There Art Thou Happy!

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,

Whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, 

if there is anything worthy of praise, think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8

It’s my favorite scene from Shakespeare.  Well the truth is it may be the only scene from Shakespeare that I remember.  It’s from Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 3.  Romeo is with Friar Lawrence.  Romeo is in complete despair as he looks at all that has happened to him and Juliet.  He looks at his life and sees only the negative.  Friar Lawrence will have none of it and begins to paint for Romeo an entirely different picture of what has happened.  “What, rouse thee, man!  Thy Juliet is alive, for whose dear sake thou wast lately dead.  There are thou happy!   Tybalt would kill thee.  But Thou slewest Tybalt.  There art thou happy!  The law that threatened death becomes thy friend and turns it to exile – there art thou happy!  A pack of blessings light upon thy back.  Happiness courts thee in her best array!”

I think all of us need a Friar Lawrence in our lives.  For me, Linda has often been just that person.  She did it for me the other night.  I came home from church in a negative mood, down on everything.  Why?  I think I was just down because Ben, Anna, Kyah, Dillan and Hailey were leaving the next morning.  But whatever the reason, Linda stopped me dead in my tracks.  She said, “We’re not going to go there.  Not tonight.  This is a special night, our last night for a while with them.  We’re going to have a special dinner, play some games with the kids, read them stories, and have fun.”  She might as well have added, “There art thou happy!”

We all need such reminders because it is so easy to be negative… to expect the worst rather than the best… to see everything as gloomy rather than joyful. Sometimes its envy and jealousy at work.  We see some great blessing in other people’s live, yet instead of being happy with them, we feel bad for ourselves.  Sometimes it’s self-pity.  We want everyone to feel sorry for us so we complain about life.  I guess in some strange way we believe that will make us feel better about our lives.  At times, we say negative things in the hope that others will say nice things.  My sister Kathy calls it “Fishing for compliments.”  At times, we just catch the negativity coming from others – like a contagious virus.  Sometimes it’s the negative things we tell ourselves about ourselves.  About a year after my dad died, a counselor urged me to pay attention to my internal messaging – to pay attention to the things I was telling myself about me.  “Whenever you find yourself going negative, stop yourself.  Change the message.”

In Romeo and Juliet Friar Lawrence calls Romeo’s complaining, a “deadly sin…” a “rude unthankfulness!”  He’s right.  When all we can do is to see the negative and to complain, that is ingratitude.  We are allowing our sinfulness to blind us to the goodness and blessing of God.  Because God’s goodness is always there.  The cross and death of Jesus is the proof.  What could be more horrible than that cross?  Yet in the death of Jesus, God showed us how much He loves us. There on the cross, Jesus saved us from sin and death.  “If God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Him freely give us all things?”  There art thou happy!

Yesterday morning, we took Ben, Anna, Kyah, Dillan and Hailey to the airport.  As we watched them go through security and turned around to go home, tears filled my eyes.  At first, they were the tears of having to say goodbye, thinking negative thoughts about living so far from our kids and grandkids.  But then Linda’s words from the night before came back to me.  I thought of the counselor 20 years ago.  I wondered, what would God say to me right now?  These words from Philippians 4 came to me.  “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, Whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about such things.”  So the new thoughts began to take shape - “Wayne, you just got to spend 20 wonderful days with them. There art Thou happy!   Your kids and grandkids are healthy and loved.  There art thou happy!  Your children have all grown up to love and believe in Jesus.  There art Thou happy!  Each place God has given you to serve – Nebraska, Texarkana, Concordia Wisconsin, Flower Mound and now Germany have been great opportunities with great people.  God has given you such a variety of experiences, has taken you to places you never imagined you would get to go.  There art thou happy.  Your God loves you.  He gave His Son for you.  He made you His child in baptism. He gives you the privilege of telling others about Him.  There art thou happy!

My friends, those are some of the things in my life.  What are they in your life? When you find yourself saying or thinking negative unhelpful things, change the messaging.  Remember Paul’s words to the Philippians.  Get your Friar Lawrence going.  Look to the cross and empty tomb.  Start focusing on the unique goodness of God in your life.  Because the truth is that no matter what has gone wrong in your life, “A pack of blessings light upon thy back.  Happiness courts thee…” Your God courts thee in His best array!”  There art thou happy!  Amen

Finding the Right "F" Word for these Times

“And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”

1 John 5:4

If the title of this week’s blog seems a bit provocative, it was, at least in part, intended to be.  Yes, I wanted to get you to read or listen to this message.  However, that’s not my only reason for this title.  I am writing because I believe that there is a certain “F” word that is right now dominating this period of history – the word “Fear.”  There just seems to be fear everywhere.  There is fear of terrorism.  There is fear of “the other side.”  Here is an example of what I mean by that.  It appears to me that people who call themselves “liberal” appear to be afraid of those who call themselves “conservative.”  Those who call themselves “conservative” appear to be afraid of those who call themselves “liberal.”  There is fear of who won the election.  There is fear of Brexit. There is fear of letting people know where you stand on anything for fear of being ridiculed.  There is fear of global warming.  There is fear of those who believe in global warming.  There is fear of more countries getting nuclear weapons. There is fear of war.  Fear, it seems to me, is the “F” word of our times. 

