On earning the right to complain…
Much of life is paradoxical. Have you noticed that those with the most to complain about usually don’t, while those whose lot has fallen on pleasant paths often whinge endlessly. I don’t know why, but perhaps those for whom things routinely go right are so accustomed to this fortunate state that they instantly react when something is a little wrong. By contrast, those who regularly struggle are more likely to shrug off a new difficulty with a “well that hardly compares with some of the difficulties I’ve gone through. So let’s just move along.” Rosemary and I saw it very clearly on our...
Read MoreGrateful, Engaged, Open: 3 Postures to Adopt
If you know me, you’ll be aware that I’m in my mid sixties. There’s something about being 65ish that gets people to ask, “So how are you feeling about life?” They know I am not retired but suspect I might be soon; they know I’m in good health – but hey, at this age anything could be around the corner (though I could live to a 103); they know I’m still writing and preaching and teaching and training, but then at 65ish you don’t take any invitation for granted. My usual reply is: “I’m grateful for the past, engaged in the...
Read MoreCounter-culturally Thankful: From Entitlement to Gratitude
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say that Christians need to step up and be counter-cultural – well, I’d be rich enough to help fund multiple mission organisations. Trouble is, the way it’s said often sounds so very like the culture it is supposed to counter. You know what I mean? Sweeping statements made about villainous others whose motives are entirely suspect – they are the enemy. And then there is the aggression with which it is spoken, as well as the demand for complete agreement with the stance taken. There are also the over...
Read MoreWhen in a City under Siege: Ps 31 then and now
I came across Ps 31 in my devotions this week. Given its original context, it is a surprisingly hopeful psalm, and verse 21 seems especially apt for the complex times we are living through: Praise be to the `Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a city under siege. Written when David was physically and emotionally drained, deserted by his friends and anticipating that everything he had stood for would be lost, he prays in words that Jesus chose to repeat while on the Cross: “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (v5). It is a resignation prayer – all has...
Read MoreBecause Our Habits Form Us…
Though I no longer remember her name, I remember the enthusiastic student teacher in my primary school teaching us about habits, and how important it is to form good ones. “A habit sticks with you,” she proclaimed. She wrote the word HABIT on the chalk board, systematically then rubbing out one letter at a time – creatively turning the lesson into an exercise in both spelling and ethics. You take out the H, and it is still there A BIT. Work harder, and remove the A, but BIT is still left. Yet more effort, and the B disappears – but IT is still left. “And so children,” she finished, “That’s...
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