14. Pride Before the Fall

 

14. Pride Before the Fall

A little ways back my priest made reference to the phrase “pride before the fall”. My wife asked me if I thought that our country is in this same category? I believe the US is in the category of “pride before the fall” however it was not for the reason she thought. I still think we are a light on the hill and a beacon of hope, or at least we were when our founders put their thoughts into actions and the founding of this great nation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed”

This is awesome. We, all of us have unalienable rights. Rights that cannot be taken away. The founders knew this. These rights do not come from the President, politicians or any of the governing powers but from GOD. That being said, they still mention that the people institute power to the governing. The politicians as well as the common citizens have these rights.

I think the pride of the nation comes from those in power. They have lost the duty to stand for those rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The current state of affairs leads to death in ways of abortions, rights being stripped away (being held indefinitely, spying, data collection so on and so on) and people’s ability to pursue happiness is being stripped by the government coming in saying in all essence “ you can’t do anything without our help”. The leaders are approaching things as if they are enlightened and so important. That is where the “pride” lies. We are the greatest nation on earth and most charitable nation in the history of the world. Our leaders have lost the foundation put by our founding fathers….GOD!

I was reading through James and 3:13-18 stood out as being a thread to this topic. James is actually reluctant to give advice for he warns against council being brought forth through pride. He warns against self centeredness. Does this not describe our leaders? Not all of them but the vast majority of them. “Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom” v13. I don’t see much meekness in our government at all. Everyone thinks that they have the answer to everything. They continue saying everyone needs to be tolerant of everything, yet you are intolerant if you hold your own thoughts  or dare I say practice “liberty”.

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual, demonic.” This describes our politicans to the letter. Everything is done on a whim. Things are based on relative truth, the decibels of the people “outraged” over something, or the next political calculation. Things are completely earthly and sensual and possibly demonic as stated in the passage. Things that are not of God very well may be Demonic but things are certainly earthly and completely selfish and sensual based on the passing fad.

James speaks of the evil of the self serving things but then speaks of the goodness that comes from God. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy”. Our leaders are incredibly hypocritical. Almost everything that is said from our current President is counted by his own words when speaking to a different crowd in a different context. This is true of other leaders as well. At the same time we are completely lacking in good fruits or mercy. Things that are being said are dividing us along gender and race lines when in fact it only serves certain people’s interests.

Our nation’s pride comes from the hypocritical, self centered politicians, that have lost the focus on God. We need to combat this by strengthening our homes and families and remember that God is not on our side, but rather, God just IS, therefore we must follow HIM. He is everlasting and constant. We need to correct course and get things back in order! God is not on our side or anyone’s side, but rather we must be on His side.

Mark

Orthodox Dad in America

3. Power and Rule – Authority and Agenda

3. Power and Rule – Authority and Agenda

Upon going over the reading of Acts 17:1-9 I had the thought going back through mobs and specifically regarding Jesus. In this reading Paul is reasoning with the people from the scriptures. He is telling them “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ” (v.3). Some were converted and “persuaded” as the text states. However, some were envious. In the notes in the Study Bible it reminds us of being reminiscent of the trumped up charges against Jesus, accusing him of desire to be a political king. In this text of Acts it states that they “took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar”(v.5).

Now here we see agenda in play. Obviously the author of the book of Acts sees it fit to use the word evil here. Which I don’t disagree but we must remember this in our minds. That being said I find it interesting that those that create these mobs are often jealous or fearful that they will lose power. They also try to use the law, though often their own interpretation, a made up interpretation or just flat out lies. In Acts they take Jason out before the people but once he pays a “security” or a deposit of money and ensures future peace, they let him go.

So does it all come down to power and money? It seems to me that that is true in many cases though not always. We are all given power through the Holy Spirit to do great things. It is one of the direct gifts that we have been given. Power can be misconstrued and become as deadly to an individual as an all powerful ruler is to his people. Power does not have to be a bad thing. What we have to be careful is how we use power, or influence over others. This goes back to agenda. Are we forthright with people when persuading others? Is our true agenda to please God? If not is it a just goal? I am not saying that we don’t have just goals but we must examine our hearts as well as the hearts of our leaders and those in power.

