We live in an age where the gap between virtual life and real life is ever but subtly widening. An age of distraction. There are so many things calling for our attention, demanding, insisting, enticing, and intruding. Distractions lead to shallow thinking, and shallow thinking leads to shallow living. Distractions lead to shallow communication, which leads to shallow relationships.
Distraction is the true enemy of deep living, and deep relationships.
We go online to check one thing, and then another, and then another, chats, messages, comments,....one hour, two hours, four hours, and the whole day is gone, day after day. We are plugged in to this virtual system so much we forget that people are not online, not really. They are here with us, in our hearts, and in our homes, on our streets and offices, across the river and seas, living, feeling, schooling, starving, working, and getting old, and dying.
Their profiles are online but their personalities are not. Their pictures are online but their lives are not. Their words, wonderful or ordinary, are online, but their idiosyncratic peculiarities, their inclinations, tendencies, traits, struggles, secrets, and desires are neither in the black and white of what we read, nor in the color and shine of the pictures we see. We may meet someone online, but cannot know them except we disconnect from the virtual world.
Ironically, it is an age of disconnection. In the days of the post office box, this would be akin to writing a letter, putting our pictures in the envelope, and posting it to a friend or relative, with a view to, and longing for a proper visit. Now because this posting happens much easier and much faster, the illusion of adequate interaction is created.
Like the chicken and the egg -which came first -argument. That it should be an argument is amusing, as it is evident that chickens do not really come from eggs, chickens come from chickens (wrapped in eggs). And that eggs do not birth eggs; rather, they come from chickens. Eggs are the medium, chickens- the substance. (Of course the chicken came first.)
The hen may brood on the eggs for a while, but the idea is to be with her chicks eventually. She does not sit on eggs forever and form an alliance with eggs, hatching and laying and hatching ad infinitum, to the detriment of relating with the chicks thereof. Computers like eggs are dead in themselves, although existing to serve a vital purpose, it (that purpose) should never rise to the point of usurping the really living things.
It is important to be on social media, but social media cannot substitute for actual human interaction. Human beings are the substance, social media is the medium. People come first, social media second. We shouldn't stick with social media all day long and expect to know people, or to have any real family, or community life.
Man has tried to connect to man using computers, but computers cannot connect men. They don't have the capacity. They have no soul. Machines are vast, but they are not deep. They may seem intelligent, but are not sentient. Software helps us to transfer information, and that is important, but no matter how much it tries to personalize our interactions, the depths of the human being is several fathoms beneath the reach of electronics. We have only succeeded in connecting and networking computers, but we ourselves are driven further apart.
The younger generation is plugged in more tenaciously and dependently. There is so much unbridled flux of all kinds of data. The dividing line between important and trivial matters is thinning rapidly. Matters of great importance are more quickly forgotten, while we celebrate face-value events. Empathy is less felt and less understood, culture and social tact are all but non-existent. Attention span has surely dwindled. We have become computers- forever plugged in. It is a battle for the soul, and for humanity. The electronic information age has come with a heavy price, and have we counted the cost?
We have not been deficient in exploring the strengths of the internet, but we have, on acknowledging its limits.
Meet people, spend more offline time with friends, visit with family, join actual healthy on-the-ground groups, linger a bit to actually talk with people, be active in church. Folks, spend more time offline. We should always take the chance to actually interact. And if it seems to not be there, we have to make it.
Let's stop using rulers to measure weight.
Cheers.
Wednesday 17 September 2014
The Economy of Value I
Man ought to tell money what the value of a thing is, and never vice versa. We shouldn't get an impression of the value of a thing from the price tag on it. This is because money, the means of exchange, is actually of little value in and of itself. It takes on the value of what it could purchase, or be exchanged for. The value of money is not intrinsic, but imparted. Without things to market, money is without value, but without money, things still retain their intrinsic values. A tree is a tree, a rock a rock, a diamond a diamond, and an education -an education.
