Keep Perspective

Mark 13:2 “‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’”

I wandered into a store in the mall called “Successories.” I had seen their product in an airline magazine and read about their recent growth in a business publication, so I went in for a closer look. Initially, they began marketing framed posters, but now include a variety of products from candles to key chains. Their message is clear: reinforce, remind and reiterate the “success” words. Words such as leadership, teamwork, and determination. And my new favorite, priorities. Following each word is an articulately and sometimes poetically expressed phrase or sentence that completely communicates the meaning.

“Priorities. A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. . . but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

In this case, they could have almost substituted the word “Perspective.” How trivial the struggles of the workplace become when placed in perspective with making a difference in the life of our children. A raise, or new responsibilities, or a bonus become unimportant. That’s not to say that working is bad, or that success is unrewarding, but that everything, including our job, our church, our hobbies, our passions, must be kept in perspective. We must maintain proper priorities. Proper perspective.

If I’m facing a crisis, if I need a good dose of perspective, I ask myself a few questions. Will this matter next week? Next month? Next year? In five years? In ten? Sometime during that line of questioning, I realize that my daily issues often have little significance when considered over time.

The temporal issues always give way to the eternal. That’s the way Jesus looked at life. And He was fairly successful, wouldn’t you say?

Don’t Lose Your Saltiness

Mark 9:50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?”

It’s funny how we make associations. My educational and experiential background is in accounting. For some reason, to the rest of society, “accounting” is almost always associated with “taxes.” Further, “accountants” are inexplicably linked with personality traits such as rigidity, academia, by the book, dry, and bland. To this day, when I meet someone, and they find out I’m an “accountant,” despite the fact that I haven’t done taxes (for a living) in nearly twenty years, they invariably have a tax question for me, or a tax-related anecdote to tell me. And as atypical as I may be for an “accountant,” I’m cast into that stereotype.

Perception is reality. If those around you perceive you in a certain way for a period of time, that perception will likely remain for a time, even if your behavior changes. If you’re known as a “party animal,” then even after you settle down, you may carry that perception. If you’ve been seen as being lazy, then even when you do work hard, the old character trait remains in their minds and the hard work may go unnoticed.

I don’t have the spiritual gift of mercy. That is for certain, as my friends and family, and many of my acquaintances, will attest. Even to the extent that I grow in that area, though, it will be years, if ever, before I shake that perception.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work in reverse. While it’s difficult to shake what are perceived as negative qualities, it’s quite easy to lose our reputation for good traits. There are other “titles” that perhaps we earned, or we even strive to earn. Competitive. Caring. Successful. Loving. Intelligent. Gentle. But if something happens to change that, it’s awfully hard to regain. Take trust, for instance. It takes years to develop deep trust with someone, but it can be irreparably damaged in an instant.

As hard as trust is to retain, or better still, regain, imagine salt that is not salty. Puzzling, isn’t it? According to the only chemistry major I could ask on short notice, sodium and chloride, the elemental components of salt, always combine in the same manner to form salt. And it is always salty. However, salt only loses its saltiness when salt crystals are diluted with contaminates, such as sand or other “unsalty” granules.

How long have you been a Christ follower? A day? A week? A month? A year? If you’ve been a Christ follower for any length of time, someone knows about it. Maybe you’ve told them, or maybe they’ve just noticed, but they know. Trust me, they know. As Christ followers, whether we choose to or not, we wear a title: Christian.

Is our behavior helping or hurting their perceptions of a “Christ follower”? What taste are we leaving in their mouths? Has our saltiness been diluted with contaminates? Are we leaving them thirsty for more, or are they wishing we weren’t so bland?

Food for thought, isn’t it?

Just a Touch

Mark 5:30-31 “At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ ‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’’”

We commonly determine where our energy is spent, and whom we influence and affect. We take a proactive role. There are times, though, when we are effective because someone was “touched” by us, even inadvertently. In this context, our influence is more passive. We need to be aware of our influence, because it is our passive influence that is often the most influential, the most powerful.

Have you ever felt like the world was crowding against you? Like everyone was competing for your time, your effort, or your “power”? It can be draining. We must be particularly alert during those times that our passive effect on people is what we intended. What God intended.

Jesus was very deliberate. He lived His life on purpose. His words were chosen. His stories perfectly and poetically communicated truth; the right truth at just the right time. His miracles were not by chance, but by design…most miracles. The specificity of His actions changed the world, but so did the depth of His character.

Because He affected so many, because His influence was so great, there were nearly always crowds of people surrounding Him. People wanted to be near Him, to see Him, to touch Him, or better yet, for Him to touch them. They wanted to experience a miracle.

Jesus’ miracles resulted from His words or touch or prayers. His actions were direct and personal. In this story, though, the woman was healed not by His physical touch or a deliberate action by Jesus, but by the woman pressing through the crowd and touching merely His garment. His clothes were not supernaturally “charged.” Rather, the depth of His character commanded faith in His followers. Her faith in Him, her belief that just getting close enough to touch His clothes would heal her, did just that.

Everyone is looking for a touch. Even if we live our lives deliberately, there will be times when our effectiveness results not from our activity, but from our character. And while character is often difficult to measure, it’s something we can develop, and improve.

Evaluate your character. Take time to sit down with someone close to you and ask him if he can recall a time when you had an influence on him, when you touched his life, not by what you said or did, but by who you are. You may be surprised by the answer.

Don’t Wait for Three

Mark 1:18 “At once they left their nets and followed him.”

Have you ever been around parents who practice what I will call “the rule of three?” That is, when the need arises to call their child into obedience, the parent will say, “I’m going to count to three…ONE. TWO! THR…and suddenly their son or daughter decides to obey.

I don’t know about you, but we didn’t have that luxury when I was a child. Maybe out of respect, or out of fear, but when my mom or dad called, we came. Instantly. When they directed, we obeyed. Immediately. When they said, “Jump,” we said, “How high?” Or better yet, “Was that high enough?” And what about those times when I chose not to obey? Naturally, I endured the consequences of bad choices! I can almost remember thinking (post-punishment, of course), “But you didn’t count to three?!?”

The respect for authority that my parents caringly taught me as a child endured. I can remember as a high school student, my soccer coach would yell, “Take a lap!” And if that was directed at me, Buddy, I took a lap. Right then. There was no negotiating, no plea, no complaint. I just took off and ran! I didn’t wait for him to start counting.

Even now as an adult, when my boss asks for something, I don’t wait around, or tell him that I’ll get to it eventually, or ignore him altogether. Not if I expect to remain employed. I do it at once. Now. With urgency! He’s certainly not going to count.

Funny, then, that when God asks me, in my heart of hearts, to obey Him, I often answer with, “I’m not quite ready.” Or, “That’s not my gift.” Or, “Are you sure you have the right guy?” It’s like I’m waiting for Him to say, “One…Two…”

When Jesus said to Simon and Andrew, “Come, follow me,” they came at once. They dropped their nets, their livelihood, everything they’d ever known and followed this Stranger. At once. Right away. Now. He didn’t have to count to three…

Is Christ calling you to come? Or to go? Or to do? Hear Him, and act. At once.

Don’t wait for three.