In the all-encompassing music Jesus Christ Superstar (I was in it so I have to reference it), we see the worry of the loss of power. “Tell the rabble to be quiet, we anticipate a riot. This common crowd is much too loud” as sung by the Priests. In Matthew chapter 21 the Priests question Jesus “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” (v.23). They are wielding their power. Obviously this comes up when they feel their power is threatened. Had they listened to what Jesus was actually saying would they still have feared a threat to their power? Were they just so caught up on earthly power that it blinded them? Probably. Were they hoping to get a “security” from Jesus? If he had paid them off would they have left him be?

The Study Bible notes state that Jesus responds with a question the way he does because “Christ teaches us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent”. Again the idea of agenda comes into the picture. This quote should open our eyes to the fact that some people will use power for gain and come with questions, not for true inquiry but a destructive agenda. This is an area that I will delve into in a different post, regarding culture and the media and how they use religion as a positive or a negative depending on their agenda and their goals.

Later in Matthew we read “Now the chief priests, the elders and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none”(v. 59).  I find this line interesting and telling. The leaders were willing to do whatever was necessary to fulfill their goal or agenda. At the same time I found it really interesting that they “found none” but they still devised ways to work toward their agenda. This brings up a few thoughts.

The ends justifies the means. I always tell my students we must have “integrity”. We may get away with something but does that make it right? We must uphold values and do “the right thing” even if no sees or, and even if they will never know. What we must keep in mind is that these instances of “just this once” or “if I don’t do it…” will come up. It is inevitable. In business, in work, in politics that choice will come up. In Matthew and in Acts we see (and in other instances) we see that people of power (and in general) will make things up, skew facts and rile people up to support their cause. What was their true agenda? Power and money (and…and…and…you can fill in the blanks).

We must go back to our lives and examine our hearts. What is our agenda? It should be to love God right? We need to train ourselves to think of God first in all circumstances regarding issues that are both favorable and unfavorable. Only then will we be able to have integrity. Think about it, is my definition of integrity the same is a politicians? Prooooooooooobably not. He or she might say their goal is to help as many people as possible, so deceiving someone here, lying to someone there is keeping the integrity of their goal or office. Well I don’t think we should lower our definition of integrity to that of society but rather raise it to the standard of God and be ever mindful of Jesus who walked in our place. He could have had all of the power he wanted, but his agenda was clear. To do his Father’s will. We must know what we believe and what our priorities are.

I would like to point out that I am in no way saying that all people in power are bad but there must be a standard. As an Orthodox Christian there is no other place to turn but Jesus. He walked this earth in the flesh. We do however, need to be mindful of those in power and to realize their standard may not be the same ours. We must realize that their agenda may not be the same as ours or even what they say it is with their words. Going to back to what do they do over time vs. what do they say?

This is why we also need our Orthodox Clergy to make definitive stances on what they believe in today’s cultural warfare. If people don’t say anything we are left to guess and hope that they will hold true to the beliefs held for thousands of years regarding a multitude of issues. We need our leaders to be forthright in their thoughts so they can be assessed, instead of dealing with things from the shadows. This is regarding all leaders not just Religious leaders.

Now I want to turn to a quick examination of power in our lives.  Obviously there is politics in any civilization on earth. Look at how they use that power and ask yourself “what is their agenda for their actions”. We must also ask “what is their track record over time”.  Are they stating positive claims for what they believe or are they name calling and dividing? Are they saying one thing to one group of people and other things to another group of people?

Here are few final questions to ponder for this posting. If we truly set our agenda and focus on Christ would there be so much struggle for power? If there are those that don’t set their agenda onto Christ are they going against Christ? Do the ends justify the means if it helps a lot of people but you lack integrity or ethics? Do leaders have to be more loose with integrity and ethics to level the playing field? (i.e. dealing with x country, x dictator, compete with x business etc).

Lastly, we as parents have power. How do we use it? Do we make our kids go do stuff so we can do what we want? Do we use our power to instruct them? Do we use our power to teach them integrity? Remember, they listen and they see.

Mark

Orthodox Dad in America

2. Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 2)

Are we demonstrating the Love of God in all that we do? Do our children see this?

