Happy Saturday morning! Hope it has been a good week for you. It has been a lot of ups and downs for me, but the big lesson I have learned this week was the realization that my week went exactly as God planned it. That has stuck with me a lot and left me trying not to question why too much.
I feel I have done pretty well sticking to my goals for eating and working out. It is a little harder when I am taking so much time off because I make a list of so much to get done that I don't want to spend time driving to Effingham or going for an hour run. I do know I make up for it because I am moving more all day and not sitting at my desk, but it still gets off. When fall comes, I won't be able to take the time off so it isn't a long term issue by any means.
We are finally moving to Chapter 2 of James and I have broken this into four parts because it is so very important to me. These verses not only deal with my person livelyhood, but with things I have encountered all my life. And for those of us who have struggled with weight all our lives, everytime the word poor is used, replace it with heavy. Been there, done that, and we are going to talk about it.
So, with our same HEAR method, here we go. Today we are going to look at James 2:1-4
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Verse 1, Highlight= must not show favoritism. Explain= In the beginning God created man, it doesn't tell us even what color Adam and Eve was, we honestly have no good examples of what color Jesus was. For some reason, the general assumption is white, but that probably isn't true. And we have so many verses in the Bible that tells us, we aren't to judge by appearances. John 7:24 says Do not judge by appearance, but judge with right judgement. 1 Samuel 16:7 says But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Plain and simple, if you are trying to see as God sees, you don't look at what color the skin is, what clothes they are wearing, or even what they have. You look at the heart, interestingly enough, that means before you can decide if you like someone or not, you can't merely stand and look at someone and decide that, you have to carry on a conversation with them, you have to get to know them, not just what they look like. Apply=You have no idea what someone is going through, or why they are dressed the way they are, or look the way they do. Do they have scars? What have they survived, what have they endured. Do they look perfect? Is it real? And just because they are beautiful on the outside, is their personality beautiful? I get made fun of at work for the way I dress. I have always dressed nice for work, I personally don't like jeans at work, I feel I get more done and am more productive when I not only act like a professional, but I look like a professional. When I became a Certified Community Action Professional, Charles McCann, our mentor, and CCAP extraordinaire, said we should always dress professional and that one was easy for me. So, that brings me to something that I realized I had to deal with, those people who do not feel the same way as me and believe they get more done when they are in the comfort of their jeans and t-shirts. I realized I was being judgmental, and I have to stop. It is a work in progress, believe me. I guess I try to be the same way everyday and it gets me when people don't. I don't dress any differently for a conference than I do for work every day, but I realize some people do and I used to wonder what that meant, but it is one of those things I have to say, that is their problem, not mine and stop judging. Seriously though, part of the reason I always dressed nice was because I have been heavy my entire life and the words, "fat lazy slob" gets thrown around a lot. People equate fat with being sloppy and lazy, and I didn't want to be labeled any more than I had to be, so if I dressed nice, at least they couldn't think I was a slob. Ironically, when I weighed 343, I was still working out for 5-7days a week, and working my rear off both at home and at work, but moving on. Respond: Lord, help me continue to learn to look at hearts, and the inside, not the outside. Help me not to judge people based on what they are wearing, and how they look. Help me see them through your eyes and know that everyone you created is precious to you, so they should be precious to me.
