To Believe or Not To Believe

To believe in God or to believe in something else? That is the question that I have wrestled with over the last few weeks. Why? Well, I have a friend who I grew up with challenge me to wrestle with this. And here are a few of my quick thoughts.

1. How hard is it for any of us to change what we believe?
We all grow up with different backgrounds, families (healthy, dysfunctional, or broken), opinions, point of views, religious and spiritual understandings. Each of these characteristics form what we become. And as we grow, we learn more about the rest of the world. We learn that what we have always thought, may be a small option in the world and generation that provides so many possibilities. However, have we all reflected on why we believe what we do? Many people I have come across believe what they do simply because that is what they have always been. And that is not a bad thing. No. I grew up an Adventist and am still one today. Yet, I still had to make that decision and come to that conviction for myself. Maybe it would be stronger if I had a life changing testimony. But, I am who I am. And we do have our own testimonies. However, it seems as if some people have never analyzed what they believe for themselves. They are not sure what they believe. I appreciate when people are convicted of their belief even if it is different than mine. It a least shows that they are thinking. But, to change your belief from what you previously took a stand for takes courage. It takes strength. You are not only standing against friends, but usually family. This courage however, should never be the driving motive. In other words, you should never stand for something just because you have courage. You should never stand for anything unless you feel without a doubt that it is truth.

2. What is truth?
Well, this is a tough one. There are things that I have always held as truth. There are things that I feel are unshakable. I grew up believing that God was unshakable. I grew up believing that the Bible was unshakable. However, what if you don't believe in God? What does that say? Does that mean that truth is in something else? I feel that many people use the logic that they have to prove what is or is not truth. I know that we all like things to make sense. And if they don't, what's the use. And even much of Adventism (the most logical theology I believe) is built on logic inside of the Bible. I believe we are more logical thinkers when it comes to religion than many other denominations. However, does that mean we have all the absolute truth. By no means. I am sure there are hundreds of smarter people than me. However, I, just as each of us needs to do, has to find what is truth; not truth for me, but truth for the world. We need to find that truth and understand that we may continually grow in our understanding of it. Don't solidify only what your mind can conclude, but realize that we will always grow in truth if we are open to it.

3. What about the morals we live by?
In the society we live in, there are morals we live by. Where did they come from? Well, they came from the founders of our country. Whether they were Christians or Deists, they were concerned about the moral codes to conduct society in a peaceful manner. But, when I think about it, are the morals we live by really created just to bring us peace amongst ourselves? Do you think that morals, the inclinations of doing right and wrong in one's mind, is perhaps generated in some sphere outside ourselves. To me it makes no sense why I don't want to lie, cheat, steal, or even kill, if I don't have morals from God himself. Yes, they are all good things to do and to help people live in peace, but what about the inclination of right and wrong? Are we not all tempted (or if you don't like that word) or at least inclined to think doing what is right and wrong? You see, when you dismiss God from life, you dismiss morals in general. There is no higher code of life to base decisions. You are the means to your decisions. You have the choice to do whatever because there is no moral code to be accountable to, except that over the government you are under.

What have I chosen?
I hope I never come to the point where I feel I have all the absolute truth. I hope no one does. And that statement in itself may sound a little postmodern. But, that is the reality. I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. I believe that he was born of a woman, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross. I believe he did miracles to show us God. And does all this make sense? No. Do I think all of this is possible? Not by any logical man. But, if God is involved, why not? Is God not above everything else? Will there not be things that I don't understand that I will have to accept by faith. Once again, my mind is limited. I try to understand, but I won't put stock in understanding everything.
Finally, my belief in prophecy defines a lot about my belief in God. If I believe that prophecy was given to Daniel and other OT prophets, than I need to accept that much of those have been fulfilled. Daniel learned from the angel of the 2300 days. This prophecy pinpoints the coming of Jesus, his ministry and death. Furthermore, the prophecy of Daniel 2 also alludes to kingdoms rising and falling. And just as it says, it happens. But, to not be sure. But, to not be sure that these books were not compiled or written by other authors later. Does that strike fear or confusion in your mind? I told my friend that I guess anything is possible. But, on the fact alone that I have hope, that if I died and went to the grave believing what I believe, than I have no regrets about the happy and peace filled life I have lived. What if I'm wrong? Well, I have peace. But, if you are wrong, if you don't have hope in something beyond your own logic, than so be it.