The problem with fear is it provokes other “F” words in people’s lives.  People tend to respond to fear in one of three ways.  We Fight.  Or we Freeze.  Or we Flee.  You see the fight response in all the various protests – especially the violent ones.  You see it in the harsh, sometime vitriolic and even nasty war of words going on between various people on social media.  Others of us have responded to all of this by simply freezing.  Overwhelmed by all the fear, by all the nastiness between people, we haven’t known what to do or say.  So out of fear of doing or saying the wrong thing, we do or say nothing.  Others simply flee.  People are choosing to shut down their Facebook accounts, steering clear of controversy, deleting friends.  But after all aren’t those the only three possible responses when someone throws a punch at you – to punch them back?  Or to stand there and let them punch you?  Or to turn around and run away?  To Fight, Freeze or Flee?

I would like to suggest that there is a better “F” word for our times.  There is a better answer to our Fears.  That better answer is the best “F” word of all – the word Faith.  Of course I am not talking about any old faith.  What makes the biggest difference when it comes to faith is where you place your faith.  Place your faith in the wrong place and you will just end up with more fear.  Faith in government, in political leaders, in people, in optimism and positive thinking, in democracy, in the economy, in elections, in yourself, in your friends and even your family is not the answer.  As wonderful as any of these things or people may or may not be – they are all Fallible.  They will all at some time or another Fail you.  Oops there go two more “F” words.

No the faith I am talking about is faith in God.  That’s a faith that will not fail you.  After all He is Almighty.  He knows everything.  He can handle everything.  And He loves you.  He loves you so much that He gave His Son to be your Savior.  He loves you so much that His Son Jesus died on the cross for your sins.  He loves you so much that He raised His Son from the dead because He wants to have you around forever.  He knows your name.  He counts the hairs on your head.  Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing it.  He adopted you as His child in baptism.  He forgives all your sins.  He listens to your prayers.  He works all things together for the good of those who love Him, including you.  There is nothing that can happen that can separate you from His love.  In fact, because of His love you are more than a conqueror in each and every situation.  Faith in God is well placed faith.

Now don’t get me wrong.  This doesn’t mean that you won’t get angry about things.  This doesn’t mean that you won’t experience fear or disappointment.  It doesn’t mean that things happening in the world will no longer bother you or upset you.  It doesn’t mean that you won’t still want to fight or freeze or flee.  What it means is that in the face all those things you have a better way to respond… a better place to turn in response in moments of fear.  You can turn in faith to God.  You can find peace in the fact that the God who loves you is in control even when you can’t see it.  After all, the Apostle John is absolutely right – “And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”  Faith is absolutely the right word for these times… for every time.  Amen. 

I have a Log in My Eye

“Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,

When there is a log in your own eye?”

Matthew 7:4

I like many of you have been very troubled about the growing divisions in our world and in my own homeland.  I almost hate to go on Facebook and read the posts because there seems to be so much anger in them… anger on both sides of just about any issue.  It’s not that people have different opinions that bothers me.  What worries me how the things posted can be so easily misunderstood, how people assume not so nice things about one another… about the fact that I know and love people on all sides of the issues… people who are hurting and fearful… people who are writing things out of that hurt or worry or fear.  As a Pastor I have been struggling. What can I write or say that will be helpful?  Is there anything I can write or say that won’t lead to further anger or worry or fear?  I posted something the other day just because I thought it I was funny, not because I agreed with everything.  I just thought people needed to laugh.  Immediately I had a negative reaction so I took it down. People’s emotions are raw.

As I struggled with what to write, I remembered a time when a person I worked with and I had a bad conflict with one another.  There was anger on both sides.  In wrestling with what to do, Linda really helped me.  She said, “Since you can’t change this other person, maybe you need to look at yourself.  How are you at fault?  How do you need to change?”  With her words, the words of our Lord from Matthew 7 were ringing in my ears, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Well those words have been ringing in my ears again.  This is why I have been struggling with how to respond to what I see happening.  I have been so busy noticing what is wrong with what everyone else is saying or writing or doing… I have been so preoccupied with the speck in other eyes, that I have been blind to this fact – I have a log in my eye!  In fact I think I may have a number of logs in my eyes.

Let me share what I think some of the logs are.  One log is that I think everyone should see things the way I see them.  That’s silly.  One thing I have learned while living here in Germany is not everyone sees the world the way an American does, let alone the way I do. What’s worse is to think that anyone who disagrees with me is crazy, must not be thinking.  That is crazy.  I know smart people on all sides of these issues.  Another log is that I too often assume I have all the facts… or enough to draw right conclusions about whether something is right or wrong.  I don’t!  Sometimes I have read things online… on Facebook, that I assume to be true.  Later I found out I didn’t know everything I thought I knew.  Sometimes what I read was fake.  Related to that, I often make the false assumption that I understand why a person writes something or says that hold a certain view.  That’s a log.  I don’t know.  Often I haven’t asked them.  I haven’t listened to them.  I know from personal experience how easy it is to misread or read into things written in an email or on social media… things that were never intended.   You know what else, I sometimes only read and listen to opinions or articles that agree with me.  There is another log. I also have my own bias that can blind me.  Its hard to write or say anything without letting my own bias slip in.  Its easy to forget that my opinions, our opinions are just that – opinions.

I could go on listing the various logs I have discovered in my own eyes.  This is why, at least for me, it can be at times dangerous to write and post things online.  After all, like Jesus says, to judge the actions and words of others, while not recognizing my own faults is like trying to remove a speck rom my brother’s eye while there is a log in my own.  Think of the great damage my words might do, whether I mean them to or not.

Linda is still right.  I need to start with myself.  I need to repent of my logs, my arrogance, my pride, my blindness.  I need to look to my Savior, who carried all these things to the cross and paid the price for them with His death.  He’s an expert eye surgeon, opening my eyes to His truth, His love, His way of seeing people. 

I need Him to change me first.  After all, I have a log in my eye.  I wonder if anyone else has the same problem I do.