The Inequity of Recognition and Reward..

February 10th, 2012 No Comments

We tend to glamorize the talented quarterback on the field..
and forget the offensive line coach that masterminded the coverage schemes to protect him.

We buy posters of the lead singer striking a pose..
and we haven’t a clue of the name of the songwriter.

We praise successful and powerful generals in military victories..
without a second thought to the communications private relaying messages to the front-lines.

You get the point. We can easily feed the ego of the front guy. But what does the front guy do with that praise? Does he hand it off to those who support him? Or does he keep it all for himself, never recognizing those who are vital to his success? Is the front guy SELFISH with the accolades?

This is not just a current problem with inequity of recognition and reward. It has been going on since the beginning of time. Look at what happens to David’s warriors in 1 Samuel 30:

  • 600 men set off for battle to defeat the enemy and recover their wives & kids, and goods stolen from them
  • 200 begin to get “weary”** and stopped to camp (this lightened the supply load for the other 400)
  • the 400 warriors continue into battle and surface victorious with plenty of “spoils”
  • when arriving back at the camp, the 400 do not want to share their plunder with the 200 who “did nothing to deserve it”
  • they didn’t even want to give them back what was rightfully theirs (their own belongings stolen by the enemy)

But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be SELFISH with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” (1 Samuel 30: 23-24)

Some are meant for the front-lines of battle..
Some are meant for behind-the-scenes prayer, planning and providing..

You may be a front-line kind of guy..and if so..go and fight..be bold..be strong..be courageous..and do what God has called you to do (oh, and don’t be selfish with the recognition).

But you may be a behind-the-scenes support person..and if so..be diligent and passionate with your prayers..be strategic with your planning..give generously to the cause and provide for those who are charging the enemy..and do what God has called you to do.

We are all valuable members of the team..it takes us all.

  • The strong and the weak.
  • The sword wielder and the welder of the sword.
  • The strategist and the activist.
  • The bold and the beautiful (nah, I just had to throw that in there.)

And the victory..and the reward..belongs to all..because look what “the Lord has given us.”
HE is the victor..HE is the champion..and HE has given us eternity……. equally.

** a word of encouragement for the “weary” from Spurgeon:
“You Little-Faiths, you Despondencies, you Much-Afraids, you Feeble-Minds, you that sigh more than you sing, you that would but cannot, you that have a great heart for holiness, but feel beaten back in your struggles, the Lord shall give you his love, his grace, his favor, as surely as he gives it to those who can do great things in his name.”

Have you found your place on the team?
Do you ever find yourself selfish with the praise?

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please don’t tell me YOUR version of THEIR story..

February 9th, 2012 7 Comments

Please don’t tell me YOUR version of THEIR story..I want to hear YOUR version of YOUR story.

Please don’t add details and (things you’ve heard) to THEIR story..I want to hear YOUR true story.

You may think it’s more fun to talk about THEM..but I want to hear about YOU.

You may feel better about yourself by talking bad about THEM..but I want to hear about YOUR  brokenness so I can watch God change YOU (and you can watch as He changes me).

Please don’t preach to ME..instead HELP me.

Please don’t tell ME what I should be doing better..SHOW ME.

You may feel safer hiding your real SELF..but take a risk and be REAL.

Tell me you doubt..

Tell me you fear..

Tell me you have a hard time trusting..

Tell me you hurt..

Tell me you’ve fallen..

I’ve blown it..I promise..I will relate..

So let’s share our own stories..and stop talking about everyone else..

A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
gossip separates the best of friends. (Proverbs 16:28)

The best story is our own version of our own story..don’t be afraid to tell it..

[I am no saint. I write this post today from the perspective of one that has wounded others with my words. From one who has preached at others what I could not get right myself. From one who has told people what the Bible "says" without believing it myself. From one who has fallen into the trap of gossip. From one who has been gossiped about. This is not a sermon. This is a rambling rant. Take it for what it is worth.]

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Living In Between..

February 9th, 2012 No Comments

Exactly half way between Atlanta and Athens, Georgia there is a town called Between. I’m not making that up. It’s a real town. Between. I’m sure it’s a nice place to live. It just has an odd name. Or maybe a very appropriate name, geographically speaking.

But who wants to live in between?

Back in the 90s when I was making music for a living, our band, Rocketboy, had a dilemma. We wrote honest songs about how difficult it was to live as a transparent and true follower of Jesus in the messed up churches we saw. And our lyrics exposed the hypocrisy of many church-boys who went to church on Sunday but never lived out their faith anywhere else. And we didn’t mind a drink every now and again, and I’m pretty sure most of us were chain smokers. We played bars and youth group lock-ins. But we struggled to book shows in many churches due to our truth-telling lyrics, our hard edges, and our thrift-store grungy look. And we struggled to book shows in many regular clubs/bars because of our “truth”-telling lyrics, our niceness, and our faith. As my good friend and bassist, Slade Curtis would say, we were “Too good for the bad..and too bad for the good.”

We were in between.

(I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had we just chosen one side or the other and went full bore at it. We could’ve forgotten the faith and played plenty of bars and maybe signed a bigger record deal..or we could’ve made a good living playing every church in the Southeast, if we had sold out a little and played nice, pretty, pick-me-up-canned-christian music, polished the edges, and dressed a little cleaner.)

We think by living in between we feel like we have the best of both worlds..more options..while we’re actually limiting ourselves.
Living in Between may be convenient to both Atlanta and Athens but you have true community with neither.

And in 1 Samuel 29, David, a mighty warrior and follower of the God of Israel,  finds himself in between. He has fully adopted the lifestyle of a Philistine (his once sworn enemy). In verses 1 & 2 we see David marching with the Philistine army to attack the Israelites (HIS OWN PEOPLE)!!!! But some of the Philistine commanders aren’t comfortable with this Hebrew marching in their army. They don’t trust him. And why should they? There are popular songs written about how strong David is, how he’s killed thousands of men, including their own in Goliath.

David, a “man after God’s own heart”, is marching against God’s chosen people. His faith journey has certainly been a roller coaster ride. And this is one of the valleys.

So, the Philistine commanders turn David and his men away. They make him leave. An outcast. No allegiance. No one to side with. Unwelcomed in his new hometown and afraid to go back to his real hometown with his own friends and family. He is trying to fit in with pagans and they deny him and he is scared to go back to God’s people.

David is in between.

He may think he has more options by living in between, but now he finds himself alone.

No one wants to be in between.

  • I don’t want to live in between.
  • I don’t want to live lukewarm.
  • I want to learn from David’s riding of the fence.

Have you ever felt like you were living in between?
Have you ever felt, “too good for the bad and too bad for the good?”
How do you guard against becoming LUKEWARM?

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