If I paid a certain amount of money to educate my child, I would not equate the value of that education to the fees paid. I won't say my child had a 40 million or a 60 million education. The value of my child's education cannot be expressed in monetary terms, even though it was purchased at a particular amount. Educating my child has a value of its own that is very different from what it cost. So it is with everything of value in life. Money represents an accurate estimation of COST, but a rough estimation, and sometimes very rough, of VALUE.
Cost and value bear a certain relationship, but there is sometimes a whole world of difference. They are related to the extent that the more valuable a thing is, the costlier it should be. However value is an intrinsic quality and has several determinants and characteristics which money cannot measure. Something may bear heavy cost and be of little value and quite useless, whilst another thing may bear light cost and prove invaluable. Money therefore has a poverty when it comes to value, by virtue of its own lack of value, and the key is to separate these two, in the pursuits of life.
Therefore the lesson is to put value where value belongs, and money where money belongs. Money is useful therefore, not valuable. Certain things are valuable, but money is not one of them. Money is used to mobilize those things, and there it should end. It should not be at the centre of our endeavors nor the reason for rising early or sitting up late. Although very useful for the exchange of value, we must not get carried away to the point where we defocus from things of actual value and usurp their place by making money itself the reason for everything. It turns the course of society upside down. That is the lesson.
It is a very important lesson. It makes us never give up something of quality for the sake of money, something like honesty or a calling. It is the difference between ambition and vision, making money and serving a purpose, competition and innovation, the need to meet up with status and the simplicity of personal satisfaction. A thing which if understood, will change the world. It requires us to go for what is expedient, not what is imminent and pressing on us, with or without value. It requires us to go for what will outlast us instead of what will announce us. It gives us the freedom to make choices over what actually is, than what only seems to be. It considers posterity as a true measure of prosperity, by placing personal aggrandizement second to nation building. We are safe where value is the reason, but where money is the reason…..everything falls apart. In slow motion.
Placing value on things that are actually valuable, and letting money serve those things gives rise to a value system. When on the other hand, value is placed on money, having money, and making money; the value of things that actually have value decreases, sometimes to the point of insignificance. That is called a money system. In a money system, I could sacrifice honesty or integrity, the goal is to make money. I could buy beauty, or seek to sell sensitive information. It is the reason for every dirty and unsavory cut-throat event that occurs in the business world.
The reason why we have a failed state is that it operates a money system instead of a value system. Say politics and money comes to mind. A friend who gets a political appointment is perceived as one connected not to leadership, nor nation building, but one connected to money, and one who would soon become very rich. At the back of the rush for government projects and contracts is little to do with the passion for nation building. The main deal is that at every junction along such business is the opportunity for money to be gained. That is a money system. While it may be obvious that such a system is partly the reason for a failed state, it mightn’t readily be seen that on a personal level, it equally gives rise to failure.
If one wants to have a lot of money and it is to be meaningful eventually, one would have to have a lot of value, and get money to work it. Like a business with one worker, which as it expands gets more workers. Or a house with servants. The wealthy men today, and from time, get to a point where they give out almost all the money they have, and make even more in no time. They operate, not a money system, but a value system. Like a servant, they send money around; and it comes back. Those who have obtained riches otherwise, even though they now have the means to make wealth, find it extremely difficult because they do not understand value. They have to hold on to what they have rather tenaciously, and are afraid to lose any of it. By the second generation, all is wiped out and forgotten.
Money is needed (yes, it is needed) as a means of exchange for value, but itself is not worth much. It is not worth living for, and it is not worth dying for. It is not worth your family, friendships, esteem, or your health. It is a means of acquiring value, transferring value, transporting value. Value is the substance, money is the means. So if at the end of the dance, one is left holding on to cash, and only cash, it has been a pointless exercise, and waste of good music. Set up a value system that money can serve, as it exchanges value from one level to another, instead of setting up a money system, where the main point is to make money, and then make some more. It destroys people, families, legacies, and nations -eventually.
