What's Love Got to Do With It?

When it came to disciplining her kids, my grandmother always used to say, "You don't have to know in advance what they are going to do, but they need to know in advance what you're going to do." And, after reading the story of Henderson County, Texas, I believe that principle applies to more than just discipline.

Patrick Greene is an atheist and and activist with a long history of filing lawsuits over public displays of faith. Just last month Greene sued Henderson County, Texas over their community nativity scene, attempting to legally prohibit them from setting it up again next Christmas. However, shortly before the first court hearing, Greene learned he had a detached retina and could lose his sight. Without the money or the physical ability to get to court, Greene dropped his complaint.

And, while that might seem like an acceptable ending to the story, it's really just the beginning.

Jessica Crye, a Christian woman from Henderson County, along with her pastor, heard about Greene's troubles and decided to do something about them. Rather than chalking up their accuser's malady to "answered prayer" and counting his demise as a "religious victory", Jessica's church took up a collection for Greene. Learning that his family needed money not just for medical bills, but also for rent and groceries, the church raised $400 almost immediately...and money continues to pour in.

"My wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us. Just the opposite." Greene said. And that "niceness" has made a difference. Mr. Greene recently told a local newspaper, "I have decided to show my appreciation to the Christian community for all their help, and I am going to buy a star for the top of the Nativity scene. You people can figure out how to plug it in."

Two thousand years ago the people of Israel thought that a political or military leader would save them but, instead, they got Jesus. They thought their savior was going to literally fight for them or physically overthrow the government for them but, instead, they got Jesus. They thought that the Messiah would tell all the bad people how bad they were and tell all the good people how good they were but, instead, they got Jesus.

When you and I are attacked, when we are ridiculed, when we are demoted or belittled or challenged or hated or oppressed or offended, how often do we respond the way Jessica Crye did? How often do we take Jesus at his word in Matthew 5 and actually "love our enemies." Maybe it's just me, but my tendency would have been to revel in my gain, rather than care about Mr. Greene's loss.

And then I remember what my grandmother always used to say. "You don't have to know in advance what they are going to do, but they need to know in advance what you're going to do." How different would life be if the world knew that, regardless of the situation, Christians were going to love? Love like Jessica did. And love like Jesus did.

Hooked (on a feeling?)

When a person is addicted to something, their brain says one thing, but their body says another. The brain says nicotine can kill you, but the body wants it anyway. The brain says gambling is bankrupting the family, but the body wants it anyway. The brain says an online addiction is ruining your marriage, but the body wants it anyway.

Simply put, addiction causes the addict to say and do things that he or she wouldn't otherwise say or do.

While you may not be battling a full-fledged addiction, my guess is that you may have been "hooked" a few times in life. I certainly have been. Hooked on a dream. Hooked on an opportunity. Hooked on a plan. And, with that "hook" firmly in place, I have said and done things that I wouldn't otherwise say or do.

For example, you've been hooked if:

- You have prayed about something that you had already decided on.
- You have sought out advice from your spouse on an opportunity that you had already taken.
- You have asked for input from your boss on an idea that was way more than just an idea

Being hooked on a thought is awfully similar to being addicted to a substance.

We leap before looking.
We fire before aiming.
We refuse the wisdom of others.
We ignore our own moral codes.
And, most importantly, we spend little to no time objectively praying.

Proverbs 15:22 says, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." When you and I unilaterally make decisions, and then try to convince our friends, family, co-workers, and even God himself that we're genuinely looking for their input, we are both fooling ourselves and setting ourselves up for failure.

The key, of course, is getting wisdom, advice, and direction before we've gotten hooked. Before we've passed the point of no return. Before we've made up our minds. This allows the choices that you and I make to be because of what the most trusted people in our lives tell us...not in spite of it.

Your Crisis...Your Fault?

Have you ever met someone who always seems like he or she is in "crisis mode." Always late. Constantly rushing. Frequently worried. Consistently impatient. Perhaps you are that person?

While some crises (like cancer, car accidents, etc.) are unavoidable...many simply boil down to having more things to do than time to do them.

