Lenten Reflections: Escalation

"Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.  What do you think?”  “He is worthy of death,” they answered. Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him."

                                                            Matthew 26:65-67

Escalation. Pride's evil and deceptive ways widen. With each choice that Pride makes, the tensions in our relationships escalate. With each move of Pride, the battle is fueled and the ante is raised. More troops are sent in. We launch more offensives. Relationships don't die; they are murdered. Sin stands guilty as a war criminal. GUILTY. 

Anger gives birth to accusation. 

Accusation gives birth to action.

Action gives birth to violence. 

Violence gives birth to death.

Another relationship causality in the war of selfishness, with Pride leading the way. 

We count the costs of the war. We see the destruction. And yet we choose each weapon with great care, hoping for victory. 

Pride - 1  Relationships - 0 

Lent reveals to us that things are often backwards in the Kingdom of God. Pride has no place at the table. War in our relationships is unthinkable. Escalation becomes pacifism. And death becomes life. By living our lives through Christ, we find less need to slaughter our relationships, and more desire to heal them. We disarm ourselves, dismantle our military and end violence of any kind. Through Christ, we cherish each relationship as something of great value, more valuable than the temporary possessions we accumulate for ourselves. We count the cost of war, and realize that it's not worth it. 

Anger gives birth to forgiveness. 

Forgiveness gives birth to unity.

Unity gives birth to community.

Community gives birth to life. 

Lord, we realize that one of the most tragic losses in the war of Pride is relationships. So often we sacrifice those closest to us in order to protect the self. Help us to lay down our weapons and seek peace. Help us to cherish each relationship we have as more valuable than anything we possess, even life itself. Amen.              

Lenten Reflections: Expectations

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:48 

Do we expect to be perfect? Or is this an unrealistic expectation from God?

It's not even 9am, and I've already blown this concept. How about you? How are you IMperfect today?

Greed? Lust? Selfishness? Anger? Hatred? Bitterness? ___________?

Our sense of entitlement can lead to negative expectations.

Negative expectations don't make us better, they make us flawed. Negative expectations put the focus on ourselves, not others. Not God. Not the Kingdom.  Positive expecting makes us perfect.    


"God, I expect you to do this for me!  I deserve it!" = SELF

or

 "God, I expect You to do this! Because You are good!" = GOD

"I expect you to make me happy! I deserve to be happy, dammit!" = SELF

or

"I expect you to make me happy! Because of who you are!" = OTHERS

Expectations, or demands? Joyful anticipation, or selfish lingering?

Negative expectations are an inner driven motivator. Real expectation comes from the external goodness of God and the world around us. 


What we think we deserve and what we come to expect, from ourselves and from others, can easily become one and the same thing.

Fair? 

Right? 

Healthy? 

When we feel entitled, the natural progression is to expect that which we feel entitled to. This becomes unfair to ourselves and others. It's not right. And it's unhealthy to our relationships.

As selfishness is the motivator for entitlement, arrogance breeds expectations.

Lent is the perfect time to meditate on the concept of negative expectations, because it opens the door for us to see just how arrogant we can be.

As we move closer to Easter, let's commit to negatively expect nothing from others, but to EXPECT the best IN others. Let's refuse to negatively expect God to change us because we are entitled, but EXPECT God to transform us because of who He is.

Lord, we expect an awful lot from You and others. Not all of our expectations are positive, in fact, most of them arise from a selfish arrogance. Help us to learn to expect from an outside perspective, not inner. Help us to expect because of the goodness in others and You, not selfishness. Amen.