A simple and common way to express this thought is to go acquire real estate, buying up property with money. What is the cost of a plot of land? Can you tell me? You'd say it depends on where. It could be 40 thousand here and 40 million there. And the latter may not be as good or well situated as the former. Actually land, like the best things in life, is both free and priceless. The price tag on it does not tell us its value, but its man-made cost. That is a simple way of expressing the thought behind the economy of value, but such an economy system goes beyond real estate. It does not merely acquire land; it mobilizes value and improves the quality of life for the next generation. It makes the world a much better place to live in, all things considered; a thing only achievable where money is removed from the reason-for-all-things position in the equation of life, and placed where it should be, as one of the main parameters in the service of value.
If I paid a certain amount of money to educate my child, I would not equate the value of that education to the fees paid. I won't say my child had a 40 million or a 60 million education. The value of my child's education cannot be expressed in monetary terms, even though it was purchased at a particular amount. Educating my child has a value of its own that is very different from what it cost. So it is with everything of value in life. Money represents an accurate estimation of COST, but a rough estimation, and sometimes very rough, of VALUE.
Cost and value bear a certain relationship, but there is sometimes a whole world of difference. They are related to the extent that the more valuable a thing is, the costlier it should be. However value is an intrinsic quality and has several determinants and characteristics which money cannot measure. Something may bear heavy cost and be of little value and quite useless, whilst another thing may bear light cost and prove invaluable. Money therefore has a poverty when it comes to value, by virtue of its own lack of value, and the key is to separate these two, in the pursuits of life.
Therefore the lesson is to put value where value belongs, and money where money belongs. Money is useful therefore, not valuable. Certain things are valuable, but money is not one of them. Money is used to mobilize those things, and there it should end. It should not be at the centre of our endeavors nor the reason for rising early or sitting up late. Although very useful for the exchange of value, we must not get carried away to the point where we defocus from things of actual value and usurp their place by making money itself the reason for everything. It turns the course of society upside down. That is the lesson.
It is a very important lesson. It makes us never give up something of quality for the sake of money, something like honesty or a calling. It is the difference between ambition and vision, making money and serving a purpose, competition and innovation, the need to meet up with status and the simplicity of personal satisfaction. A thing which if understood, will change the world. It requires us to go for what is expedient, not what is imminent and pressing on us, with or without value. It requires us to go for what will outlast us instead of what will announce us. It gives us the freedom to make choices over what actually is, than what only seems to be. It considers posterity as a true measure of prosperity, by placing personal aggrandizement second to nation building. We are safe where value is the reason, but where money is the reason…..everything falls apart. In slow motion.
Placing value on things that are actually valuable, and letting money serve those things gives rise to a value system. When on the other hand, value is placed on money, having money, and making money; the value of things that actually have value decreases, sometimes to the point of insignificance. That is called a money system. In a money system, I could sacrifice honesty or integrity, the goal is to make money. I could buy beauty, or seek to sell sensitive information. It is the reason for every dirty and unsavory cut-throat event that occurs in the business world.
The reason why we have a failed state is that it operates a money system instead of a value system. Say politics and money comes to mind. A friend who gets a political appointment is perceived as one connected not to leadership, nor nation building, but one connected to money, and one who would soon become very rich. At the back of the rush for government projects and contracts is little to do with the passion for nation building. The main deal is that at every junction along such business is the opportunity for money to be gained. That is a money system. While it may be obvious that such a system is partly the reason for a failed state, it mightn’t readily be seen that on a personal level, it equally gives rise to failure.
If one wants to have a lot of money and it is to be meaningful eventually, one would have to have a lot of value, and get money to work it. Like a business with one worker, which as it expands gets more workers. Or a house with servants. The wealthy men today, and from time, get to a point where they give out almost all the money they have, and make even more in no time. They operate, not a money system, but a value system. Like a servant, they send money around; and it comes back. Those who have obtained riches otherwise, even though they now have the means to make wealth, find it extremely difficult because they do not understand value. They have to hold on to what they have rather tenaciously, and are afraid to lose any of it. By the second generation, all is wiped out and forgotten.
Money is needed (yes, it is needed) as a means of exchange for value, but itself is not worth much. It is not worth living for, and it is not worth dying for. It is not worth your family, friendships, esteem, or your health. It is a means of acquiring value, transferring value, transporting value. Value is the substance, money is the means. So if at the end of the dance, one is left holding on to cash, and only cash, it has been a pointless exercise, and waste of good music. Set up a value system that money can serve, as it exchanges value from one level to another, instead of setting up a money system, where the main point is to make money, and then make some more. It destroys people, families, legacies, and nations -eventually.
