The Way We See The World

"Whoever wants to become great must be a servant; the first shall be last and the last shall be first." Also, read Matthew 19:30, 20:1-16, and 20:26-28.

This teaching of Jesus seems to go against our fundamental ideas of fairness and justice. That those who come to Jesus at the end of very bad and immoral lives should be granted the same reward of eternal life with God that others who have been faithful their whole lives receive. We tend to look for punishment, revenge, "justice." But our ideas of these things are informed by our humanity and sinful nature; they depend on our self-centeredness and selfishness. God calls for a different framework. We are all together as one in His kingdom. It's not about me being better than anyone or that type of comparison at all. It is about humility, the attitude of being genuinely happy for the advantages of others without any regard at all for myself. It is the total lack of comparison. This Godly attitude involves seeing others through God's eyes. How hard is this to achieve! Especially when this world, our culture, the hard-to-avoid lens of our sinful nature, all tell us to compare and get all that we "deserve."

Jesus spoke the words in Matthew as a lesson to his disciples as they bickered over their place in heaven and as condemnation of the religious leaders of the day. It is so easy for us now to separate ourselves from people like the Sanhedrin men we read about and the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law who put Jesus to death. We think we are not like them: pious, arrogant, condemned. But there is a real danger of that even today. Many of us have or come close to having the same attitudes. For those of us in the church, it is even more dangerous because we think we know the Scriptures, Jesus, and God. We believe we are doing His will. And many times we are. But if we fail even for a moment to focus totally on Jesus, we may fall into a reliance on our own so-called knowledge and do seemingly good things with bad attitudes, judgment, and arrogance. Isn't this what happened to the Pharisees? They thought and probably truly believed that they were following God's law. They knew the Scriptures and the law handed down by God to Moses. They taught the people that law and followed it to the letter themselves. But their hearts were not in the right place. They followed the "rules" for the sake of those rules and to glorify themselves. How easy it is for us to do the same! It is so easy to revel in the praises of others and the commendations we receive sometimes for doing good instead of humbly glorifying God for any good that has been done and seeing ourselves as the tool and God the one to be praised.

We need to be very careful to keep our focus on Jesus. He must be the center, our purpose and motivation, in all things. For even good things lose value if Jesus is not at the heart of them. This is how we keep our motives pure. In the gospels (such as Mark 14:3-9), the story is told of a woman who poured expensive perfume over Jesus. Those there, presumably including the 12 apostles, rebuked the woman saying that the perfume should have been sold and the money used to feed the poor. Sounds like a good plan, right? Isn't that kind of the way we think of things today? But Jesus disagreed and said that what the woman did was right. It was right because her focus was completely on Jesus and her intent was solely to honor Him. That is the lens through which we should judge our thoughts and actions. The way we see the world matters and the lens we view through matters. We need to see the world the way Jesus does and act accordingly.

Freedom from Anxiety

As mentioned in another post, peace by definition is the absence of anxiety and worry. We can rid our minds of anxiety by putting things in proper perspective. In Luke 12:22-31, Jesus says:

"...I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his Kingdom and these things will be given to you as well."

God cares about us and will meet our needs. Period. We need to truly believe this and free our minds to focus on Him instead of these little things. I like how he says "do not set your heart" on these things. I think that is really the key. Our hearts are meant to be set on Jesus and nothing else. It is a scary position to be in sometimes. In a way, we are hardwired to focus on things like food, clothing, and other basic needs for this world/life. But God commands us to leave those things in His able hands so that we can focus on Him. When we do this, when we make this conscious decision to change our perspective and our focus, He will fill our hearts and minds with peace. That peace that we all desire, that is beyond our understanding.

This decision, I believe, is a daily one. Even one that must be made moment by moment. Like I said, we are hardwired to worry about certain things and must be very conscious in our efforts to push those thoughts aside and replace them with thoughts of Jesus. Perhaps memorizing this passage, or even one verse of it, will help. When thoughts of worry and fear come, recite this passage until the worry and fear are pushed out. Pray to God for help, but do not focus the words of your prayer on your worry or fear. That only gives that worry and fear more prominence in your mind. Mention it, then move on to praise, worship, and thankfulness to re-direct our focus on those things.

Negative Thinking

I have been thinking lately about my attitude and it occurred to me that very often my attitude is what keeps me from living in the peace that God has for me. Here is a prayer I recently wrote for myself. I'm hoping that it will speak to you all, too, just as it did to me.

Lord, take away that part of me that is incessantly focused on disappointments (real or perceived), unmet needs, annoyances, inconveniences, unmet expectations, failures, unreached goals. These are self-centered and self-serving thoughts that create in me an attitude of discontentment and anger. They defeat me in my efforts to live like Christ. These thoughts do no good for anyone.

Jesus calls me to live in His presence and follow His will rather than my own. Negative and selfish thoughts like those above reflect the failure of my own plans and my reliance on myself and other humans to meet my needs. Instead, I should be bending my own plans, wants, and desires to an attitude of patience and reliance on the plans of God.

Living in peace depends at least in part on my letting go of my own plans, or at the very least holding my plans very loosely, so that I can enjoy God's presence in each moment and be open to what He has for me in each day. I cannot see His plan if I am narrowly focused on my own or upset because my own plans were destroyed by circumstances.

What is Peace?

What does peace really mean? To know how to get it, we must understand what it is. We must understand what we are looking for. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, peace means:

1. "a state of mutual harmony between people or groups;"
2. "freedom from any strife or dissension;"
3. "freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquillity; serenity;" and/or
4. "a state or condition conducive to, proceeding from, or characterized by tranquillity."

I think Biblical peace refers to all of these definitions, but especially the third, the absence of distraction and anxiety. It is the absence of anything that would distract us from God or that would interrupt our focus on Him. As it said in Isaiah 26, the peace of God comes when our mind is steadfast and fixed on God.

Here are some more verses on peace that will hopefully define it further and encourage you regarding God's promise of peace to those who will claim it.

Romans 8:6 - The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.

Isaiah 32:17 - The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

Isaiah 54:10 - Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Psalm 29:11 - The Lord gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.