A mid-life crisis occurs when we have more plans and dreams for ourselves than we have time (or energy) to fulfill them. A college crisis occurs when we have more information to learn than we can possibly cram into our brains before tomorrow morning. A social crisis occurs when we have more on our calendar (or our kids' calendar) than we can pull off without driving ourselves crazy.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 says, "The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all." Every human being on the planet has the exact same amount of time, and the crises in our lives (or lack thereof) are frequently a direct reflection of how we use that time to deal with the various situations (or "chance") that we find ourselves in.


I don't know about you, but I rarely do a stellar job at this. I make conscious decisions to over-schedule, stall, or procrastinate...and then, when "crisis mode" is reached, I pray (and ask others to pray on my behalf) for God to supernaturally intervene. To somehow remove me from a situation that was entirely created by my own selfish, sloppy, or stupid decisions.

But something that Pastor Andy Stanley said recently has really stuck with me. He said, "You can't pray your way out of something you behaved your way into." Ouch. Our actions have consequences. And, when we're in a "crisis mode", sometimes the only way that God can get us out of it is by letting the crisis continue until we learn that it was us who caused it in the first place.

What If the Power Went Out?

From the moment our kids were born, my wife and I have pushed for getting them what we consider to be good, old-fashioned toys. Wooden blocks. Metal trucks. Rubber balls. That plastic yellow post with the colored rings on it. Essentially, we don't want our kids to grow up believing that the battery is an acceptable replacement for gravity, creativity, or ingenuity.

Don't get me wrong, we still ought to own stock in Duracell, but our goal has always been to limit the number of toys that entertain our kids, and increase the number of toys that help our kids entertain themselves. More bike-riding than video game-playing. More puzzles than PCs. More books than movies.

In that same vein, there are times when I wonder how much my faith has become "battery-powered." How much of my spiritual growth do I place at the feet of pastors, worship leaders, or authors - expecting them to teach me or entertain me or challenge me? What percentage of my time is spent depending on other people to show me Jesus rather than personally asking him to reveal himself?

There's nothing inherently evil about wanting the pastor to be funny, the music to be excellent, or the commentary to be compelling. But there is danger in focusing more on how those things make us feel, rather than on how those things make us feel...about Jesus. Psalm 16:5 says is this way, "Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure."


Video games and movies and television are perfectly fine as part of a child's activity schedule. Likewise, jokes and amplifiers and drama are perfectly okay as part of a Christian's time with God. However, if those things become the sum total of either experience, we're in trouble. If kids don't spend any time kicking a ball or building with blocks, and if Christians don't spend any time studying the Bible or praying on their own, life starts to get lopsided in a hurry.


Just as a teenager becomes unable to properly relate to society after years of nothing but sitting in front of a screen, Christians become unable to truly have a relationship with Christ after years of nothing but sitting in a pew - even if what's in front of them is incredibly entertaining.

In Data We Trust

Our world runs on statistics.

Insurance rates depend on statistics.
The stock market fluctuates with statistics.
Political campaigns live (and die) with statistics.
Attitudes and behaviors change with statistics.

For example, how does it make you feel when you read that: 

70% of former prison inmates are re-arrested.
50% of marriages end in divorce.
15% of lung cancer patients survive.
9% of all businesses survive longer than ten years.
8% of the workforce is unemployed.

Psalm 39:7 says, “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You." But, for most of us, that's not the case. Our hope is in statistics. Our hope is in probability. Our hope is in percentages. When the data is positive, we're positive. When the data is negative, we're negative.

But God isn't glorified in statistics...he's glorified in the impossible.
God isn't shown in probability...he's shown in the unlikely.
God isn't proven in percentages...he's proven in miracles.

David wasn't expected to beat Goliath. But he did.
Daniel wasn't likely to survive the lions. But he did.
Jesus wasn't supposed to rise from the dead. But he did.

In Matthew 19:26 Jesus says, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” What kind of God are we serving if we're convinced that he's just playing the odds?