A simple and common way to express this thought is to go acquire real estate, buying up property with money. What is the cost of a plot of land? Can you tell me? You'd say it depends on where. It could be 40 thousand here and 40 million there. And the latter may not be as good or well situated as the former. Actually land, like the best things in life, is both free and priceless. The price tag on it does not tell us its value, but its man-made cost. That is a simple way of expressing the thought behind the economy of value, but such an economy system goes beyond real estate. It does not merely acquire land; it mobilizes value and improves the quality of life for the next generation. It makes the world a much better place to live in, all things considered; a thing only achievable where money is removed from the reason-for-all-things position in the equation of life, and placed where it should be, as one of the main parameters in the service of value.
Tuesday 14 January 2014
The Parable of The Two Sons
We know the story. It is one of the popular ones that the Lord Jesus told. It is popularly called the parable of the prodigal son. However the man in the story had two sons. Granted, a greater part of the story is narrative of one son (as is this descriptive), it is evident that both sons did not understand the love of their father. I think it should be called the parable of the two sons. And the reason I think so is that the Father still has these two sons.
We have the younger son who feels under appreciated. He does not like the system of the father's house. He feels there is too much wealth in there and too little of personal wealth. He is not happy working for his father, giving so much of his time and resources only to get back so little in tangible terms. He feels he is advancing the course of his father's house at his own expense. He is not happy that many of his father's top servants have so many resources he does not have access to.
Of all the things going on in the house, it is the way money is being spent that matters most to him. His eyes are on the inheritance. Souls are being saved, people are being healed, a lot of charitable work is being done, but he keeps wondering 'how much does the father have?', 'how much do the servants have?', what is happening to all the money being made on a daily basis? How much was spent on this or that, and then he compares that to his pocket money and the amount spent for his last party with his friends. And he is angry.
He is angry at the servants. He is angry with his father. He is angry with his brother- he thinks his brother is gullible to keep serving and serving without any tangible personal wealth. He wants to get his own share of the wealth, and he wants it now. As far as he is concerned, he stands a better chance of living a good life, outside the house than in it. Anytime he is offended, he would leave the house for a few hours, or a day or two, spending that time with his friends, telling them all the things wrong with his father's house.
Do allow more directness since we are talking here about real people -people who are so angry with the church and church leaders. Who take every opportunity to throw stones at her, and them. Who feel that the money in God's house is too much. Maybe some of his servants in charge of certain aspects of his business have certain privileges that they don't have access to yet, and they are angry with the servants, angry with the other sons, and just want to leave the church.
........You find fault with the servants, you find fault with the father, you find fault with the whole system of worship, you believe your brother is gullible to just keep serving and serving without any tangible personal wealth. You have more faith in what you can do for yourself than what your father's house can do for you. You have more faith in yourself than you have in the church. You have left the church, and are using every opportunity in personal life and on social media to tell your friends all the imperfections of the father's house. You find it easy to throw stones at the church. You have many bad stories to tell- both real and rumored.
You are the prodigal son....
The father is God. He loves you. Whenever he looks at his whole estate with his heart. He does not see the wealth, he does not see the buildings, he does not see the servants, and he does not see the splendor. All he sees is you. My son, oh- my son! (What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us....). You are his inheritance, under construction. He is building you with blocks of character and the right spirit, buildings of sagacity and tenacity, perseverance and large heartedness....you are his real estate! But you are leaving....you have left the house, for some minor reason or the other.
The father is asking you to come back home, and sit at the table like a son, and serve because you love him. He is asking you to do it for him, not for the inheritance, not to outdo the servants, or your brother. He is asking you to make Him the reason for everything you do in His house. He is telling you to serve him not because of the work, but because of the relationship. He is telling you that all that he has belongs to you, and yet you are more to him than all that he has. He would demand many things from you, do this for me and do that for me, but it is not because he wants your service, it is because he wants you to be a part of what he is doing.
