Coffee With The Lord

Celebrating human progress and achievement is such a popular enterprise these days.  It is carried out such great fanfare and exultation that it is easy to become caught up in the vortex.  All the accomplishments!  All the progress!  All the noble potential and achievements of humankind!  The possibilities and progress are unlimited!  Look at all that human skill and spirit have accomplished!

But there is a very significant oversight… There are miscalculations to consider!  There are the atrocities committed against innocent lives to be accounted for!  There is greed and unbridled exploitation of the powerless that challenges the narrative.  There is the glaring evil humankind has committed against one another to be faced.  Those sad facts challenge our story of human progress and achievement.

You see, it appears the narrative of human altruism and attainment, stops short of its ultimate cause…  The wellspring is not US!  The generator of goodness is NOT humanity!  Any blessing and beneficence that exists in our world has its definitive and final source in Creator God!  The reality is, apart from Him we have made a glorious mess of things.

I was reminded of these realities this morning as I read these objectifying words from the Psalms this morning…

“Not to us, O Lord, not us us, but to YOUR NAME give glory!  For the sake of YOUR STEADFAST LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS!”  (Psalms 115:1)  The inspired New Testament writer, James, put it this way… “Do not be deceived, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with Whom there is no variation or shadow of change.” (James 1:16-17)

That is the perspective – that is the narrative – I’ve chosen to adopt for any goodness and progress that exists is our world today!  A loving God is the ultimate source!  Apart from Him the narrative is not that great – in fact whenever and wherever humankind have rejected Him they’ve made a mess of things!

I love to listen in on “water cooler talk” or “lunch room conversations!” Most of you know what I’m talking about… (And I’m NOT talking about the negative, destructive, gossipy, subversive kind… I’m aware of those. I’m talking about the constructive chatter of people sharing life ideas and advice around a water cooler or in the lunchroom at work.) Conversations that begin something like this… “I tell you, it pays…” (and then several people chime in and share their volunteered bit of investment advice or a suggestion about a life issue that they believe pays rich dividends).

Well today during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I think I overheard some constructive “water cooler wisdom” or “lunch room advice” in the Bible from an unknown, godly “Psalmist” (the Psalm I read was not attributed to anyone in particular). Here’s what the guy said…

“Blessed is the person who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land! The generation of the upright will be blessed! Wealth and riches are in his (or her) house, and his (or her) righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright! They are gracious, merciful, and righteous. It goes well for the person who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved! They will be remembered forever! They are not afraid of bad news! Their heart is firm, trusting in the LORD! Their heart is steady… they will looks in triumph on their adversaries. They have distributed freely; they give to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; and they are exalted in honor!” (adapted from Psalm 112)

Don’t you wish all “water cooler talk” – all “lunch room conversation” – was that uplifting and constructive?! I do! And this morning I was really encouraged by that wonderful bit of “I pays to…” advice. And I tell you, with God’s help I intend to “listen up” and heed it!

June, July and August… The time when many families celebrate family reunions.  In the fact the Bartel family is having theirs this weekend at Glacier Bible Camp at the Bartel cabin in Hungry Horse, Montana near Glacier National Park – a beautiful place.  Family reunions are a wonderful time – a time for reconnecting with one another, remembering great family events, doing a lot of “fun things together, and just plain “hanging out together” for a while.  As great as the opportunities are, however, there are risks… old disagreements sometimes surface, pains of the past sometimes are uncovered, and relational tensions that were a problem in other years often experience a revival… Ouch!  Know what I mean?  It happens even in the best of families.  But hear me, in spite of the risks I’m convinced family reunions are worth it!

In fact, I read a passage this morning that is filled with good stuff to help make your family reunion and mine better… a profitable time, uplifting, satisfying, and filled with great “memory making”…

“I therefore… I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  (Ephesians 4:1–3 ESV)

Good stuff eh?  Glad I read it BEFORE our family reunion! 😉