How the heck do we do that?

Ok, so, I realize that my last post made an assertion that we need to be people for whom their identity in Christ is so evident that hypocrisy literally cannot be attributed to us.

I also realize that we are completely incapable of achieving this on a perpetual basis and, as I said in that post, if we were perfect, we wouldn't have needed Jesus, anyway.

I still don't think I'm wrong that we ought to set our sights on that goal, no matter how lofty it may seem.

But, as with many things ("I'm going to write seven bestsellers this year!"), it's a lot easier said than done.  I'm certainly not there yet (so, yes, feel free to label me a hypocrite--it's true, though I wish it weren't), but there are some things that I have found help me to understand a bit more of what living this way might be about:

1. Give sacrificially:  I want to start by saying that I am incredibly grateful to my parents, who, from a very young age, taught me that giving is a really important part of faith.  You can, of course, read Scriptures to support that, but I would say that most people, regardless of faith, believe that generosity is a positive trait, and something toward which we ought to strive.  It wasn't until Joe and I got married, though, that I've really started to get a grasp on sacrificial giving (and, also, it was at this point that I was first really held accountable for living into the financial commitments I made to the church, in particular).

There's this whole tithing business to which we're called.  It is not suggested, it is commanded that we give back a portion (10%) of what we have--and that it be the "first fruits."  In other words, we give back to God first, and then we have the other money to do what we will (though, the hope would be that we're honoring God with how we spend both the first and last dollar).  There are lots of ways to understand tithing: is it based on net or gross income?  Is it just money to your home church, or do other faith-based entities to whom you give "count" when you seek to account for your 10%?  Is 10% enough, or is just the baseline for what we should give?

Joe and I have spent a lot of time talking and praying about this, and we've tried to ask for help from others whose giving practices we perceive to be faithful, and here's what we have determined:
          
                          A. We give based on our gross earnings, not our net.  So, when all is said and done, we end    up giving about 16.5% of what comes into our bank account, though it's only about 11% of our gross income.
                        
                          B. We give 10% to our local church's general fund first.  Then, we have a few other organizations to whom we commit money, with the goal that, each year, we'll be able to increase not only the amount (based on raises, etc.) that we give, but also the percentage that we give.

                          C. We try to give until it hurts, because that's how we understand "sacrificial": if it's easy, then it's not sacrificial.  We understand that, for different people, this means different things--though we do think that working toward a goal of giving 10% is an important one, recognizing that it can be hard to go from 0-10% quickly.  We do this financially (sometimes, it seems really tempting to spend the money that we designated as "giving" money on other things: refinishing the bathroom, taking a vacation, or whatever).  But, we also try to give in other ways.  We try to donate our time to various local mission (and, less frequently, though equally important, to domestic and international missions).  We commit to donating our (overabundant) possessions, and assemble several bags of "stuff" that someone else could really use, over the course of a year.  This year, our plan is to survey everything we have once a month and, each month, fill at least one bag with things to be donated.  Yes, some of the things that we give away are things that we no longer like/don't fit well/whatever, but even in this area, we've found that there's a way to be sacrificial.  For example, there might be a new, tags-on shirt that I could easily sell in a consignment shop or on-line or whatever, but I just donate it.  In short (well...no, not really short), we try to find ways to be giving in every area of life.
 

