submission

I have a friend who I recently directed into the practice of submission. Understand that there is great trust here, and so this is risky stuff. I said, "I want you to do whatever I tell you to do." He was trying to quit smoking again, and I sensed that he was truly serious about it. So I asked him, "Will you do whatever I say?" Amazingly, he agreed, so I told him that for every cigarette he smoked, he would have to pay me $25. He was already in, but this took him by surprise, I think.

Anyway, it is five days later and he doesn't owe me a dime. He's feeling this amazing freedom. Of course I would have made him pay me (I would eventually give it back to him). I still will make him pay if he takes it back up before the end of the week. We'll make the agreement again until he no longer struggles with it. But here is this guy who is practicing submission without knowing it, and he's finding freedom in it. Major renovation is going on in this guy. I'm really happy to see what the Spirit is doing in his life.

As I see this, I am sensing the need for me to practice submission. I have been doing this at work over the past eight months or so, and I find it changing my attitude toward people. But I still have some real pride/insecurity/commitment issues to sort out. I think the practices of submission, secrecy, and service will be important in the coming months. They should get at some of the junk that's been coming up in my recent entries.

makeover

There is a great deal of work to be done in thinking through how we are to structure our lives as disciples who find ourselves in multiple contexts throughout the day. I am wondering if the problem is not simply that we're too busy (although that may be very true), but that we fail to see the possibilities for integration. Much of our culture tends to pull us into these directions--sometimes all at once. I feel that often what we do as disciple communities is not helping to integrate, but rather adding to the dis-integration.

How are we to structure our lives together in ways that neither unnecessarily tear people out of their 'already there' communities, nor add more complexity for the sake of having 'religious' activity? I think that for many of us it may look a little like the popular home renovation episodes on television. The structures may be added to or demolished completely--it is different with each place--but serious transformation happens. The result is a marked improvement in most cases.

If I might follow this analogy further, I would suggest that it will require people who are skilled at performing such renovation, as well as large numbers of neighbors who are willing to do what they can. It will also require us to trust ourselves to these skilled people and allow them to tell us what we must do--a discipline of submission will be absolutely necessary.

significance

My friend Brian was wrestling with the idea of significance that is sourced from success--as it is often understood among religious professional types to relate to attendance, square footage, market share, and capital. I responded with something like this:

When we realize that we are significant simply in our identity as God's beloved creation, we can do things without measuring ourselves against others. Problems come when we start seeing accomplishment as the source for a sense of significance. Then we need to constantly measure and compare and, perhaps, tear others down to get on top.

When we realize that the things we do do not increase or decrease our significance or value, we can be freed to simply live into what God created us to be (as individuals and communities). To do this is to function as a gift (i.e., something to be freely offered) rather than from some sense of lack (i.e., 'if I do this, then I will be significant'). [Yes, again with the gift idea]

I guess the issue is whether or not we presume significance already. When we do, we can presume the significance of not only ourselves, but of others as well. Think of the difference that would make in conversations. No more need to puff yourself up or compare yourself to others. Certainly no more need to tear people down. You are free to cheer on the people you previously saw as competitors; to love your enemies, to let your yes be yes, to not be anxious about whether your program 'succeeds', to take on the life of a servant, and so on.

entitlement

Most Americans feel that they are entitled to certain things. We think we have inalienable rights to be compensated when we receive bad service or when a product we purchase doesn't function properly. I know this because I sense it in me. Yet, there is something else in me that reminds me that I am entitled to nothing.

When I embrace this sense of entitlement, I turn other people into something less than people. Suddenly the waitress 'deserves' less of a tip. Suddenly the service counter guy 'deserves' my anger and frustration--as if that would help me get something for my trouble. It is easy to find yourself at the center of your universe--and it's an ugly place to find yourself. We're not equipped to handle life at the center of the universe. The strong forces are too strong. The gravity is to much. We're equipped to handle the lazy orbit around a minor star in a tiny solar system at the edge of a spiraling galaxy somewhere in the edges of the universe.

Get yourself into orbit around something other than yourself.

I say, "Give up your sense of entitlement." I say this to myself first. Then to all of you self-orbiting Americans like me. You're entitled to nothing--except the chance to show love to the waitress who messes up your order and the poor guy behind the return counter at Best Buy.

outbound

The idea of giving gifts has been coming up quite a bit recently for me. The previous post about being unnecessary was one. This past weekend I was able to spend a few hours with some folks from Southside Vineyard and share some thoughts I had on listening. I started out sharing how I saw what I was doing as not just informing people, but as sharing a gift.

What if we began to see everything that we do as some kind of gift giving? Would it change the way we do things for other people? I mean giving a gift in the way that you don't expect anything in return. A simple gift with no strings attached--no expectation for compensation or gain. My work as gift. My time with my wife as a gift.

Freely you have received. Freely give.

Really, when we start operating out of an awareness that we lack nothing that we need (Ps 23), we can get the movement going outbound rather than trying to take, take, and take some more. I told my friend John that I think I've been having to pay attention to all this giving stuff is because I'm so selfish. The reality is that too much of the movement for me is inbound. I really haven't fully come to the point where I operate as if I lacked nothing that I need. I hear the Spirit telling me that I need to start operating in a way that gets more outbound movement.

Let me have ears that hear and eyes that see.