Imitators?

DateLine (9/27/06 – Naas, County Kildare, Ireland)

Do you ever think back across the expanse of your life to consider the many influences that have inspired you to be who you are? A significant amount of who we are is learned from those that we observe. Early on in my life my role models were carpenters, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and the like. Simple honest hard-working folks, who I might add were quite handy when the routine troubles of life came your way.

Each time I crossed paths with someone and as I had the opportunity to observe them at their craft I was motivated to give it a shot myself. As I watched the carpenter, I’d go home and build a clubhouse from scrap lumber or a downhill racer from 2 X 4’s and old Radio-Flyer wagon wheels. When I watched a mechanic, I’d find an abandoned lawn mower and tear a part the engine. When I’d observe an electrician I’d go home and . . . well let’s don’t go there.

The point is, watching a craftsman de-mystifies the craft. It gives encouragement to the observer to imitate the craftsman. The same held true later in life when I started my first job. I had the opportunity to observe a computer programmer. It didn’t look so hard I thought; why not give it a try? As I remember back, many life skills that I’ve accumulated have come from watching people as they demonstrated the skills that they possessed. I guess when it comes down to it I’ve been an imitator all my life.

For me as I tried the role of homebuilder, electrician, plumber, gardener, computer programmer, church vocalist, even husband, parent and Sunday School teacher; all are imitations. At one point the thought of being a mere imitator may have depressed me. Such is the case for most of us. Then I realized that there is something worse; an impersonator. There’s a big difference between imitator and impersonator. An imitator does acquire something of value from those they observe. An imitator borrows from the “original” and hones the craft or gift as their own. The impersonator allows others to believe in the illusion of their capabilities.

At one point along the way something radical happened. I met an original; the one and only. You see, when I met Jesus I did not imitate, I worshipped. It was only later as I matured in Christ that I learned that although in the purest sense God is above imitation, He does encourage us to attempt. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

God does not expect us to be God, that is impossible. God does expect us to give it our best imitation. God does not want impersonators, where there is no substance, only illusion. So how do we measure up as imitators of God? There is only one way. The unique thing about this Original – imitator relationship is that God is ever present. A “little-bit” of God indwells each of us. With constant help from the Original we can become “imitators of God.” We may fall short but it’s fun trying - beats taking apart lawn mower engines.

Living Like There’s No Tomorrow

DateLine (9/20/06 – Nanuet, NY)

“You only go around once in life, so reach for the gusto.” “It doesn’t get any better than this.” “You deserve a break today.” Madison Avenue and their sponsors routinely build the case for living in the present. Last weekend I attended a festival of present day living; a college football game in Tallahassee, Florida, pitting the Florida State Seminoles against the Clemson Tigers. Over 83,000 fans gathered to cheer on their team, the majority of them aligned with the Seminoles. I’m sure that on Sunday morning a throbbing headache reminded a significant number of them that they had not only reached for the “gusto,” but had consumed it. Unfortunately many Americans are caught in a lifestyle of living like there’s no tomorrow.

So what’s wrong with living in the present? Doesn’t the bible tell us to “take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matt. 6:34. Let’s take one story out of the Old Testament to demonstrate the problem with living in the present. Beginning in Genesis 37 a story unfolds that leads to the placement of Joseph, son of Jacob, forefather of Jesus, sold into slavery by His brothers at the right hand of the Pharaoh of Egypt, one of the most powerful men on the face of the earth. God had placed Joseph in the position because God needed a person of faith to lead the Egyptians to store provisions for the future to overcome an impending famine. The stored provisions feed the fledging Israelites in a time of want and preserved the seed of Jesus. Joseph was a type of “savior” not only to the children of Israel but ultimately to ourselves, who claim the name of Christ today.

Now Joseph was living in the present. He heard God in the present and he obeyed God in the present. But Joseph was not living like there was no tomorrow. Some Biblical scholars would say that Joseph’s entire life was committed to the task of the future salvation of his family; even though for most of the time he had no sense of the purpose of his predicament and his ascension to power.

