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My Two Cents
by Rev Chuck Behrens
December, 2012
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Past Articles |
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I was in one of those "big
box" stores over the weekend - and Santa was strolling the aisles wishing
everyone a Merry Christmas. I told Erin, "It was fun to see Santa. I was
just a little surprised to see him carrying pepper spray on his belt."
(Okay, I made that part up.) But the thought never would have occurred to
me, except for that crazy Black Friday and all the headlines. People
getting pushed, punched, sprayed, hospitalized, and even shot - all in the
frenzy to get some coveted item cheap.
Well, there was this image on a news organization's website that was
almost laughable - if it weren't more sad than funny. Pictures captioned
with the day's major headlines kept rotating across my screen. First came
the photo of pre-dawn bargain-hunters massing outside the store - caption:
"Shoppers Show Up in Droves." Next picture - hundreds of thousands of
Egyptians massing in a square in their capitol city, and it said: "Crowd
Swells in Cairo's Tahrir Square." You're right! They were there trying to
bring down at that time a dictator. I smiled - and then I sobered - at the
contrast. One crowd fighting for bargains. Another crowd fighting for
freedom. I was ready to put those pictures side-by-side with the caption
of my own: "So what are you fighting for?"
I'm not against bargains. I like them. But the contrasting agendas of
those Black Friday crowds were reminders to make sure that I'm investing
myself in the battles that really matter. Even though there are less
important battles that constantly jockey for my attention and for my time.
We find our lives filled with the pursuit of more houses, more money, more
Facebook friends, more fun, more title, more commitments, more sports,
more gadgets, and more entertainment. We dance to the music of a culture
that tells us what we must have, what we must see and do. We put our
energies more into having than giving, into activity - more than
relationships, into maintaining church programs - more than moving out to
reach people who are clueless about our Jesus.
Christians choose to define themselves by the 10% that divides them rather
than the 90% that unites them. Couples fight over petty differences
instead of fighting for their marriage. Relationships between family,
friends, business people often focus on the insignificant rather than what
really matters and really is important. Church folks fight over music
styles and personal slights instead of fighting for the lost and for the
hurting people just across town.
Jesus said to stop running after all these "temporaries" that possess the
lives of people who live like this world is all there is. And our word for
today from the Word of God says, in Matthew 6:32-33, "seek first the
kingdom of God." In other words, the things that God thinks are worth
living for and fighting for. Like the hard work of a happy marriage,
strong relationships, building kids who gave a Jesus of their own. Like
the ever-living, never-dying souls of the people you know, and the
powerless and broken people who break the heart of Jesus and ought to
break ours.
I love this high tribute to David, the "man after God's own heart." It
says, "He fights the Lord's battles" (1 Samuel 25:28). After all, those
are the only ones worth fighting as Christmas comes to us all once again
and endlessly fights for us all. . .our time, our hearts, our lives.
See you in Church,
Rev Chuck
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