“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36-40

Isn’t it interesting how we ourselves at times are our greatest obstacles to living the life God created us to live?  This can get particularly tricky when we talk about the Almighty’s desire for us to be instruments of his mercy and justice.  The last thing some of us need is a greater focus on ourselves as some already possess honorary doctorate degrees in self-centeredness.  However, there is a need for asking the Lord to help us in tending to our own junk in order to allow Him some solid space to work in and through our lives.

One of the great manifestations of this obstacle of self is that of self-pity.  I am fascinated by Jesus again and again, and his way of wording these important laws in Matthew 22 is no exception.  He did not say that we are to love our neighbors more or less than ourselves but rather love them AS ourselves.  Some folks struggle time and time again to love and serve others in a healthy way because they are so incredibly consumed by self-pity and with that, at times, self-punishment.

“The great and spirited novelist D. H. Lawrence once said, ‘I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.  A small bird will drop dead frozen from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.’  That’s because wild things live lives of pure action.  Today, the more I live like a ‘wild thing,’ taking action instead of meditating on my sad condition, the faster self-pity drops away.  Chronic sadness seems to become more a thing of the past. . . It took me years of looking back to see that self-pity had become an addiction of the worst kind in my life, a very nasty habit.  It acts on the system much like heroin.  It hooks you into feeling numb to life.  It makes creative action impossible.” – Steve Chandler in ReInventing Yourself

Self-pity can indeed become a bizarre and powerful addiction, and from that, one heck of a block to us doing our part in ushering in God’s kingdom here on Earth.  I of all people know how easy it is to get stuck in one’s head and over-think things in the name of meditation, education, and/or rational analysis.  (To top that off, I’m a licensed professional counselor, ha!)

So how about you?  What in your life is keeping you from living the life of intentional action that our Lord desires for you?  Is self-pity your drug of choice or is something else?

What would it look like for you to be freed from the pressure of others’ expectations and/or your own fears?

Be free and live wild!

“One year into my position as president of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), I am more convinced than ever of this biblical principle: doing big things for a big God is merely the accumulation of little things done for people.  I have seen firsthand the big things we are doing in partnership with the Hindustani Covenant Church among sex-trade workers in India. But it comes down to people who are willing to babysit the children of prostitutes while their mothers work in new alternate employment. . .  I have seen firsthand the great relief it is to families to know their adult handicapped children or siblings are in a caring, professional setting in our network of group homes known as Covenant Enabling Residences. But know it comes down in certain cases to staff members who change adult diapers for those who cannot care for themselves.” – Gary Walter, President of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC)

I don’t know about you, but I certainly have the great ability to overcomplicate things at times and, as a result, miss the point in certain areas of life.  Following Christ and living as His body through the Church is no exception.  Words such as compassion, mercy, justice, and missions have a sweet ring to them, but is it possible that we are thinking and talking about them more than actually living in them daily?

Before I go any further, I need to give a brief disclaimer: I am not a church pimp for the ECC!  It is also not my desire to make an attempt to get as many folks as possible to jump on over to the Covenant.  However, I am grateful to be a part of what God is doing through this body of believers.

Having said that, I invite you to read the words of Gary Walter cited above once more and then really pray and meditate on them.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe that God calls His people at times to do some pretty wild stuff on some pretty large scales.  However, is it possible that we have made the call to live missionally more romantic and grandiose than it really is at times?

Maybe God will call you to something HUGE in the future, but in the mean time, what are some “little things” that could be done today for people in your world in the name of Jesus Christ?  Once again, isn’t it funny how the paradox of God’s kingdom works in that often times the things we deem as small and insignificant are the very things that Christ uses to do big work in people’s lives?

“In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs.  If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.”  –  C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

When I was working full-time as a psychotherapist, I spent a good chunk of my work days helping clients that were struggling with chemical dependency.  The topic of pain was very relevant to the people I interacted with in counseling, both as folks still active in addiction and also as new travelers on the road to recovery.  Pain in this life is unavoidable, and I would frequently challenge people to see pain as one of the most underutilized resources on the planet.  Sound a bit odd?

I am currently on staff at an Evangelical Covenant Church (www.covchurch.org) and recently attended our annual Midwinter Conference (www.covchurch.org/midwinter) and Connection (www.covchurch.org/connection) in Denver, CO.  The theme of the Connection this year was “The Beautiful Struggle,” and there were a variety of great speakers and teachers that spoke in different ways on this notion of pursuing Jesus with our lives as being a beautiful struggle.  Sunil Sardar was one of the general session speakers that I was privileged enough to hear.

“Pain is a privilege.  Pain is a gift from God.”

These are the words of Sardar, an incredible man of God that founded TruthSeekers International (www.truthseekersinternational.org) as a vehicle to share the life-changing power of Jesus with seven hundred million lower caste people in India, a people that are set up from birth by the caste system more to exist rather than truly live.  He has been physically and verbally assaulted because of the work he is doing, and yet, he experiences pain of all types as an honor.  He also made a point to say that we do not have to seek pain for it will find us.  However, Sardar did mention the concept of “borrowing pain” from others.  Does this sound like someone else?

We are called to join in joy as our brothers and sisters celebrate a victory, and on the other end of the scale, there is this equally important call to join with those that are experiencing deep struggle and pain.

What does that look like for you?  It may be incredibly personal today, as in the pain may be inside you or someone that is very close and dear to you.

Look back in your story.  Is it possible today for you to see a struggle as something that is connected to real beauty?

We often claim to be people that desire growth, but if we are honest, we seldom are willing to do what it takes to go in that direction.  Just like farmers utilize manure to assist in the growth of fresh produce, we are invited to utilize pain, the “crap” of our lives, to assist in spiritual growth.