Ambassadors

 

With the World Cup in full swing, one of the more compelling stories off the field has been the actions of the Japanese fans. Typically, when fans come into the conversation, it’s for their disrespectful or destructive antics. But following their team’s upset victory over Germany, the Japanese fans didn’t go trash the city. Instead, they took up trash bags and began cleaning up after themselves. And this isn’t an activity they do just when they win. They did the same thing back in 2018 right after their team lost to Belgium and was ejected from the World Cup tournament. 

What’s remarkable is that these fans have become just as important ambassadors for their home country as the team they came to cheer on, and by their actions they’re winning respect around the world. 

It makes me think about our role as citizens of the Kingdom of God. While we often look to the big named players on the biggest stages to be our ambassadors, the truth is every single person that calls Jesus Lord is an ambassador of our king. And how we choose to live, how we choose to react in both success and failure, shapes the way other people perceive the one we represent. Far too often we’ve been known for our bad behavior, for our pettiness, arrogance and self-centeredness. Sadly, our actions have often misrepresented the heart of the one we represent and have caused others to run from him rather than to him. 

We can all learn from the example set by these Japanese soccer fans. You are never too insignificant to make a difference and the world is always watching. But the way we will truly represent the heart of the one we call Lord isn’t by declaring our superiority, but by taking the posture of a servant. After all, Jesus did say that the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven would be the servant of all.

What Are You Reflecting?

You were created for a purpose - to reflect your Creator’s heart into the world.

But reflecting God’s heart doesn’t happen automatically. You will end up reflecting whatever you focus on. If you focus on money, you will become greedy. If you focus on sensuality, you will become lustful. If you focus on success, you will become prideful. This is why Jesus warns us that we can only serve one master, and whatever we choose to serve will end up shaping us in its image. So give careful thought to what you fix your heart upon, because that’s what you’re going to end up reflecting to the world around you.

LESSONS I’M TEACHING MY SONS

1. When greeting someone, stand up, grip their hand firmly and look them in the eye.

2. Respect the ocean, but don’t fear it.

3. In a negotiation, let them make the first offer.

4. In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

5. If you borrow a car, return it with a full tank of gas.

6. Comparison is the thief of joy.

7. Choose heroes who exhibit great character, not just great talent.

8. You haven’t truly failed until you give up.

9. Win or lose, if you play hard and practice good sportsmanship you’re doing great.

10. Always stay teachable.

11. Choose your friends wisely. You will be shaped by them.

12. If you need music at the beach or on a hike, you’re missing the point.

13. Don’t borrow it if you can’t afford to replace it.

14. You marry the girl, you marry her family.

15. If you have the ability to help someone, do it.

16. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.

17. Looking before you leap doesn’t make your weak, it makes you wise.

18. Other people’s bad behavior is no excuse for your bad behavior.

19. Clothes don’t make the man, but they can make you look like one.

20. People always matter more than things.

21. Show respect to those in uniform.

22. Eat lunch with the new kid.

23. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.

24. Don’t wait until you retire to go on adventures.

25. Treat others the way you’d like to be treated.

26. Give credit. Take responsibility.

27. Stand up to bullies. Stand with the bullied.

28. Write down your dreams, but let your actions speak.

29. Don’t let others define you.

30. Be confident and humble at the same time.

31. Don’t blame others for your mistakes. Own them and make things right.

32. Emotions are not weakness.

33. Don’t blame others for not respecting boundaries that you have neither established nor enforced.

34. If ever in doubt, remember whose image you were made in.

35. Do everything as an act of worship to God.

This list is a work in progress. So what are the most meaningful lessons you were taught or you are trying to pass onto your kids?

 

POWER PLAY

Over the last few years there has been a heart-wrenching number of high-profile leaders who have been exposed for abusing the power of their position. From Hollywood moguls to politicians and even church leaders, it seems that power really does corrupt. And yet, I cannot help but wonder whether the problem is power itself, or our warped perspective of what it means to lead. After all, electricity is a wonderful thing, but misused it can be deadly. In the same way, in any community or organization there will always be a need for someone to take the lead, but when a person misuses their position to control or abuse someone they’re leading, their power becomes destructive.

Many of us view leadership like a ladder. The higher you climb, the more power and influence you have. This perspective fuels a sort of superiority complex, where the people at the top can begin to see themselves as more important that those beneath them. And they can begin to treat those below them as nothing more than a means to an end, as people who are there to serve them.