Verse 2-3: Highlight= "Here's a good seat for you," and "You stand there" Explain= Be honest with yourself, have you ever done this? In my line of work, especially when I work out in the outreach office, I have many people come in my building. Everyone I see is normally under 200% of the federal poverty guideline. Some people, you wouldn't know it, some you know it in an instance. First and foremost, we must always remember, life didn't go the way our customers wanted it to, or they wouldn't be sitting across from our desk. Some were stay at home moms and housewives who had their world turned upside down when they suddenly lost a husband, some are single moms who thought the man they dated and married was Prince Charming until he left her looking at black and blue bruises in a mirror or worse, on her child, and made the decision to leave. Some are young families who thought everything was going alright until an unexpected factory closing or injury left them without their major source of income. They all have a story. How they are treated after that particular chapter of their life begins, truly does impact how their life carries on, and we all have a part in that. I have watched many of my friends have to step out on their own because it was clear they were unequally yoked and quit honestly, we feared for their lives as much as they did. We don't understand why these things happen anymore than I understand why a 13-year-old who seemed to have the perfect middle class family with a stay-at-home mom and a dad with a good job all the sudden lost that dad and almost lost that mom the next year and left her in a state that employment was reduced to babysitting and taking care of elderly people, and working 2 and 3 jobs at one time, but that was my life and it was what God wanted. Did it leave me with a tremendous amount of compassion and empathy? yes, it did. Apply= I had a friend who used to have this habit of sitting in a restaurant and watching people and making up stories about their lives. It was always a good story but it made you want to go talk to these people, find out more about them. Ironically, this friend was my first boss in Community Action, and she wanted everyone to have beautiful stories so she made them one. She might have been one of the people I fictionalized a few sentences back, and she lost her life to cancer, but not after getting to see beautiful grandchildren and a man that stood beside her through it all. I miss her so much and it is funny, when I am going through rough patches at work, I dream about her and I dreamt about her this week. Respond-= God, always let me see the good in people, not what they are wearing, driving, or what they do, but help me know them before I decide who they are. And help me treat everyone the same, being an extension of you, and being hope and compassion no matter who they are.
And finally today, First 4
Highlight= become judges with evil thoughts. Explain= why is it in our nature to think the worst of people first? Seriously, because sin IS our nature. I also if I am having a bad day, or feeling sorry for myself, the first instinct is to cut others down, or blame them for some of my problems. Apply= I have gotten to the point the last few years that when the receptionist tells me I have a customer on the line, I pray before I ever push the button to talk to them. 9 times out of 10 if a customer is calling me, it is because they aren't happy with the answer they were given by our staff in the office and they are upset. I pray that I can do the best I can to show Jesus and be compassionate and understanding while still explaining the situation. It amazes me, even though it shouldn't, how many times they will say thank you when they hang up. Yeah, I still have ones who are still mad and hang up on me too, but I would say maybe 2 out of 100, most of the time, God gives me the ability to talk them down and help them understand the whys of whatever issue we are having. When you see someone and your first thoughts seem to want to go to the negative, how about a quick prayer, "Lord, help me see them through your eyes". Remember, if you don't know the story, you don't know the story. Thursday morning, a house in Greenup burnt, it was close to our office and I didn't know the people but I know they lost their house that day as well as several pets. It was in the early morning hours, so I don't know that they even got real clothes out of the house. I do know they probably had to go out in public that day to try to find temporary shelter, clothing and food. They may have (totally speculating here) been dirty from the fire, or wearing clothes someone gave them in a hurry, and I doubt they looked very happy. What would your first impression be if you saw them at Walmart? We learned years ago in class that when there is an iceberg in the water, 90% of it is still under the water and is much bigger than what you see sticking up. This is the way it is with peoples problems, you may see a little that is wrong, but unless you really know the situation, you don't KNOW the situation, and so compassion is the best lens to use- every time. Respond= Lord, help me always show compassion, whether it is someone we meet in the aisle of a store, someone who walks into our church, or someone who might have just cut us off in traffic, help us remember, we have bad days too and they may not always look the same, but we all live in an imperfect world with way too many judges and not enough compassionate souls. Help me be you to them.
I am getting a really late start, but heading out the door for hopefully 3 miles. Andrew and I are heading to Indy today to pick up shelves at IKEA and then we have to make a Sam's run. Not overly exciting stuff but I know there will be at least one meal out so I want to get my 3 miles in so if I go over a little on calories, I know I have put the work in to compensate. Happy Saturday!
I am leaving you with a favorite poem. This is on the door to my office and though it is about our job, it can be about anyone you meet.
The Other Side of the Desk
Have you ever thought just a wee little bit, Of how it would seem to be a misfit, And how you would feel if YOU had to sit, On the other side of the desk? Have you ever looked at the person, who seemed a bum, As that person sat before you nervous…dumb… And thought of the courage it took to come, To the other side of the desk? Have you thought to yourself, “It could be I, If the good things of life passed me by, And maybe I’d bluster and maybe I’d lie, From the other side of the desk?” Did you make the person feel full of greed, Make that person ashamed of being a certain race or creed, Or did you reach out to that person in need, To the other side of the desk? May we have wisdom and lots of it, And much compassion with plenty of grit, So we may be kinder to those who sit, On the other side of the desk. Anonymous
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