To continue on my thoughts regarding the notion “actions speak louder than words” and Acts 16:16-34 from the July 8 reading.My last post was longer than anticipated but hopefully thoughtful and coherent. I wanted to expand on my other points of how our actions and agenda impacts those around us, especially in the way of children and our families.Let me start by saying that I believe the family to be crucial to the development of our children and the shaping of our culture. This will likely be a topic that is given much attention in the future.

Regarding the reading of Acts 16 I believe that our actions must all be thoughtful and purposeful. By this I mean that our actions should display contemplation, humility and Godliness. We should not be rash or lash out. The exception to this would be reaching a point in our spiritual lives that we pray, praise and sing so much that our even involuntary actions and reactions to people and events are pleasing toward God.

The reading demonstrates the manifestation of Paul and Silas’ true agenda of love toward God. There is really no question based on their actions and reactions. Paul didn’t run away, but stopped and demanded the jailer not take his life. The jailer in turn was converted.

Looking at the idea of actions I want to turn to the impact of actions and reactions on raising children and living in America or the world. Whether we like it or not, our children watch and even feel everything we do. It is just a fact. We might think we are fooling our kids sometimes but just as Paul and Silas’ true agenda of loving and praising God was manifest in their actions, so too will our true agendas and goals be manifest in our actions to and around our children. So let’s look at this further.

First, what is our agenda, mine and yours? Is it to love God with our whole heart and to be pleasing to God with everything we do? Is this demonstrated in all of our actions, so that our kids know this without having to tell them? If they cannot tell this is our life goal with our actions, then bluntly we are not doing our job. Correct? If we show our kids that it is ok to yell, swear, fight, pout, punch, vandalize, disregard or otherwise be nasty to them, others or ourselves, what are we teaching our kids? To love God with all of their hearts? Nope.

Second, what is your priority? I will say first that no one is perfect. I know that just as much as the next person. I will also say that kids are tough. I still remember when my Priest Father Patrick Reardon of All Saints Orthodox Church in Chicago stated that kids make us less selfish and help us to be better people. You cannot be a good parent if you are self-centered and all about you. Just a fact. You also cannot be a good Christian. Can you? Will we be helping others? Will we prosper? Our kids will look at what we put first. Do we grab the Bible or the x-box? Do we sit down together to eat? Do we teach kinship, friendship and love? Do we take care of our bodies with a little bit of exercise and a balanced diet? Our kids not only hear what we say but also what we do. Our kids will grow up to be the people that we mold them to be?

I have also heard it said that if you only pray at Church it will not go very well. Why? Because it is not a habit, it isn’t normal. If normal life consists of tv, xbox, iphones, junkfood, laying around  and being solitude amongst all of these things, then church will be very odd to kids at a very young age. Can kids stand and pray all day every day. Of course not, but can they pray periodically every day? Of course. Will kids notice if we stop and pray throughout the day even if we don’t make them do it as often? Certainly. Will our children see us drop to our knees in times of deep prayer, crisis or thanksgiving? Yes they will.

Third and lastly, I wanted to tough on the idea of how our actions impact society, culture and those around us. Building a community is extremely important, even if that community is a temporary one, such as Paul and Silas’ jail companions. They changed the atmosphere through their actions. Not through pure force but through pure love. They lived and breathed love for God. In today’s politically correct society sometimes this can be hard but we can exude God’s love in any temporary or long term community. Do we know the people around us in our neighborhoods? Do we way hi when we pass them on the sidewalk or mowing their lawns or do we rush by to get to our Xboxes? Or better yet, are our heads buried in our iphones and smartphones that we don’t even realize that we are not the only people on the planet? We need to build community and people will know who we are. Live our lives as discussed above and people will want to be part of your community, short term or long term.

Additionally, what do our homes look like? Honestly sometimes I wonder if the icons on the wall or the icon colorings from Sunday School on the wall are uncomfortable for guests. However, this should not be the case. Our homes are the place we spend much of time with our kids and family. Our home must be a demonstration of what we believe. Do we hide from our Orthodox beliefs or do we surround ourselves with them? We don’t need to bible thump as I mentioned before but do people that do want to be around us and get to know us, come to our houses and realize we are Orthodox Christians?

I for one realize how expensive icons are. But they are so important for our kids, ourselves and our community. Do we show what we love or do we hide it? I was lucky enough to find several icons at estate sales in the last few weeks. I was extremely excited.

