Tag Archives: Philippians 2:3-4

Another rock in my shoe – complaining

Complaining and grumbling. We probably all fall into this trap at some point or another. Sometimes complaining and grumbling about things we can’t change becomes an habitual pastime. Complainer becomes our name. We complain and fuss over things that have little real importance yet irritate us in some small way. Constant complaining about things is like purposefully putting rocks in your shoe before a long hike. If complaining is a rock in your shoe I hope you’ll read the blog post below (reprinted from 7/29/2014) and take the 24 hour “no complaining” challenge.

I’m guessing that at some point in your life you have attended a whine party, maybe even threw one yourself. No, not ‘wine’ but ‘whine’. You know what it is like: someone complains about something and then someone else ups the ante with an even bigger complaint. And so the conversation slides quickly downhill, dragging everyone with it.

Complaining seems to be a national pastime. It’s easy to fall into the trap, isn’t it? When we get wrapped up in our own world of hurts and misfortunes all we see is ourselves. I comment about my arm always hurting. My wife reminds me to be thankful because some people don’t have arms. Adding sarcasm to my whining, I think to myself, “Yeah, well they probably don’t hurt then, do they?” See how easy it is? (sigh)

Paul warns us about grumbling and complaining in Philippians 2 where he encourages us to take our eyes off ourselves and seek the mindset of Jesus, the One:

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:6-8

And so, Paul continues, we should: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing…” (v 14). Why? So we can:

Be blameless and pure, behaving as children of God.
Stand out from a warped and crooked generation.
Shine our light among others like the stars of the sky.
Hold firmly to the truth of the Word.
Live life with purpose and passion, not in vain, even if our life is one of continual sacrifice and faith, ‘poured out like a drink offering.’

How can we live pure lives by constant complaining? How can we behave like children of the king, privileged in so many ways and still be whiners? How can we live our life set apart from a crooked generation when we complain about things just as they do? Does grumbling make our light shine brighter? Does complaining help us to hold onto the truth? No, it works against us! Complaining begets more complaining and a dissatisfaction with our plot in this temporary and short life. It destroys a thankful heart.

My wife is absolutely right: the cure to complaining is being thankful and learning the secret of being content. (Philippians 4:11-12) We stop complaining when we start being thankful and practice contentment. You’ve heard the saying, “I complained I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” Let’s declare a ban on personal complaining for at least 24 hours, and then renew the pledge the next day, and the next. See how your life changes and how your light shines brighter, when we refrain from grumbling and complaining when things don’t go our way.

Foreigners in a strange land

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We arrived in South Korea after twenty hours of travel, including the exhausting 13 hour flight across Canada, Siberia and China. We found the Incheon Airport to be one of the most friendly and peaceful we have ever encountered. Actually most everyone in the Korean service industry were good ambassadors and very helpful and accommodating to us. Our son, Michael and his girlfriend Mia (Jeon Eun Gi) especially helped us adapt to our new surroundings.

If you have visited another country, you recognize you are a foreigner in a strange land, adjusting to a culture that is new to you with different foods, manners, language, and practices.
One of the places where we stayed was a traditional Korean guest house. The tiny room had no bed or chairs or closet. Instead of a bed, we are given floor mats/quilts to sleep on. It wasn’t the level of comfort we were accustomed to but the fact quickly came to mind that many in the world do not have even this.

Imagine if, while staying in the guesthouse for just three nights, we decided to tear out a wall and build an addition to make room for a bed and sofa and chairs for our lodging. You would consider it absurd to make such extravagant purchases for such a short visit. You’d say, “Bryan, remember where you belong. Invest your valuable resources in your permanent home.” And you would be right.

In fact, we are all travelers and sojourners in a foreign land. This temporary place we call home is just a stopping place for each of us. We often fail to recognize this because it is all we know. And while we are here, we are called to be Christ’s ambassadors, seeking not our own pleasures, but instead motivated by the call to urge others to be reconciled with God. (2 Corinthians 5:20) Instead of fighting to assert our ‘rights’ as tourists seeking to make our surroundings more comfortable, we are actually called to put others first (Philippians 2:3-4). Each of us is an ambassador to those around us, especially those who think, talk, behave and believe differently from us.

I wonder what ‘strange and foreign lands’ you will encounter today. What different beliefs and actions will rise up against your own? What people will beg your welcoming accommodation? Will they see you as entrenched in this world or as a foreigner, an ambassador of Christ? Hold your ground and keep your behavior excellent among those around you…that they may see that your citizenship is really in heaven and because of your kindness and integrity, come to be reconciled with God.

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:11-12

What kind of an ambassador are you?

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There has been some opposition to recently appointed ambassadors who appear to be not only unqualified for their jobs but also apathetic toward their duties. It is reported that the new ambassador to Hungary is completely unaware of USA strategic interests there. The new ambassador to Norway seems clueless of that county’s political structure or really anything about the country. In fairness, this may be more common than we think but it is concerning none the less.