He has servants, who are serving without knowing him, but he wants you to serve him because none of his servants are heirs, the business does not belong to them- it belongs to you. He is asking you to believe in him as he believes in you. He is telling you that the house may not be perfect, but the father of the house is perfect. He is saying that the seemingly imperfect house has more to offer you than the seemingly perfect world. He is telling you because the head of the house is perfect, but the head of the world is not. He is telling you that if you can see the big picture, you will find the peace that can never be found outside. He is asking you to love him as he loves you, and that you will learn many things by leaving the house, but that the best part will be hidden from you. It is in the house you learn perfection. Perfection is not learned by being surrounded by ideals, it is learned by being surrounded by imperfections. He is asking you to come back home.
He is saying a day in his courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. Ask Esau, he was a hunter and he went out daily to hunt game, but the blessing was in the house. And ask Jacob, he had his eyes on the inheritance and would scheme to get it, but all would fail until he would come to terms with God.....but that is another story. The Father is saying to you 'where you are staying is not good, come back home'. He is asking you to come back home. He is waiting for you to return.
He is asking you to come and sit in the house like a son and do what you do because of him and not because of anything else. There is nothing he will not give you. He may not give you now because he loves you, and sees what you do not see, but if you ask for it out of turn, he would give it to you to show you that he values you above all he has, that losing all his wealth cannot be compared to losing you. And when you have lost your way and you stumble back home, head bowed, he would still receive you.
Take your eyes off the money, put your eyes on me. Take your eyes of the materials, gaze upon Me. Keep giving, keep loving. These are my people, and this is my house. It is not complete, but I am building it, it is not perfect, but I am washing it, it is not ideal, but I love it. My house does not consist of things or money, it consists of people. It is the people in the church that matter to me, not the things. One day, the house will be perfect, and those who have stayed in it would laugh with me. You are missing out on what I'm doing for you. Come back home.
Would you?
The other son....
He is angry. He is angry because his father throws a party when the erring son returns home. He would have preferred that his father ignore or punish him for a while and then relegate him to a very junior position for his unruly behavior and greed, instead of celebrating his return with such flare and fanfare. He has served his father and gone on many errands for him, some of them difficult, but never has his return been greeted with such jamboree. He is sullen and angry as he tells his father this.
Here is a son fresh from the dirt, grateful to just be in God's house. You've been serving a long time now. He's just getting ready to give some fresh praise, not a familiar praise, but real heartfelt thanksgiving. You have your style of worship, and dancing, and singing. He is surprised at the embrace, and overwhelmed by it, he does not count himself worthy of the father's love, eternally grateful for it. You are comfortable in your service record and spiritual resume, to the point that you think God owes you now. He's not giving a 'you know, God is my ole time buddy', but a 'God is awesome, wow praise'. You've forgotten where he brought you from, and how he brought you out. Every meeting time, heaven knows what you are going to do...it's the same old measured praise. To be frank, heaven is bored with your familiarity, it's been a long time they really danced over there. It is heart music that moves them, and heart music is muted by a sense of entitlement.
The father loves you not because of what you are doing, but because you are his son. He loves what you are doing, but he loves you because you are his son. If you are faithful, he will love you, and if you are not faithful he will love you. When the two sons stand before their father, the greater question in his heart is sonship, not service, and he wants the greater question in your heart to be fatherhood, not service. Service is good, and has its reward. Those who have served from their hearts will find out at length and at the last day, that God is not unrighteous to forget their labor of love, and that he is a rewarder of they that diligently seek him. Everyone is accepted in the beloved, but not everyone will be given equal responsibility in the age to come. Thats where service counts.
However, God loves all His children because He is love, and if you approach God based on what you are doing for him, you will never understand what He has done for you. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! When two sons stand before the father the primary question should not be one of service, but one of sonship, when two Christian brothers meet, the primary question should not be one of service, or denomination, but one of fatherhood. You are missing out on the party going on inside the house. Go in and celebrate with your prodigal brother.