But that’s not how God calls us to lead. Whereas the world tells us that the greatest deserve to be served, the way of Jesus tells us that the greatest in God’s Kingdom are the servants of all. In other words, the ladder is flipped upside down. Rather than climbing up, we climb down and the further we go in leadership, the more people we have to serve.

Jesus didn’t just teach this, he modeled it. He lived a life in service of others. He cared for the needs of the hurting even though they couldn’t repay him. He spoke up for those whom society ignored. He restored those whom society said were beyond redemption. He even washed his own disciples’ feet to drive the point home that they were to live a life of service, and shortly thereafter he modeled this value in the most powerful way ever: by sacrificing his own life on the cross to cleanse us of our sins.

So may we stop viewing leadership as a means to achieving our own goals, and treat it instead as a call to serve others. Because if service is beneath us, then leadership is beyond us.

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45

A Christmas Curveball

I wrote these words a year ago, but they seem as timely today as they did then. 

I never cease to be amazed at how God’s word, penned thousands of years ago, can speak directly into our current circumstances. Take the Christmas story for instance. It’s a story we’ve heard countless times before, especially Luke’s version that Linus recounted in Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special. It starts like this:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. (James 2:1-5)

This is just the set up for the story. What follows are the parts we typically focus on: a baby born in a stable, angelic choirs and visits from startled shepherds and Eastern astrologers. But this morning, the opening lines of the Christmas story are what captured my attention. Because the Christmas story starts with a political edict that threw a wrench in Joseph and Mary’s plans.

Can you imagine what an inconvenience that edict from Caesar Augustus must have been? “Wait, you mean we have to travel 90 miles to Bethlehem at the tail end of Mary’s pregnancy all because of a census?!” I suspect that both Joseph and Mary had some not so holy words for the guy who made that decision.

And yet, despite how unexpected and inconvenient Caesar’s call for a census might have been for Joseph and Mary, it didn’t take God by surprise or thwart His plans. In fact, hundreds of years prior, God had prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). So Caesar’s call for a census wasn’t an inconvenience to God. It was integral to His plans. He used the decision of an unbelieving ruler to fulfill His redemptive purposes.

Which brings me to this Christmas. Because, let’s be honest, there are some governmental edicts that threaten to upset our best laid Christmas plans. And this could stir up a lot of consternation for us.

“What do you mean I can’t gather with my extended family?”
“What do you mean we have to wear facemasks if we gather indoors?!”
“What right do our governing officials have to try and limit our celebrations?!”

May I simply remind you that God isn’t spun out by this Christmas curveball. He isn’t limited by the limitations that we’ve been forced to endure due to Covid. And as the Christmas story reminds us, He even works through the decisions of unbelieving governmental officials.

So don’t grow weary or lose heart this Christmas. God is at work despite the disruption to our lives. And even though it might be inconvenient to us, this curveball may be the very thing He uses to further His redemptive plan in our lives, just as He did in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.

Sitting with Another's Pain

 Many of us have a hard time tolerating other people’s pain because it makes us uncomfortable. So rather than sitting with them as they struggle and allowing them the space to process, we try to fix it or reframe the narrative for them in an effort to alleviate their suffering (and ours).

One gift we can give to hurting people is to allow them to feel without giving into the urge to fix it. Hurting people often need our presence more than our solutions. And, ironically, more often than not if we allow them space and time and companionship while they process their pain, they will actually regain their footing far faster than if we try to force them to their feet to make ourselves feel better.

Appetite for Self-Destruction

My son is addicted to Takis. For those of you without a teenager, Takis are a rolled up tortilla chip with a toxic blend of spices that are guaranteed to cook your intestines. My boy will eat them until his tastebuds give out and then complain when his stomach hurts, getting irritable at us as if we’re the ones who made him eat himself sick. Ironically, even though he knows his favorite snack hurts him, he still craves them.

It’s laughable, but then I realize I’m not much different from my boy. No, I might not be addicted to nuclear tortilla chips, but it’s the things that I consume with my mind that can get toxic. When I get in the car my natural inclination is to turn on talk radio, or to spend the final moments at night doom-scrolling through social media, and then I wonder why I wake up feeling frustrated and irritable. Perhaps I should take my own advice and be more discerning about what I consume.

What do you crave that ends up hurting you?