2. Scripture: Yes, we need to read the Bible, and should do so frequently.  But, we should also work toward wanting to read the Bible.  And I know that there are some parts that come across as rather dry (have you seen all that Levitical law?!), or really frustrating, or just plain hard to understand, but it's also true that the Bible comes alive more and more when we read it more and more.  Also, Jesus is called "The Living Word", so it stands to reason that, to understand Jesus as living Word, we ought to understand Scripture, the written Word.
     But, more than reading, we need to absorb Scripture.  Let it really sink in.  Read footnotes, refer to the related texts that are mentioned in the margins, ask questions, underline the verses (or, if you're like some of my friends who are very anti-writing in books, write on a post-it note that you keep with the passage in question).  A lot of times, I find that I need to read less Scripture quantitatively so that I can get more out of it qualitatively.  And, it seems like I can read a passage 300 times and still find something new each time, especially depending on where I happen to be in life at a given moment.  And, though it can be a slow process, we really ought to read the Bible in its entirety, and even read some history books, geology books, maps, etc., to help us understand the context of the things that we read.  I believe that this helps us to more responsibly comprehend how to apply the things that we read.  Plus, that stuff is pretty darn fascinating.
     And, if we absorb the Scripture, then we would be foolish to not apply it.  This, however, is where things get tricky, because no one can seem to agree on a lot of what Scripture means by what it says--how do we understand "love"?  How do we understand the tensions that can exist between "love" and "justice",  "compassion" and "accountability", etc.?  I want to set this conversation aside, for the most part, for 2 future blogs: one that deals with this question in a larger sense (Paul and his buddies deal with this extensively), and also, I want to look, specifically, at the incredibly sensitive issues relating to interpersonal relationships (both hetero- and homosexual), gender identity and even the question of marriage (and, yes, I realize that, in so doing, I might say things with which you disagree vehemently, and I welcome the opportunity for conversation...I think it's my responsibility to grow in understanding, which often comes as a significant byproduct of disagreements, when dealt with grace, trust and openness).  But, coming back to the beginning of the paragraph, we need to apply what we read...for the things that are easy to understand, we have little excuse, frankly.  It's clear that we're not supposed to lie, steal, boast, be unfaithful, etc.  And, for the things that we don't understand, as I've mentioned, it's up to us to actively seek out understanding.

3. Do something--anything--above and beyond for someone else every day (and don't always have the recipient be the same person).  I don't know what a regular day looks like in your life, but I also don't think that it matters much.  Choosing to do just one thing that's just a bit special each day is a really great thing, I've found (though, being honest, I haven't actually done it every day...I'm getting better, though).  Now, to be clear, I know that sometimes we can do things for others without realizing it, but what's important here, I think, is the intentionality behind the sentiment.  And, no, my regular day-to-day care of Andy doesn't count here.  Having dinner ready for Joe doesn't count, either.  But, taking a few minutes to make a cd for someone,  or to write a card (or even a Facebook message!), or holding multiple sets of double doors for a stressed out mom trying to control her unwieldy stroller, even though you might be in a rush to get somewhere else, are all things that can make a significant difference in the life of another.  Again, the point is not to see how much emotion you can elicit from the other person--it's about our growth in doing intentional acts of kindness.  If you're like me, you'll find that it feels really good to not spend so much time focusing on yourself, too.  (Though I have only done this a handful of times, it is a really great thing to be able to genuinely give in some way to someone who has hurt/wronged/forgotten you.  Doing this does not excuse the wrongs that they have done, but it may help you to deal with--and move on from--the pain by exercising grace and compassion).

4. Do something anonymous for someone else as often as possible.  At work, with somewhat refreshing frequency, someone will come through the drive-thru line and pay for the person behind them.  And that person will pay it forward by paying for the person behind them, and so on and so on.  I have also known people who pay the tolls for someone behind them on the Turnpike.  I've even known a few families who, in the midst of significant financial crises, were blessed by the receipt of envelopes jam-packed with money/coupons/etc.  It's fun to be on the giving side of things when we get to see the response of the recipient.  But, I think that giving anonymously and not waiting around to see how they respond is really valuable, too.  We don't need to be praised for what we do.  We need to work towards lives of humility, and this is one way that we can figure out what that really means. When we do things with our name connected, we receive direct praise, when we do things anonymously, but observe the positive results that it merits, that can allow us to have an inflated sense of self-pride (not that the things being done in these cases aren't good or important or valuable--they definitely are!!!).  When we do things without knowing the result, we are doing things in a way that is genuinely altruistic.  Now, I realize that Scripture doesn't spend a ton of time talking about the things that Jesus did before he was recognized by the crowds with whom he interacted, but I also realize that we're probably not so privy to the things that Jesus may have none anonymously because, well, they were anonymous.  How would the Gospel writers know about them?!