Life is not easy. Life is confusing. But, I want to remain faithful to Jesus. That is the hope that I hold to today. Joshua's challenge: "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Construction At Hiram

Yesterday was an exciting day at Hiram church. I met my head elder, the church clerk, and a member of Lakeview at the church yesterday as we began construction on adding a new video screen to the front of the church. Now, why you may be asking this is considered a big project? The center of the church has a big stained glass mural hanging from chains. We had to go to Home Depot, rent build scaffolding, put it together, and then raise the mural. Then we had to remove the old screen and mount the new screen higher on the wall. The projector will be mounted behind the screen from the back and will project through. I am excited to have this done. It will be wonderful to have during the services.

Ministering to Cobb Juvenile Detention Center

This past Sabbath some families went to Cobb County Juvenile Dentention Center and ministered to the youth. The kids from Lakeview performed their Christmas Musical and did a wonderful job. I afterwards had the opportunity to speak to the youth there. Pastor Peter asked me during church if I could go there with them. I told him I would be glad to. Then he said, "you also need to speak 10 minutes. Is that fine?" I said, "No problem." However, as I went home for lunch I started thinking about what I was going to say. What do you say? And even when I arrived, I wasn't sure what I was going to talk about. However, I knew I wanted to challange them of the importance of Christ and asking Him in their lives. So, that is what I did. I was praying hard. After the talk, and while we were taking down the kids set, a guard came up to me and told me that there was a youth that wanted to talk to me. He told me his name and said, "I really appreciated what you had to say. And I know God spoke to me during your talk. If you don't mind, can you pray for me that Jesus will come in my life." I prayed with him for several minutes and then said farewell. After that moment, I couldn't stop thinking about this young man. It is amazing how God will touch lives. I saw it happen in this youth's life. It wasn't me. It was God. I hope and pray for boldness and strength as he continues on.

Idolizing Heros, Idolizing Tiger Woods

Being a golf fan, I have to admit that I have kept up with the Tiger Woods story over the last few days. It has been a story with strange events, many possible rumors, and few actual facts. However, it has caused each one of us to take a moment to think about life. Today, Tiger posted a statement on his website indicating that he was sorry about his "transgressions." What were his transgressions? We don't actually know. We can all guess and think we know. But, really is it any of our business?

We eat this story up because it is Tiger. He is one of the most famous people ever. However, there are some things I think we need to keep in mind when we reflect on this story. First, why do any of us who love sports move beyond the fact of "being impressed" with his sports abilities, to lifting him up as a hero. I think this is a struggle with all who love sports. We find someone we want to root for, and before we realize it, we idolize them. I'm not saying everyone loved him as their favorite golfer, but you can't deny that you often found yourself wanting him to break records and win tournaments by dropping putts on the 18th hole. We all idolized him in some sense.

Second, I want to ask what is the difference between Tiger, other sports heros, politicians, or any regular "Joe" who may have admitted that they have had affairs. Absolutely nothing. We make some people out to be a moral role model. But, why? Just because they are good at things we like, we shouldn't worship them. I don't know Tiger's ethical, moral, or spiritual views. And that brings up a good question. Why do I idolize his personal life like I do his athletic abilities? Who is Tiger? I watch him play golf. I saw him give a golf ball to a handicap kid. I saw him cuss out a photographer. I've seen him hug his children. I've seen him get excited. I've seen him be 100% human. But, I am 100% human. Aren't we all. I read a CBS Sports article that found a comment from a person who responded to Tiger on his website in total disappointment of Tiger. Yes, I think we are all disappointed. But, I think our disappointment comes from the way we idolized Tiger. He was our superhero. He was our role model in life for many people without even knowing it. And that is why we are all feeling apart of this story. Maybe the lesson learned, as I believed the author of the CBS article implied, it is our fault for idolizing any athlete.

We need to be careful who we place as heros. Tiger is still an incredible golfer. He is a hero in his golf ability. No one can question that fact. But, the hero he has become as a golfer for most people often becomes blurred with him as a personal hero in behavior, actions, and life. And that is what most people can't naturally separate. That is why so many are feeling sad and disappointed. But, the reality is that there will always be people who will fall to "transgressions." And I myself am not a perfect person. But, no one is. We all need to realize that point alone. Sin is sin. Honestly, we all need to first seek forgiveness from God and from others, especially those whom we have harmed. And I think, if I may be honest, people need to let Tiger and his family work through this time by themselves or with those they want support from. We all need to realize that humanity is held to standard that God has set. We are not perfect and all will fall short. But, we all hopefully will learn to forgive and forget. We will move on and learn from our mistakes. And in this moment, judging Tiger (though I'm not defending his actions) is something that none of us should do. It is our fault for idolizing Tiger's life the way we do. Maybe all of us will think twice about who we look to admire, cast as our hero, and yes, even idolize as a role model for our personal behaviors and beliefs.