where to Fish You can't just throw your line or your net anywhere and expect a catch. A good catch takes knowledge, and experience--or a hint from other fishermen, who tell you that bass feed under a certain log in the evening. But if we show we are good fishermen, our Father will tell us where to fish, or even bring the fish to us. In Luke 5:6, after Simon had fished all night without success, Jesus told him to cast the net again in deeper water. Simon said it was useless, but did so anyway--and caught so many fish the net nearly broke.
Jesus told Simon where to fish only after Simon had spent long hours fishing without results. Simon was, after all, a fishermen, who fished day after day and took catching fish for granted. Jesus wanted to remind him that, in spite of his expertise and skill, he should not take fish, or life, for granted. Fishing is far more profitable when it is a partnership between the fishermen and the maker of fish.
3. Fishermen Fish. Jesus gave Simon a net full of fish but Simon, not Jesus, had to row out into deeper water, lower the net, and then struggle to pull it up, and afterward clean and gut the fish, and sell them. If Simon had been incapable or unwilling to do the work, Jesus would have never wasted the fish on him. "To him who has much, much is given; to him who has little, even the little he has shall be taken away" (Luke 12:48).
Loi Faat touched thousands of lives only because he was saved by a poor hardworking fishermen who stayed up fishing on a cold winter's night, and whose heart was attuned to the still, small voice within that said "pull in the net" He was also a fisherman who knew what to do with the catch afterward.
We are all fishermen, prepared over the years and decades to fish in different ways, in different places. But preparation and experience isn't enough. If we are ready, our Father may well bring the fish to us, but even then we must cast our nets into deep water, and haul the catch in.
Go fishing.
The Loi Faat story was adapted from:
Miller, Basil, “Twenty Four Missionary Stories from China,” Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City, Missouri, 1948 Miller's source: Rev. H.G. Rodine, Secretary of Foreign Mission, The Evangelical Free Church of America; personal letter to the author.
www.amoymagic.com
Thursday, January 8, 2009
WE are the Promised Refuge
Bill Brown .... Xiamen University"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9 NIV
“In a country well governed, poverty is shameful. In a country poorly governed, wealth is shameful." Confucius
Pigs 'n Poison. 150 years ago, Xiamen was a major center for the opium trade, and the greatest port for export of coolies, who were nicknamed "pigs" but pigs were treated much better than coolies. Packed tightly into ships like slaves, they were branded with paint to show their destination, though many who thought they were headed to the U.S. were instead kidnapped to Peru, where they were literally worked to death. Worse yet, many never survived the sea voyage itself. In 1865, only 162 of 550 Chinese survived the Dea del Mar's voyage from Macao to Tahiti.
U.S. Consul's Crumb of Kindness Lewis wrote that Westerners would probably prefer death over such a life, but "the Chinese coolie has through centuries of fighting for th
e right to live acquired a philosophy that includes the ability to laugh easily, to admire beauty and goodness, and to return abundantly any crumbs of kindness or understanding that fall his way." Fortunately, a U.S. Consul in Xiamen gave them a much needed crumb of kindness.In 1867, the year after the Dea del Mar horror, the U.S. Consul to Amoy (Xiamen), General Le Gendre, was fed up with the trade, and he arrested and fined an American captain with an illegal cargo of coolies, thus ending Xiamen's days as the major center of coolie trade. In writing about this, Stevens noted that Le Gendre "needed no Civil Service reform commission to instruct him in his duty."
We are God's Promised Refuge Like U.S. Consul Le Gendre, we should not need laws or reforms to instruct us, because we have the Word, which says that God is a refuge for the poor and the oppressed. But the poor don't ascend to heaven for aid. God helps them through other people, here on earth--people like Le Gendre who are obedient to His command to aid the poor and oppressed. And in helping others, we help ourselves.
How to Brighten our Gloom. If times are tight for us, they are even tighter for many others, but Isaiah wrote that if we brighten others' days we will brighten our own: "And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday." NAS
Feeding Christ In Matthew 25, Jesus said that when we feed, clothe and shelter the poor or the stranger, we feed, clothe and shelter Him (and when we neglect them, we neglect Him). By giving to the poor we are not just giving to Christ but to ourselves as well, for Christ's greatest commandment was to love God with all our heart, and then to "love others as ourselves" (Luke 10:27). When we love others, and give to others--it comes back to us.
The Wisest Investment "Give and it shall be given unto you." And when we give to those too poor to repay us, our Father not only repays us but multiplies our investment, "A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you will be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others." (Luke 6:38 NAS). We are repaid richly because 1) we've given, and 2) we've proven, through deeds and not just words, that we trust our Father.
Tight Times, Loose Purse At all times we must be wise stewards, and not waste what our Father has entrusted to us, but even in tight times (especially in tight times), we are called to give. James said that faith without works is useless, and that it does no good to say to the hungry, "I wish you well, be fed and clothed," if you don't then give them food and clothing." (James 2:14-17).
Entertaining Angels During trying times, as our purses tighten, may our hearts and eyes open to those around us with even greater needs. Our Father has brought such people into our lives precisely because you and I are God's refuge for the poor and the oppressed. By caring for them, you not only care for Christ, and yourself, but also may entertain an angel or two:
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2
"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:24,25
References:
See "Lords of Opium" The Opium Wars
Lewis, Elizabeth Foreman,”Portraits from a Chinese Scroll,” the John C. Winston Company, Chicago, 1938, pp. 88,89
Stevens, John Austin, “The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries, vol. IV”, A.S. Barnes and Company, New York, 1880. p.397
www.amoymagic.com
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