Are We Doing it Wrong?

     So today is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, it is probably tied with Christmas as my favorite. As a food guy, obviously I like it for the food, but really I like it for the focus on family. Most of my favorite memories are centered around Thanksgivings at my grandparent's house in New Jersey.

     Now a days it has become popular to make a list of the things we are thankful for. I have seen people listing one thing every day for the month of November. I think this is a great idea, but as a Christian I think it may be missing the point. We are called to be thankful, period. There are no more qualifiers after that, just be thankful. Is it okay to be thankful for family, friends, jobs, house, whatever? Sure, but we need to go deeper. We need to be a thankful people; not because of our circumstances but just because.

     It is great to have a long list of the things we are thankful for, but what if we didn't have them? All through the Bible, in fact throughout the history of Christianity, you see countless people thanking God in their lack, in prison, facing death. So don't let your thanksgiving be governed by your circumstances, just be thankful.

Hebrews 12:28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."

Every Sunday

     Every Sunday morning when the alarm goes off he thinks, "Ugh. Sunday morning." He rises and puts on his finest clothes, gathers up the family and heads off to church. Once there, he locates his normal seat; not in the front, but close enough so everyone will know he was there. Glancing around he notices someone wearing jeans and a slightly wrinkled shirt and thinks, "How can someone dress like that in church?" He mumbles through the songs and slips in and out of sleep during the sermon. On the way out he loudly greets the pastor and hurries home, thankful to have done his duty for the week.

     Same Sunday in a different house. He awakes before the alarm and immediately whispers a prayer of thanksgiving, "It's Sunday!" He dresses hurriedly, not really caring what he looks like. His only thoughts are on going to church and joining fellow believers in worshiping God. From the moment he enters the church he is transported to the very courts of God and breathes in every bit of it. Before he knows it it is time to leave. On the way out he lets the pastor know that he will be praying for him daily.

     If you look around your church next Sunday, you will find that both of these people attend your church. In fact, if you look in the mirror, you may find that one of them is you. Jesus spoke about these two people in Luke 18: 9-14. It is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. In Jesus' words only one went home justified. I pray that when I look in the mirror I see the face of the tax collector. What about you?

Luke 18:9-14 9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Second Mile People

     Much to my surprise, I find myself an experienced volleyball coach. I now have over ten years of coaching under my belt when I never had any intent to become one in the first place. In those ten years I have discovered a fairly easy way to tell which players were never going to be much more than average players and which ones were going to excel, and it may not be something you would expect. Most beginning players will only do the minimum amount of work necessary to get to a position where they can just barely stretch and reach the ball. The difference comes as they gain experience, the ones that are going to develop beyond merely average learn to do the extra work, go the second mile, to beat the ball to where it is going and be waiting for it when it gets there. The ones that will never be more than average never learn to do that.

     As Christians, we are called to do much the same. It is easy to get comfortable and just slide along just doing the bare minimum. Why not? It's easy, it's comfortable, and it doesn't require much effort, but it also doesn't lead to much growth. We shouldn't be the same Christian today that we were 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or even last week. We should be pushing ourselves forward, out of our comfort zones and doing things we never thought we would be doing. We need to be "second mile" Christians. Jesus said it this way,

             

38 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’[a] 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile,[b] carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’[c] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies![d] Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[e] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:38-48 NLT