Chain of Command

 by Chris Jones

There’s a general rule in any chain of command, that complaints go up.  The idea is that your concerns are best placed in the hands of those who have the power to do something about them.  Consequently, a correlation exists between the direction in which we allow our complaints to flow, and the degree to which we give individuals along those channels power over us, or at least over our problems.  There’s a certain acknowledgement that we have no better idea what to do with a problem, than to hand it over to them.  Along with it, there’s a measure of power, whether expressed or not, that we forfeit.

The greatest modern repository for such misplaced complaints is any social media outlet of one’s choosing.  I’ll spare examples, since your news and twitter feeds are likely full of them.  Many instances, however, are just complaints flowing in the wrong direction.  What’s remarkable is that those complaints don’t sound so dissimilar from those of more famous complainers who, but for one small difference, we call the greatest worshippers of all time.

Take this excerpt from Psalm 69 as an example, “…the floodwaters are up to my neck.  Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold.  I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping…”  King David was a pretty good complainer.  The difference?  He knew his complaints went up the chain of command, to the very top, in fact.  The result?  Each of his complaints evolves into praise to the only One who is in a position to do something about them.

Are your complaints flowing the right direction?  Are you unknowingly surrendering power to those who have no ability to help?  Ask yourself, “How is this working for me?”  Take a lesson from the greatest worshipper and “the man after God’s own heart”.  Let all your fears, doubts and frustrations flow to Him who is able to do so much more than you could think to ask.  Let them evolve into praise, your confession that He is able, that He has all things under His command.

The Art of Conversation

 by Chris Jones

You know something I love about Jesus?  He’s a master of the art of conversation.  I love looking at the stories The Bible tells of how Jesus interacted with people.  It’s interesting to see the tone of his conversations, the contrast between those he had with people inside and outside of religious circles of the time.  It seems to reveal a lot, in regard to Jesus’ feelings about religious conceit.

The vast majority of Jesus’ conversations take place where people live.  His points always come from the perspective of deep, personal knowledge of the lives of those he interacts with.  Even the most casual points of contact always seem totally intentional.  There never seems to be even one wasted word.  Everything was said and done purposefully, to express the Father’s love for people and his purpose for their lives.

It makes me wonder how much more successful the church could be, in spreading the message of God’s love, if  we were as intentional about our conversations.

It seems part of the problem is the ease with which we can now deliver our thoughts, through the platform we’re provided by social media.  While it may be a form of great release to throw your two cents in or issue a rant about a particular person, place or thing, do we pause long enough to consider what benefit our quips lend to the overall message we’re supposed to project?  Rather, it seems we find ourselves fighting the losing battle of defending our faith through arguments and debates, after trampling the digital toes of those we forgot are observing.  Have we forgotten to consider where the people on our friends lists live?  Have we disregarded what responsibility we have to fully consider the deep, personal issues that shape the words or actions that have so motivated us to submit our own offensive retort?

What Jesus knew is that everything in his life was leading to one thing, the revelation of God’s love for the world, through the sacrifice of his life.  He had no time to waste with selfish pursuits or misplaced arguments.  Like a dart, he let no friction keep him from speeding towards his mark.  It’s all about the art of conversation.  It’s something I pray God makes me better at (finding myself even this last week in a conversation I wish I handled more effectively).

So what is your experience?  Can you think of a time you found yourself in the middle of a conversation/argument you could have totally avoided, if you chose your words more carefully or swallowed them altogether?  In what ways could we, as the church, improve the quality of the conversation we have with the world?  I’d love to receive your comments.

Confident Trust and Patient Endurance

 by Chris Jones

It’s been a rough last couple of days!

Yesterday, my laptop decided to get weird on me. I couldn’t get it to boot.  Frustration quickly set in.  If it’s happened to you, you know the feeling well.  We depend so greatly on these devices, especially when you’re trying to manage a blog.  I worked late into the night without any success, waking up for the aggravation to settle on me fresh the following morning.

I so appreciate my wife sending me sweet little pick-me-up messages throughout the day.  I certainly wasn’t doing anything to help myself.  Honestly, I kind of just wallowed in self-pity for a good part of the day, as work piled on.

Mid-way through the day, I noticed the You Version (Bible app) verse of the day.

Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT) “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

Why do we so willingly trade victory for defeat, throwing away the confidence in which we should live?  Is it really so difficult to endure, with patience, the road bumps in life?  I’m thankful there is a God in Heaven who provides to meet our needs.  His timing and His ways are perfect.  We will always have all we need to walk the paths He lays out for us.  Just keep walking.