An ambassador is a high-ranking person who represents his or her own government while living in another country. Appointed for a special and often for a temporary assignment, it is the role of the ambassador to represent goodwill.

Did you know that you are an ambassador? Paul says we are ambassadors for Christ. One of our primary responsibilities is to represent Jesus while we live in a “foreign country.” The epistles talk repeatedly that we are “aliens” or “foreigners” in a strange land. In other words, this is not our permanent home. 1 John 2 reminds us that we are not to get attached to anything in this world. It will turn us away from our job as ambassadors.

What kind of an ambassador are you? (I ask the same question about myself.) How qualified are we to be good ambassadors for Christ? I know the phrase “He doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. OK, but do our behaviors demonstrate that we are being equipped? Or does our Christ nature shut off when we leave through the physical church doors?

Pastor Chad Roberts started a website to give a place for dialog from service workers who have stories to tell about ‘Christians’ who have belittled and berated them and generally demonstrated bad behavior. You will cringe to read the stories at www.sundaysaretheworst.com but it might also be an eye opener and reminder that we are ambassadors, whether we want to be or not. The website is called “Sundays are the worst” in reference to the number of ‘Christians’ who flock to restaurants after Sunday church service, only to have quickly forgotten who they are when they walk out of church.

Now, I get it that lots of people are rude and demanding. But they all aren’t called to be ambassadors. Christians are.

So here is the question, “What kind of ambassadors are we?” Do our actions, attitudes, and behaviors reflect that we truly follow Jesus? Or do we treat others in the service industry (restaurants, call centers, customer service, hotels) as if they were beneath us? Phil 2:3-4 tells us to put others first and doesn’t exclude people in service jobs. In fact Jesus modeled this when He washed the disciples feet, normally the job of a slave in those days.

Show others there are Christians who care, true ambassadors of Christ who try to live in this foreign land with kindness and goodness. And while you are at it, leave a generous tip!

Are you a ‘cheerleader’?

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We received an interesting article about my sister’s alma mater, UNI. It says “the University of Northern Iowa is now home to one of only three college-level ‘inclusive’ cheerleading squads in the nation. It features two boys and nine girls who love to cheer and are avid Panther fans and just happen to have disabilities ranging from Down syndrome to autism.

“The Sparkles send the message that anyone can be a cheerleader or do anything they put their mind to,” said Swanson, founder of the team.

The line, “anyone can be a cheerleader” struck me. I’ve never had any inclination to be on a sports cheerleader team. But I’ve learned how important ‘cheerleading’ is. I’ve commented before about how everyone faces hard battles and encouragement spurs us on. I mean, have you ever had too much encouragement? So it seems that cheerleading, a type of encouragement, is a much needed commodity.

I wonder when you put on your ‘sensitivity antennae’ to notice others around you, how many opportunities there are each and every day to encourage others. I had a mentor who taught me by example how easy and valuable it was to encourage others:
Catch someone doing something well and comment on it.
Compliment someone’s smile or helpful act.
Write a note of appreciation for someone’s talents.
Always write a short note or email thanking someone for their consideration of you.
Acknowledge people with a smile, or hug if appropriate.
Offer to pray with, not just for, someone who shares a heartache with you. Check back later to see how they are doing.

You get the idea. All encouragement costs is the intentional effort and desire to pay attention to others. As Paul said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)

Probably none of us do this perfectly all the time; we all tend to get caught up in our own concerns. But all of us can encourage and cheer others on. You can forget the pom poms and special outfit. Just go light our world by being an intentional cheerleader for others. It might just be the pick-me-up YOU need!

“Let us encourage one another.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Understanding

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Would you like to understand more? Would you like to experience the wisdom that comes from understanding? We can gain a lot of knowledge and still not have the capacity for actually using it in some practical manner. But understanding leads to practical application.

Can you gain understanding by learning lots of bits of information? Maybe, but my experience is that understanding comes from the process of contemplating this knowledge, and not just knowledge but God’s Word. It involves purposeful times in your routine to calm yourself and patiently listen to the words of wisdom God has to offer you. Recently Pope Francis noted, “We need also to be patient if we want to understand those who are different from us.” The late Steven Covey also encouraged us to seek first to understand and then to be understood. Why in that order? I wonder if seeking first to understand others helps increase their motivation to listen also to us. Paul writes in Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

This is why loving one another has to go beyond mere words and mere actions. We need to be truly interested in others, not just to see them as a means to achieving our goals. We are told that not everyone is interested in the light. Some would prefer to live in darkness. But I have to think that demonstrating real interest in understanding others is a great way of letting your light shine in the world. How about you?

Go Light Our World – GLOW today.

Doing The Right Thing

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In this heartwarming short video, an El Paso coach puts his team manager, an intellectually disabled young man, into the basketball game. The events that follow are inspiring and a good example of young men who understand the concept of Go Light Your World.

“It is always the right time to do the right thing. – BT

Click here for video. It’s worth it.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Philippians 2:3-4