5. Pray.  I have finally gotten to the point where I can just talk to God like we're just buddies, catching up (except I have to apologize more to God than to do to most of the others in my life).  I was stuck for a long time, both because I thought that my prayers needed to sound somewhat eloquent, and also because it is hard to be honest in prayer, because I'm so stinkin' imperfect.  But, as I continue to sit more and more comfortably in the reality that God already knows all of that stuff, and that he both loves and forgives me, and that being dishonest in one prayer only means there's something else for which I need to ask forgiveness is the next prayer, I become better and better at this kind of interaction (and I find that I am able to gain more and more from it, as God responds to us as we are, and so, if "who I am" is someone who is honest about my sin, then God will respond accordingly, while, if "who I am" is someone who chooses to ignore/avoid my sins, then there's much less to work with.  Granted, I firmly believe that God can--and will--do anything with anyone, but I still think that my ability to respond is directly related to my openness.  Plus, sometimes, I just really want to vent, and no one else wants to hear about it, or, I don't want anyone else to hear about it.  God's really great in those moments, too.

6. Talk about your faith.  And not just with people who you think identify closely with your beliefs (though that's important, too).  This doesn't have to all be lumped under the scary term of "evangelism", as it tends to be understood these days, either.  I feel like so many people think that evangelism is all about handing out tracts, overwhelming total strangers with stories about your life that have no context and, expecting said strangers to think that they should believe what you do because you have interesting stories (that may or may not be anything like what they, themselves, have experienced).  Now, let me be clear: I do think that there's a real need for people who can actively engage in conversation with people--even strangers--and who can talk about faith.  But, I also think that, sometimes (often?), we miss the point:  it's a conversation and that means that the "evangelizer" ought not dominate (I can't imagine that this is very effective, anyway).  Plus, it's important to remember that anyone can be convinced of anything.  If I can convince you that one thing is true, then the next person to come by can just as easily un-convince you.  It's not up to us to change the minds, or hearts of the people with whom we interact.  But, it seems to me that, if we say that our identity is in Jesus Christ, then that reality ought to be a part of our conversations--it's certainly a part of the context in which we talk about other things, and, thus, it's helpful and important to talk about it.  I have had the great joy of being able to have this sort of conversation on many occasions at work.  I really value the atmosphere that exists at my store, as there's an attitude of acceptance and compassion and even of genuine interest in the varying perspectives that the employees hold (and, trust me, they are widely varied).  This is a huge gift.

7. Doubt.  Ask questions. Repeat.  I think we're all foolish plenty of times in our lives, and that this especially manifests itself when we pretend to know everything about our faith--and the faith of others.  This attitude is responsible for lots and lots of pain, violence, anger, war, etc.  I mentioned above that it's important to continuously grow in our understanding, and that sometimes that can be fostered through the disagreements that we have with others.  The other thing that I adamantly hold to be true (which seems ironic) is that doubt is the other part of our faith that helps us to grow.  Faith, of course, is defined by the very fact that we can't witness the reality of the thing in its fullness, but that we believe it to be entirely true, anyway.  But, our faith in the things that we can't see can be strengthened exponentially by seeking to understand the things that we can see.  The very premise of God is too large for us to grasp, but we are more capable of understanding God's magnitude by understanding elements of who God claims to be (which is part of what I think God was thinking in giving us Jesus Christ, by the way).  But, doubt is critical to this, as it is to the study of anything.  Doubt is the basis for science, after all (which is why I have an incredibly hard time understanding why there's so much tension between science and faith--in my experience, they seem to feed off of each other, not be mutually exclusive bases for one's perspective).  If we just believe something to be true, we don't necessarily feel the need to pursue it further.  If, on the other had, we find that doubt some--or all--of something, then we will study, measure, sort and question until we can arrive at a reasonable conclusion.  Of course, if we all use differing evidence to support our conclusions, then it holds that we will invariably disagree, but, to me, that just means that more studying, measuring, sorting and questioning is in order!

With that being said, I think I'll end this ridiculously lengthy posting here, as it seems that these notions of doubt and study will segue will into the two future postings that I have promised...