Jesus said, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” Matthew 7
Beware of categories.
As soon as you label something as ‘beautiful,’
you will begin to see ‘ugly.’
Call some ‘better,’
and you will define others as ‘worth-less.’
Draw a circle around ‘us,’
and you’ll see others as ‘them.’
Build a wall to create ‘insiders,’
and you will continue to cast more and more
over your walls until none are left,
except you alone. Continue reading “In a World of Endless Name Calling, Comes The Way…”
Jesus said, “Do not worry…” Did Jesus know how hard that is? To not worry, to try and force yourself to not worry, to command your mind to not think about the future, is like telling yourself, “Don’t think about pink elephants.” Try it, tell yourself, “Do NOT think about PINK ELEPHANTS!” As soon as you make such a demand, it’s hard to think about anything else. The pink elephant in the room becomes the pink elephant in your brain. 
“The Lord’s Prayer” contains many phrases that can lead us into life more in tune with Jesus and his way. “Give us this day, our daily bread,” helps us to slow down and enter into each moment. To focus on our daily bread requires an ability to distinguish between what we need and what we want. The current global economy not only encourages no distinction, it is dependent, at least in the short run, on blurring the distinction so wants are treated with the same passion and urgency as needs. And since wants never satisfy when removed from needs, our desires become insatiable. Consider the buying practices and the changes a century has brought. 
“Don’t be a Doubting Thomas,” was a charge I heard both at home and church. Doubt was bad. It was below lying and stealing, but doubt was otherwise high on the list of nonchristian characteristics and Thomas was the icon for doubt like Judas was the icon for betrayal.
Through the years as a pastor, I’ve counseled a lot of people about their children, especially their teenagers. Imagine you are Kevin Salwen. He picked up his fourteen year old daughter, Hannah, from a slumber party and was driving her home. At a red light, Hannah looked out their windows and saw a homeless man on the sidewalk holding up a sign asking for money to buy food. On the other side of the car, in the lane next to them, Hannah saw a black Mercedes. She looked from the Mercedes, back to the homeless man, and from the homeless man back again to the Mercedes. Then she said to her father, “If that guy didn’t have such a nice car, then that guy could have a nice meal.” It made sense to her. A less expensive car for one person could keep another off the street. 
When I was a youth, we learned a song that made memorizing 1 John 4:7 & 8 quite easy. The verse is, 
In multiple spaces and places, Bible writers assert that our spiritual troubles arise from our lack of attentiveness in our daily lives, following our patterns paying very little attention to the moments before us.