To add to these thoughts is the thought of the community of our Parishes. Are we fostering those relationships? Do we welcome visitors that do come? This idea of actions and agenda comes around full circle. When guests come into our Church do they inquire about the beautiful liturgy, the icons and the kind and humble people? Or do they leave thinking that they were unwelcome into this little clique of self-absorbed peole?

These are all things to think about and things for me to get better at as an Orthodox Parish member, a husband and a dad. Is everything we do bringing us closer to God or pushing us further away (and closer to the world)? Do others look at us completing our tasks and living our lives with a begrudging attitude or joy in our hearts? Do we walk around singing praise and lifting up, or mumbling complaints under our breath?

Mark

Orthodox Dad in America

1. Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 1)

Our actions and agenda impact those around us, including ourselves

The phrase “actions speak louder than words” is one that I use often in my classroom and I have started using it with my own children. This phrase can be applied to several aspects of our lives. Our Spiritual lives and Salvation, our family lives and even our economic and cultural situations.Reading and SpiritualityI was looking at the reading for yesterday June 8th , Acts 16:16-34. This is where the “actions speak louder than words” popped into my head as I was reading and explaining the reading to my children. In the reading, Paul and Silas are thrown into jail after the exorcism.  Instead of crying, whining or complaining, they are up at midnight doing what? None other than singing to God from their jail cell, with the stocks tightly strapped around their feet. The prisoners were listening to them as Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns. Then, the earthquake frees them, along with all of the other prisoners, and opens all of the doors.  Paul then stops the jailer from killing himself and the jailer asks “Sirs, what must I do to be saved” (ACTS 16:30).

In the Orthodox Study Bible, the notes in the bottom remind us that the jailer’s question implies he heard the statement of v.17 with regards to proclaiming “the way of salvation”.  All of the things he heard, witnessed and felt led to his conversion. Here is where one of my themes becomes relevant; agenda.

The jailer sensed that Paul and Silas’ agenda was true in regards to proclaiming salvation. Their love of God was true. Truth and love will win over in the end. Their hearts were true and the jailer felt this, even if he didn’t know it to be true at first. He heard the praying and singing which must have impacted him. To see jailed men without sorrow or feeling pity for themselves but rather praise and joy in their love of God, would have sank deep into his heart. This would have been a very unusual sight for a man that sees many prisoners come and go.

Then the earthquake happens and he tries to kill himself but Paul stops him. He knew he would have been punished and initially his first thought was to avoid torture. Instead Paul demands him to stop. The man’s heart is now fully changed.  However, it wasn’t just a flip of the switch.

The events leading up to this moment of conversion and strengthening of faith were all significant. The actions, singing and praying were just a manifestation of what Paul and Silas truly felt in their hearts. We must remember our actions speak louder than words, though words are also necessary. As my Priest mentions periodically, we are not hateful though we may disagree with people, and we do not need to be bible thumpers. Rather, live our lives the way we try to teach others to live. People are smart, they will discover our true agenda, and they will sense what is truly written on our hearts. We may be able to disguise our actions sometimes but eventually we will reveal our true selves. (this will be another topic by itself. The idea of building up our hearts and minds to be closer to God, thus revealing our love of God through everything we do…but I will save that for another time)

Their actions led to the salvation of those around them, not through force, or mincing of words, or beating the drum of the law, but rather true love of God being manifest through prayer and singing.

We never know what will impact other people. So let’s go back to the idea that if we make everything a deed of love toward God and do it with Joy in our hearts, the people around us cannot help but know something is different about us. They may not know that we are Orthodox Christians, or Christians at all, but they will be overcome with the desire to be around us. They may not even know why.

This also touches on a topic which I will also delve into at a later time. Through every action we are not only working to soften others’ hearts, but to prepare our own hearts for the Glory of God. This another one of my thematic ideas.

Lastly, this reminds me of a member of my former church in Chicago’s All Saints parish. She is a person, that will remain nameless, but she had an aura of Godliness and humility around her. She drew people to her, but she never pushed specific scripture into your face. She just lived it, and you could tell just by looking at her.

This is longer than I anticipated. This will continue on a Part 2 installment

Mark

Orthodox Dad in America
@orthodoxdad
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