Is this a Christian brother? And is she a Christian sister? Is God his father? If so, embrace him. How large his church is, how many cars he has or does not have, how many jets, how much wealth he does or does not have, how many divorces, how much controversy surrounds him, how much make up surrounds her face, whether he is travelling around the world or not, whether the pastor likes her more, or whether his leg space is a one room apartment, are not the primary questions. If he is your brother, brother- embrace him, sit with him, eat with him, or her.
The father is asking you to open your heart, to your brothers and sisters. He is telling you that your personal race consists mainly of others. He is asking you not to run them over. There might indeed be a speck in his eye, but it is illogical to make removing it a prerequisite for embracing him- (there's a pun there). He is asking you to extend hands across denominational lines, and embrace your brother.
Would you?
Would we?
We have the younger son who feels under appreciated. He does not like the system of the father's house. He feels there is too much wealth in there and too little of personal wealth. He is not happy working for his father, giving so much of his time and resources only to get back so little in tangible terms. He feels he is advancing the course of his father's house at his own expense. He is not happy that many of his father's top servants have so many resources he does not have access to.
Of all the things going on in the house, it is the way money is being spent that matters most to him. His eyes are on the inheritance. Souls are being saved, people are being healed, a lot of charitable work is being done, but he keeps wondering 'how much does the father have?', 'how much do the servants have?', what is happening to all the money being made on a daily basis? How much was spent on this or that, and then he compares that to his pocket money and the amount spent for his last party with his friends. And he is angry.
He is angry at the servants. He is angry with his father. He is angry with his brother- he thinks his brother is gullible to keep serving and serving without any tangible personal wealth. He wants to get his own share of the wealth, and he wants it now. As far as he is concerned, he stands a better chance of living a good life, outside the house than in it. Anytime he is offended, he would leave the house for a few hours, or a day or two, spending that time with his friends, telling them all the things wrong with his father's house.
Do allow more directness since we are talking here about real people -people who are so angry with the church and church leaders. Who take every opportunity to throw stones at her, and them. Who feel that the money in God's house is too much. Maybe some of his servants in charge of certain aspects of his business have certain privileges that they don't have access to yet, and they are angry with the servants, angry with the other sons, and just want to leave the church.
........You find fault with the servants, you find fault with the father, you find fault with the whole system of worship, you believe your brother is gullible to just keep serving and serving without any tangible personal wealth. You have more faith in what you can do for yourself than what your father's house can do for you. You have more faith in yourself than you have in the church. You have left the church, and are using every opportunity in personal life and on social media to tell your friends all the imperfections of the father's house. You find it easy to throw stones at the church. You have many bad stories to tell- both real and rumored.
You are the prodigal son....
The father is God. He loves you. Whenever he looks at his whole estate with his heart. He does not see the wealth, he does not see the buildings, he does not see the servants, and he does not see the splendor. All he sees is you. My son, oh- my son! (What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us....). You are his inheritance, under construction. He is building you with blocks of character and the right spirit, buildings of sagacity and tenacity, perseverance and large heartedness....you are his real estate! But you are leaving....you have left the house, for some minor reason or the other.
The father is asking you to come back home, and sit at the table like a son, and serve because you love him. He is asking you to do it for him, not for the inheritance, not to outdo the servants, or your brother. He is asking you to make Him the reason for everything you do in His house. He is telling you to serve him not because of the work, but because of the relationship. He is telling you that all that he has belongs to you, and yet you are more to him than all that he has. He would demand many things from you, do this for me and do that for me, but it is not because he wants your service, it is because he wants you to be a part of what he is doing.
He has servants, who are serving without knowing him, but he wants you to serve him because none of his servants are heirs, the business does not belong to them- it belongs to you. He is asking you to believe in him as he believes in you. He is telling you that the house may not be perfect, but the father of the house is perfect. He is saying that the seemingly imperfect house has more to offer you than the seemingly perfect world. He is telling you because the head of the house is perfect, but the head of the world is not. He is telling you that if you can see the big picture, you will find the peace that can never be found outside. He is asking you to love him as he loves you, and that you will learn many things by leaving the house, but that the best part will be hidden from you. It is in the house you learn perfection. Perfection is not learned by being surrounded by ideals, it is learned by being surrounded by imperfections. He is asking you to come back home.
