Today’s Readings: Psalm 65; Exodus 7:25-8:19; Luke 11:1-13; Romans 10:17-20; Psalm 73
Each of Jesus’ teachings presents its own unique challenge for each of us. There are some of his teachings, for instance, that you would find easy to follow and other teachings that would be much more challenging. Just which of those teachings are easy to follow and which are challenging would vary from person to person depending on our personality and life experiences. Take Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11:10 for example – the teaching where Jesus says, “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need” (The Message). Some people have no problem whatsoever asking God (or anyone else for that matter) for what they need. I know: I’ve encountered many of these folks over the years. For me, however, this teaching represents one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings. You see I was raised in a household that stressed two things: (1) be pleasant and polite at all times; and (2) never, never, never, never, never be a burden to others. When you put these two principles together you end up with a person who would never think of asking for what he needs. After all, that would be impolite since your request would put a burden on the other party in some fashion. So how did I learn to try to get my needs met? Well, I learned to put my needs out there very subtly and hope that the other person would pick up on them and accommodate them. This admittedly led to a pretty passive aggressive approach to life (or what Jesus called “a cat and mouse, hide-and-seek game”) that was less than fulfilling for me and those around me. Thankfully, Jesus’ words of encouragement have helped encourage me over the years to leave my passive aggressive approach behind and develop a more honest and direct approach both in my relationship with God and in my relationships with others. Perhaps the notion of being direct is a difficult notion for you as well. If so, try practicing. Start with the little stuff (i.e. “God, I need just 5 minutes of peace and quiet today so that I can better connect with You and with myself”) and then move on to the big stuff (i.e. “God, I need the strength to get through the next 3 days until my test results come back from the doctor). You’ll be amazed at how the move from a passive aggressive to a direct approach shifts your quality of life and depth of faith. Til next time…
Each of Jesus’ teachings presents its own unique challenge for each of us. There are some of his teachings, for instance, that you would find easy to follow and other teachings that would be much more challenging. Just which of those teachings are easy to follow and which are challenging would vary from person to person depending on our personality and life experiences. Take Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11:10 for example – the teaching where Jesus says, “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need” (The Message). Some people have no problem whatsoever asking God (or anyone else for that matter) for what they need. I know: I’ve encountered many of these folks over the years. For me, however, this teaching represents one of Jesus’ most challenging teachings. You see I was raised in a household that stressed two things: (1) be pleasant and polite at all times; and (2) never, never, never, never, never be a burden to others. When you put these two principles together you end up with a person who would never think of asking for what he needs. After all, that would be impolite since your request would put a burden on the other party in some fashion. So how did I learn to try to get my needs met? Well, I learned to put my needs out there very subtly and hope that the other person would pick up on them and accommodate them. This admittedly led to a pretty passive aggressive approach to life (or what Jesus called “a cat and mouse, hide-and-seek game”) that was less than fulfilling for me and those around me. Thankfully, Jesus’ words of encouragement have helped encourage me over the years to leave my passive aggressive approach behind and develop a more honest and direct approach both in my relationship with God and in my relationships with others. Perhaps the notion of being direct is a difficult notion for you as well. If so, try practicing. Start with the little stuff (i.e. “God, I need just 5 minutes of peace and quiet today so that I can better connect with You and with myself”) and then move on to the big stuff (i.e. “God, I need the strength to get through the next 3 days until my test results come back from the doctor). You’ll be amazed at how the move from a passive aggressive to a direct approach shifts your quality of life and depth of faith. Til next time…
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