motive...

Mat. 23:5-7 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.

Luke 20:46-47 "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."

Jesus rightfully blasted the Pharisees for their fallen behavior. The trouble is, I see Pharisee in myself (and other Christian leaders I have encountered). It all started when I was young. I wanted to be valued and accepted by my peers. I would adjust my behavior to promote acceptability in those adolescent relationships. No one in our school yard wanted to be the last picked at kickball. You were mortified at the thought of being the brunt of the class bullies joke. There was always the resident fear of your clothes being out of sync, bad hair days, or the wayward pimple. Anything that kept you from fitting in was the enemy and anything that brought you into the inner circle was a treasured discovery.

Flash forward 50 years to find a man in a kids frame of mind. I find myself still seeking approval. I want to be accepted and valued by my peers. Admittedly, these tendencies are deep and well hidden, but they are there none the less. They surface unexpectedly like dross from a smelters fire. They can affect how you speak, how you write, and how you relate to those God brings into your life. I know the truth. I understand the need to die to self and be clothed with Christ. Knowing becomes the torment. Knowing becomes the admission that a journey remains.

The point? I must regularly critique my motives. For me, I find (at least) 3 motives that drive my exercise:

1) Has God given me an assignment that I initiate with/for Him?
2) Am I doing good because it is the correct thing to do in the moment?
3) Am I attempting to draw attention to myself by "doing"?

You must know that the admission that motive 3 still drives some of my "work" is both embarrassing and frustrating. I write this with the notion that others share my secret. God desires to raise up a army of humble, selfless believers who are willing to forgo the spotlight and choose to serve in the shadows. May God change our hearts and become our Motive in all things.

mickey mooney

daydream....

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Rom 1:20

I captured Chris (my oldest son) in this picture taking in the grandeur of the Smoky Mountains. I just want to thank our Creator for the beauty He surrounds us with that we often taken for granted!

mickey

poor, dumb, and ugly

A friend once observed that I knew less of what I was “for” and more of what I was “against” (a criticism). Granted, I have often felt like Don Quixote with a vengeance for spiritual windmills yet I continue to labor over the need to ventilate.

My “stick-in-the-craw” today focuses on whom God chooses. I recently did an article on “The common man/woman”. It apparently hit a nerve in the Christian community as it was reproduced on various blogs around the world. This tells me there is a thirst for truth to be manifest in real life. The commoner wants to be valued and productive yet continues to be restrained by _____________ (you can fill in the blank).

Paul wrote the following to Corinth:

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.

In the worlds system you generally have to be educated, rich, or good looking to gain advantage. (Woe to those of us who are poor, dumb, and ugly!) The unfortunate reality is the church has embraced much of the world’s philosophy. While simple church circles have made great strides away from this mentality, there remains a tainted residue of tilted credential expectation. The educated and eloquent still seem to rise to the surface. There remains a “stage” for those who fit our definitions of success. I have no answers or suggestions. I simply cry out on behalf of all of the “servants in the shadows”. Will their voice be heard at our conferences and retreats, in our books, and on virtual venues? My heart aches to see “the least of these” shine!

poor, dumb, and ugly,

mickey

yuchs....entropy.....being tepid....

No blogging or newsletters have escaped the mooney household over the last couple of weeks. Fact is, I have had this unrelenting flu/cold bug. You know the stuff....cough, chills, fever, aches, etc... Each time I think I am over the hump, it comes roaring back.

Now here is the point. It is amazing how little it takes to disrupt our "will" to be productive. You can shift into netural so easily. I think it has something to do with the law of entropy (2nd law of thermodynamics). To over simplify, everything winds down without a outside infusion of energy! (cold water becomes tepid, hot water becomes tepid, etc). Everything moves toward a preset norm. There must be some energy source to move the object beyound its stagnat norm and keep it there. (all students of science please forgive my butchering of the above...)

Even knuckleheads like me understand the need for this outside energy source. It is God who empowers us and takes us above our fallen norm. Cares of the world, decietfulness of riches, or the desire for other things will disconnect us (at our end only) from listening to and responding to the Holy Spirit who empowers us. We then, absent of this infusion of power, slowly become "tepid water" in things of the Spirit. I guess when we need Him the most we tend to seek Him less.....duh....

just thinking,
mickey

the principle of devalue

Human nature (fallen nature) has its quirks. One such quirk I refer to as the principle of "devalue". When we are faced with decisions (that require change) we invoke this principle. If I can convince myself that my current circumstance has less value than the proposed circumstance then transition makes sense and is easer to pursue. I see this often with pilgrims setting out on the simple church journey. There seems to be a need to "devalue" what one is leaving (often the IC) in order to embrace what one is called to. I suggest this does not have to be. It is enough to have confidence in Gods leading/speaking. I am thankful that God hasn't given me the assignment of final determination of all things related to His Kingdom. I readily accept those who are led/called to expose the failure of our systems. There have always been prophets who pointed out departure from the heart of God. But, generaly speaking, we should leave the trash talk to pick up basketball games and focus on the journey the Lord has called us to. I must learn this myself.
mickey