God does expect us to live in the present, take one day at a time, and follow His purpose for our life. Only He knows if this is all we have. The neat thing is that God has future foresight; i.e. omniscience, and if we submit to His purpose for our life, while we’re living in the present, we’re preparing for the future.

There was another Madison Avenue ad campaign a few years back that promised to “Double your Pleasure.” I’ll tell you there is no gum that can “Double Your Pleasure” like the joy of “Living Today Because There is a Tomorrow.”

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. James 4: 13-17.

Sunshine

DateLine (9/13/06 – King of Prussia, PA)

A few weeks ago I sat glued to the weather reports for a few days as Hurricane Ernesto come ashore in Florida and worked its way up the East Coast. It threatened ominous weather for the entire eastern part of the country for the next few days. I happened to be working in New York that week and was scheduled to fly home on Friday. According to the forecast the storm would not quite be at my departure point by Friday noon but would already be past home by the time I arrived. Timing seemed to be right for me to take off before it impacted the Newark, NJ airport and hopefully things would be clear for an uneventful landing in Charlotte. While the timing looked encouraging the thoughts of having to fly over or around the storm did not excite me.

The plan worked with only a minor hitch, my departing flight from NJ was only about 1.5 hours late. I felt fortunate that it was not worse. The climb out of Newark was bumpy but once we cleared 20,000 feet the most beautiful sunshine that you could imagine streamed through the aircraft windows. The storm clouds below were a fluffy white when viewed from above. If I had not known what lay below the clouds I would have thought that it was a gorgeous sunny summer day.

Many times we are preoccupied with the storms of life. The possibilities or the probabilities of future misfortune and calamity dictate our present actions. Expert opinion and past history conspire to convince us that trouble is eminent. We’re ineffective in the present as we’re preoccupied with the future. The truth is we will experience storms. All we can do is make every attempt to prepare for the inevitable to improve our odds for minimal impact. It was not the inevitability of troubles that that impressed me with my Ernesto experience; it was the provision of God.

As I basked in the high altitude sunshine I realized that God has the capability and the desire to take us above the storm. While the storm below was a stark reminder of the fingerprints of sin in the fallen world, the clear skies above was a both a clear picture of the providential care of God and a predictor of the salvation that He has made available for mankind. At some point I knew that I would descend through the clouds to possible trouble still lurking below but that brief respite from the storm somehow made it easier to bear. There will be a time for the Christian that God will reach down and lift us above the storm for all of eternity, but until that fateful time it does our souls well to remember that the sun is always shining somewhere.

“ . . . but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31.

The brief respite from troubles below as we soar with God above provides rest for the present and preparation for the future.

Straight Walk - Clean Talk

DateLine (9/6/06 – Ponce, Puerto Rico)

I use to work for an engineering company whose marketing tagline was “We Do What We Say.” It’s important in the Consulting Engineering business to present yourself as an honest and dependable service provider. We used to joke internally that the slogan was the reason that we didn’t say very much. The point being if you don’t say much you don’t have to do much. The truth is that the secular business world places a high value on being a person of your word.

Though normally not formally codified, there is a certain way of speaking that is understood to be a part of the Christian life. There is no “list” of words that are forbidden to be uttered by Christians but the expectation is that Christians do talk different. I heard a preacher onetime make the statement that Christians should “walk right, talk right, look right, and spit white.” The “spit white” part was an admonition to refrain from the use of chewing tobacco.

Jesus himself taught us the value of “straight-talk” in the Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 5, “. . .let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” The implication is that it should not be necessary for the Christian to add force to our verbal commitments or statement s by the addition of expletives or vulgarities. Our history with people should be that when we say something it can be in a manner that is straight forward and simple because our reputation is the force behind the statement.

In a similar way the Apostle Paul emphasized the importance of the Christian walk, "you [should] walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in knowledge of God." Colossians 1:10. It is relatively easy to clean up the “exterior” of our lives and for all appearances to those that we come in contact with things appear to be in order. Jesus warns the Pharisees in Matt. 23:27 about cleanup of the exteriors with no corresponding cleanup of the interior, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.” It is a powerful dynamic when a “straight walk” converges with “clean talk.”

Remember, you are what you say, you say what you are.