Thanksgiving and Contentment

"give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." Proverbs 30:8  

Quite a counter-cultural statement, isn't it? It doesn't sound very aspiring. It doesn't paint a picture of someone climbing the proverbial ladder of success, and it doesn't exactly seem like someone who thinks they will become financially blessed by God because they have faith stronger than the next person. It doesn't sound like someone who has read the latest Christian self-help book. And it doesn't exactly sound very American, or very "Christian" for that matter.     

Contentment is a bad word during this time of year. I mean, isn't that the antithesis of what holiday is all about? Does it represent what the real motive in the act of giving? For many, the holiday season is not really about what "they" want, but rather about what "we" can get. Let's face it. That's the essential motive of all Christmas advertising. Companies rely on the restless discontented spirit of Americans and hone in on that one question that many of us ask ourselves, "What do I WANT?", 

Every year, it seems earlier and earlier that the stores begin packing the aisles with festive Christmas advertising, displays and Christmas themed products, which produces a mindset of over-consumption. Each and every year it begin well before Thanksgiving, which causes me to often wonder if we're gradually moving toward one single collective "Winter Holiday Season”, rather than two individual celebrations. Thanksgiving is basically rolled over by the Christmas steam engine. Kids find it boring and stores see it to be just an unprofitable holiday that is more obligatory rather than intentional. Just a low profit celebration stuck between the big money profits of Halloween and Christmas. A Speed bump.

When I was in college, my parents gave me an inspirational picture for Christmas that I eventually hung in my first office. The peaceful image was of a golden sunset silhouetted by a man in a kayak rowing across a calm glassy lake. Beneath the picture was the title Contentment, followed by a small caption that read, “When you can look at the past with pride and the future with hope, you can live comfortably with today”. It wasn't until many years later that I realized how true and essential these words really are.

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul writes, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. - Philippians 4:11-13 

To quote the words of the Dali Lama, "If one's life is simple, contentment has come. Simplicity is extremely important to happiness. Having a few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: felling satisfied with just enough food, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation."    

From these essential words of universal truth, we begin to realize that contentment is now. We have no real control over the past or the future. The only period of time that we can physically and spiritually live within is the present moment, and our present situations in life can only be made peaceful through a complete centered focus on the true inner-self, not on possessions. And does this not seem to be the essence of what being thankful is all about? It's no wonder that advertisers don't want our focus to be on thanksgiving and gratefulness. We just might grasp the essential meaning being grateful and not spend as much because we realize that we are truly content with what we already possess, not what we acquire.

As we celebrate this day of Thanksgiving, may we commit ourselves to actually being thankful; not just in the utterance of the word, in conversation or prayer, but in the  honest and spiritual act of giving thanks. Let us put our Christmas plans on pause. Take a break. In light of the recent challenges that we've faced in 2020; physically, financially and politically, it's not difficult to realize that we have much more to be thankful for than we may realize. If you have life, have a roof over your head and a tribe of family and friends surrounding you this day, you have more than you need be content. And if circumstances beyond your control have left you alone today, get in touch with me. You have a place around my collective table.

Celebrate Thanksgiving. Take some time to meditate on what it means to be thankful. Let us remember that contentment doesn't lie in the endless accumulation of possessions. Contentment lies in being infinitely thankful for what we have been given each and every day; whether good or bad. Contentment is living life within the now. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Contentment is real-time. Time is an illusion. Contentment is a continuous thankful spirit for each moment. Breathing in and out and focusing on the precious gift of life. Now. Contentment. Freedom. 

"Just become totally content and happy from within. Then you will get all you want." Shri Shri Ravi Shankar

Lenten Reflections: Entitlement

"....they crucified Jesus...and they cast lots to divide his clothing." - Luke 22:33-34
 
"Mine!"

Even the youngest of children have an entitlement mentality.   

We want what is OURS.  We want what we deserve. We want what we earned. We want to keep what we've worked for. 

"It's mine!"

A sense of entitlement permeates the culture that we live in. One of the disadvantages of a Capitalistic society is that it has the propensity to create selfishness. And one of the after effects of selfishness is a false sense of security. With the tightest of grips, we hold on to what is OURS. Our "stuff" makes us feel safe.

The poor remain poor.

The wealthy remain wealthy.

We keep what's ours.

Christ lived a life of poverty. He came into this world with nothing. He left this world with nothing. Even after His last breath was breathed, the last few possessions were taken from Him.

While His example was one of humility, selflessness and sacrifice, Western Christianity has not exactly followed His lead. Our possessions become weights around our necks that keep us from fulfilling what Christ has called us to do. A culture of over-consumption has made even the poorest in America wealthy by the worlds standards.

