Finding Enjoyment in a Broken World

 

My memories of working with my father are some of the most pleasant remembrances of my childhood. My father loved to teach his children whatever he was doing. It might have been milking a cow, feeding calves, pigs, chickens, or even driving a tractor. When my father gave me a task, he explained it, showed me how to do it, and let me try. If I failed, he showed no disappointment and only insisted that I keep trying until I could do it. That was a winning strategy because it usually did not take long to master the skill with that approach. Now that I look back on those days, I see enormous value in what my father did. He taught me valuable skills, but most importantly, he spent time with me.

I remember once when I was planting cotton—it was one of the first times I drove a tractor by myself; it made me feel very important. My father laid out the rows with white paper bags at the end of the field, so I could keep the rows straight. I thought I was doing pretty good until the cotton came up and all the wiggles and crooks became visible. My dad said it doesn’t matter; it will grow the same in a crooked row as well as in a straight row. That patience had an impact on my life in so many ways. It helped me to enjoy the relationship with my sons and daughter and teach them skills that would help them in life. It gave me the desire to want to be with them.

My wife is the greatest blessing outside of my relationship with Christ that I have received in life. I have now been married to her for 50 years, and it doesn’t seem possible. Her servant’s heart has made my life so much richer. She is a sensitive person, and she picks up on things that I miss. She was intuitive about the kids and helped me see their needs that never crossed my radar. Now that I have lived much of my life and observed how other people live, I know I am rich in my heritage and the family I enjoy.

It helps to look around and evaluate life to appreciate what you have. It is possible to enjoy life in this broken world. God wants us to, and he makes it possible if we desire it.

 

 

God Knows the Way

 

The daily news of the horrible Russian aggression against the Ukrainian people is entirely unsettling. Putin is another Hitler emboldened by the absence of strong leadership in the free world. The Nazi leader’s annexation of Austria in 1938 and the Sudetenland a few months later went unopposed. With each step of naked aggression, the world was parlayed by the fear of provoking World War II. The naïve voices of world leaders proclaimed that is all the German leader wanted, but that lie was exposed when he attacked Czechoslovakia in March of 1939. And yet, still, no one stood up to the ruthless dictator. The world hoped for peace and sought it through appeasement. Everyone was afraid of provoking an all-out war. This all worked to Hitler’s advantage because he was given so much time to continue to grow stronger. Then in September 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland, and World War II began.

Remember, every time a dictator like Putin gets away with his murderous schemes, it inspires another half dozen dictators worldwide to do the same.

Ukraine will not be the last country that Putin will try to take. He will take country after country unless he is stopped. The Ukrainian people know who Putin is, and that is why they are willing to die to defend their country.

The Biden Administration, under immense pressure, finally stopped buying Russian oil only to try and buy it from the Venezuelan dictator, Iranian Mullahs, and the Saudis, all the while refusing to open up the Keystone pipeline and drill for oil. The US President and the Europeans seem completely helpless in dealing with this crisis.

The events we are watching are frightening. The only way I get through the day is by asking God to help us and help the Ukrainian people. The most important thing we have today is our relationship with God. The fact that we know God and love him gives us hope even though the world is upside down. Job instructs our faith with these words: “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

 

 

The Pesky Lizard

 

As a counselor, I deal with dysfunction a lot, and some of that dysfunction comes from addiction. Most people who are addicted to a substance never think they are. Their first response is denial. “Me an alcoholic? Not me. I can stop anytime. I have stopped before. I get up and go to work every day. I am not like these people that have to have a drink, or they will die. I can take it or leave it.”

One of the greatest concerns I have for Christians, especially the family, is the degree to which we are desensitized by sin. Place a frog in a pot of water and heat it gradually, and the frog will not jump out but will allow itself to be boiled alive. In the 21st we are easily desensitized and do not like to be told that we are enslaved to our appetites and passions.

In his book, The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis, writes about a young man and a lizard (I imagine it looked like the Geico lizard) that constantly harasses him. The lizard mocks the young man’s regret. The lizard sits on his shoulder and exercises a deviant influence upon the young man. The lizard enjoyed tempting the young man and had great success in inducing him to choose the wrong paths—paths that brought him shame and regret.

Lewis uses the lizard to represent the inner struggle we all have with our sinful natures. In a conversation with God, the young man admits his relationship with the lizard, and God sends an angel to rid the young man of the irksome lizard.

At first, the young man was delighted at the idea of getting rid of the lizard until he learned that pain was involved. The angel would use fire to kill the lizard. The young man was frightened by the idea of fire, so he attempted to bargain with the angel. “Maybe it won’t be necessary to kill the lizard completely; maybe we can just wound him. Maybe another time would be better—a later date? The angel asserted, “In this moment are all moments. Either you want the red lizard to live or you do not.”

The lizard also offers his argument to reject the angel’s help. Be careful. “How could you live? You’ll only be a hollow person, not a real man as you are now. I admit I’ve gone too far in the past, but I promise I won’t do it again. I’ll give you nothing but really nice dreams, all sweet and fresh and almost innocent.”

How many times does the lizard convince us we are just fine? We rationalize, “Just this time. It’s not all that bad. God will forgive me. I won’t let it go too far.” This isn’t really a problem; I can stop anytime I want. Everybody is doing it anyway. We, too, refuse to let God rid the lizards that daily harass us.

In Lewis’s story, the young man concedes to the angel, and the fire does its work as the young experiences its pain. When the angel chokes the lizard, it falls to the ground and dies. But when it hits the ground, it becomes a powerful stallion, and the young man gets on it and rides it. What had been the ruler is now ruled? What had been his master, he now masters. What had ridden him, he now rides. It is wonderful to live free of the power of sin and our sinful passions. Only Christ can give us that freedom. Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).