He is saying a day in his courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. Ask Esau, he was a hunter and he went out daily to hunt game, but the blessing was in the house. And ask Jacob, he had his eyes on the inheritance and would scheme to get it, but all would fail until he would come to terms with God.....but that is another story. The Father is saying to you 'where you are staying is not good, come back home'. He is asking you to come back home. He is waiting for you to return.
He is asking you to come and sit in the house like a son and do what you do because of him and not because of anything else. There is nothing he will not give you. He may not give you now because he loves you, and sees what you do not see, but if you ask for it out of turn, he would give it to you to show you that he values you above all he has, that losing all his wealth cannot be compared to losing you. And when you have lost your way and you stumble back home, head bowed, he would still receive you.
Take your eyes off the money, put your eyes on me. Take your eyes of the materials, gaze upon Me. Keep giving, keep loving. These are my people, and this is my house. It is not complete, but I am building it, it is not perfect, but I am washing it, it is not ideal, but I love it. My house does not consist of things or money, it consists of people. It is the people in the church that matter to me, not the things. One day, the house will be perfect, and those who have stayed in it would laugh with me. You are missing out on what I'm doing for you. Come back home.
Would you?
The other son....
He is angry. He is angry because his father throws a party when the erring son returns home. He would have preferred that his father ignore or punish him for a while and then relegate him to a very junior position for his unruly behavior and greed, instead of celebrating his return with such flare and fanfare. He has served his father and gone on many errands for him, some of them difficult, but never has his return been greeted with such jamboree. He is sullen and angry as he tells his father this.
Here is a son fresh from the dirt, grateful to just be in God's house. You've been serving a long time now. He's just getting ready to give some fresh praise, not a familiar praise, but real heartfelt thanksgiving. You have your style of worship, and dancing, and singing. He is surprised at the embrace, and overwhelmed by it, he does not count himself worthy of the father's love, eternally grateful for it. You are comfortable in your service record and spiritual resume, to the point that you think God owes you now. He's not giving a 'you know, God is my ole time buddy', but a 'God is awesome, wow praise'. You've forgotten where he brought you from, and how he brought you out. Every meeting time, heaven knows what you are going to do...it's the same old measured praise. To be frank, heaven is bored with your familiarity, it's been a long time they really danced over there. It is heart music that moves them, and heart music is muted by a sense of entitlement.
The father loves you not because of what you are doing, but because you are his son. He loves what you are doing, but he loves you because you are his son. If you are faithful, he will love you, and if you are not faithful he will love you. When the two sons stand before their father, the greater question in his heart is sonship, not service, and he wants the greater question in your heart to be fatherhood, not service. Service is good, and has its reward. Those who have served from their hearts will find out at length and at the last day, that God is not unrighteous to forget their labor of love, and that he is a rewarder of they that diligently seek him. Everyone is accepted in the beloved, but not everyone will be given equal responsibility in the age to come. Thats where service counts.
However, God loves all His children because He is love, and if you approach God based on what you are doing for him, you will never understand what He has done for you. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! When two sons stand before the father the primary question should not be one of service, but one of sonship, when two Christian brothers meet, the primary question should not be one of service, or denomination, but one of fatherhood. You are missing out on the party going on inside the house. Go in and celebrate with your prodigal brother.
Is this a Christian brother? And is she a Christian sister? Is God his father? If so, embrace him. How large his church is, how many cars he has or does not have, how many jets, how much wealth he does or does not have, how many divorces, how much controversy surrounds him, how much make up surrounds her face, whether he is travelling around the world or not, whether the pastor likes her more, or whether his leg space is a one room apartment, are not the primary questions. If he is your brother, brother- embrace him, sit with him, eat with him, or her.
The father is asking you to open your heart, to your brothers and sisters. He is telling you that your personal race consists mainly of others. He is asking you not to run them over. There might indeed be a speck in his eye, but it is illogical to make removing it a prerequisite for embracing him- (there's a pun there). He is asking you to extend hands across denominational lines, and embrace your brother.
Would you?
Would we?
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