Instead of building God's Kingdom for all, we have chosen to build little kingdoms for ourselves.

If we could narrow down the main message of Lent, it would be sacrifice. We sacrifice in order to share oneness with Christ, while reflecting on the sacrificial life that He lived. We sacrifice so that our hearts become more open to sin; sin that was covered over by sacrificial death.

Nothing is really OURS to begin with. When we see life from this perspective, OURS becomes THEIRS. THEIRS becomes GOD'S, and in divine irony, GOD'S becomes OURS.

Lord, in a culture  of consumption and possession, we find it difficult to let go of what we feel we are entitled to. In doing so, we don't reveal Your Kingdom, but build kingdoms for ourselves. Help us to let go of the entitlement mentality and focus more our releasing more of what we have. We thank You for Your blessings and ask You to help us take better care or what You're given us. Amen  


 

 

Technological Induced Simplicity

I can't think of a verse that sums up my outlook on life these days. "give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." - Proverbs 30:8

Over the last couple of years, I've been seeking more simplicity in my life; not only physical simplicity, but mental and spiritual spiritually as well. I was as if I came to a point in my journey where the "things" of life became frustrating distractions and I began to pursue the old adage, "More is less". Or maybe I just began to understand what that phrase really means. Through simplicity, I've found more peace than I ever imagined possible. As I focus more on obtaining less and getting rid of what I don't need, I find that the things I once zealously pursued, I don't really want after all. The lure of accumulating unnecessary possessions doesn't drive me as much as it once did, and because of that, I feel that a liberating burden has been lifted from my shoulders.

Now, I am by no means perfect. There are still times when a certain "thing" will catch my attention and I hear that subtle little voice whisper, "You GOT to have that!". And I admit that I give into it from time to time. But often these days, I find myself rejecting the materialistic attractions and moving my focus on to things that will actually bring me more peace. It's not always easy. We live in a culture in which we are endlessly inundated with advertising messages that are geared toward breaking the resolve of even the most ascetic among us. From the moment we wake, we are selected, targeted, marketed and most of the time, sold. You can begin your day feeling completely content, only to end the day feeling that you are somehow incomplete because you didn't buy this or that.

But physical things are not the only distractions that clutter our lives and increase our stress levels. We can inundate our lives with mental and spiritual junk as well. In fact, a case could be made that this form of accumulating is more dangerous that the former. The seemingly endless pursuit of more knowledge can exhaust us just as effectively as buying things for the sake of possession. Think about this for a minute. With an increasing technologically advanced culture, knowledge has become just as much of a commodity as the things you can see, touch and smell. The pursuit of a seemingly endless stream of information forces us to slip into the false sense that we have to be "connected" 24/7.  We wake up with out iphones resting beside our beds, powering up for another full day of access.  We turn on of computers before bushing our teeth and carry our laptops or tablets with us wherever we go, as to not loose one second of informational access. If we're not "connected", we're out of the loop, and that means someone else is "connected" and downloading junk into their brains before you. Keeping up with the Jones is not just a an issue of having what your neighbor has, but it extends to cyberspace and has become a desperate need to know what they know.

Spiritual accumulation can be a problem as well, although this one might be a bit more difficult to overcome.  After all, why would it be such a bad thing to become more spiritual and accumulate more spiritual wisdom than the next guy? Well, I think this one goes hand in hand with the accumulation of information. As technology advances and information becomes more easily accessible, our accumulation for the spiritual things increases as well. Don't get me wrong. This is not necesassily always a bad thing. But the problem arises when we subconsiously begin to equate more information with more spirituality. We all know that the accuumulation of more information does not guarentee more knowledge. Consequently, more information does not always mean a deeper spiritual life. In fact, many times the opposite it true because our focus rests on the means and not the end.

Sometimes I think that the pursuit of accumulation, whether it's physical, emotional or spiritual, is simply a distraction from ourselves and dealing with the realities that confront us each day. Being disconnected from ourselves creates a false emotional, spiritual and comfortable disconnect. When we face ourselves, we sometimes begin to feel isolated, and when we feel isolated, we feel uneasy and sometimes afraid. We feel as if we're out of the loop because we don't have what someone else has or know what they know. When we feel disconnected, our spiritual life becomes disconnected because we feel that we're somehow spiritually inferior to others.  In reality, when we face ourselves, our fears, angers and frustrations, we inadvertently delves further into the spiritual and grow more in wisdom and security. I believe that these are the times when we experience the most intimate communion with God.

When our focus is driven outside ourselves, toward others, possessions and position, we actually find ourselves serving masters that have no real control over us. The apparent control is in actuality nothing more than a phantom. In reality, our souls cry out for God in all of His simplicity, and through complete communion with Him, we actually find complete communion with ourselves. God is Spirit. (See John 4:24), and as we worship Him in Spirit, we realize that we are one with ourselves. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16)  Complete union with God. Complete union with self.
                                                   

New Stuff: A Back to School Devotion for Youth

Well, it's back to school time again!  I know!  Stinks, doesn't it?  I mean, can you believe that Summer is already over?  As always, it went by fast!  A new school year can mean different things for different people. Some of us are ready to get back into the school routine and some of us are bummed out. Some of us might be feeling excited to see old friends and make new ones, and some of us might just be sad that summer is over. You might even be a little scared about going back to school because of all the “new” things that you are going to face. You will have to deal with “new” teachers, try and make “new” friends, and some of you might even be going to a “new” school. School is not always easy, is it? And when there are “new” things to experience, it can be even                                                                more challenging for all of us.

Starting a new school year is also a time when we see that many people around us seem to have “new stuff". Some people have new clothes, new phones, new ipods, new backpacks and maybe even a new car. And if we let it get to us, it can bring us down because other people have new” things that we don’t have. When we see a lot of “new stuff" it can even make us a little angry because we want those things for ourselves.  We’re only human, right? I mean, who doesn’t want “new stuff”? 

The big companies want us to feel envy for what other people have and how they look.  They spend tons of money on commercials and adverting in hopes that you’ll feel envious enough to spend as much effort and money as you can to buy what they’re selling.  And what happens next?  We start comparing ourselves to others, right? When we do this, we get jealous, angry and feel like we’re not as good as other people. This kind of thinking is messed up, and not the way the world is supposed to be!

But let’s face it. We all feel like this sometime. I know I do. The problem with envy is that it leads us feeling unhappy, empty and lonely. Like a cancer, it gets inside us, and starts to eat away at our soul. It's a sickness!  But the great thing is; we don’t have to feel this way! God wants us to know that “new stuff” is not always the things that we can see or touch. By trusting in Him, He gives us a “new” way of seeing life and the world around us! Instead of feeling envy, God can help us to feel love for others and love them because of who they are, not what they have or don’t have!

By trusting in God, he gives us a new way of life that is not based on the stuff we have or don’t have. The “new stuff” that God wants for all of us is on the inside. Let it out! He wants us to love instead of hate! He wants us to share what we have, even when we only have a little! He wants us to not be alone, but live together in families, schools, churches and all kinds of communities! God wants all of us to have “new stuff”, but most importantly, he wants us to have a “new life”! We can have “new life” through Him and by loving each other! Trust in God this school year, and make this a year of “New Stuff”!

The Good Life

“A rich industrialist from the North was horrified to find a Southern fisherman lying leisurely beside his boat. ‘Why aren’t you fishing?’ asked the industrialist.

“ ‘Because I have caught enough fish for the day,’ said the fisherman.

“ ‘Why don’t you catch some more?’

“ ‘What would I do with them?’

“ ‘You could earn more money,’ was the reply. ‘With that, you could fix a motor to your boat, go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. These would bring you more fish and more money. Soon you would have enough money to own two boats . . . maybe even a fleet of boats. Then you would be a rich man like me.’

“ ‘What would I do then?’

“ ‘Then you could really enjoy life.’

“ ‘What do you think I am doing right now?’ said the fisherman.”

                                                                                                              Anthony de Mello

Grace at Reduced Cost

On the bridge of the unforgiven
   forgiveness takes the high road.
Malnourished and perplexed,
   redemption takes a second seat.
Finding salvation comes at a cost,
   but you buy grace at wholesale prices
and wonder why it's defective
   and void of legitimate warranty.
It was forecast that rain would fall
   and it did indeed.
We run to theological shelters
   set up by Red Cross rejects.
But our cots have no sleep number
   and smell like homeless ministry.
You shake the hand that shakes
   and offer a blessing on pain.
"Peace be with you" and off you go.
   You go your way.  I go mine.
I adjust my ringtone.
   You stand in line.
My hands are washed and the crowd applauds.
   My realization is final and sure,
as salvation sets in cold and secure.
   Grace is cheap.
Costco carries it in bulk.
   You run to freedoms register
and write your check to God.
"I've paid my dues.  Now my entitlement counted."
   Among the Pharisees we all will stand,
but our robes are rotted and tassels are tangled.

                                                    - Anonymous