Tag Archives: hubris

December 7, 2014

Caught Up In The Moment

By valencia68

The last six weeks at work have been challenging as my observation of two and a half years’ worth of misguided movements came to a head.  Each step shifted the alignment of the organization off center, further and further away from its core mission.  I felt woefully inadequate as I was unable to cure the immediate hurts or address the over-arching cultural ailments.  I had been accustomed to working behind the scenes to reshuffle the pieces to almost any awry situation back to the center of the board.  By flipping switches and pulling levers, I could turn on the magnets that would draw people back between the bumpers.  As this situation continued to wobble further and further out of control, I leveraged every resource available to me to adjust the alignment back to center.  No matter how much strength I used or torque I created, I could not move the mountain.  My blood pressure then sky-rocketed, headaches ensued, and hope dissipated.  The Lord then said to me, “get somewhere and sit still!  To move mountains, you must have faith, you know, the size of a mustard seed.  I am not feeling faith.  I am witnessing you muster mortal strength in man’s world.  You are making a mockery of the miracle process.  I am responsible for those and simply sometimes use man as delivery vehicles.  As the devotional told you the other day, meet Me in the moment and leave outcomes to My Father.  Listen to the sage.  I sent her.  Calmly do these two things each day and leave the rest to Me:  Ask the Father what He would have you do today and work towards it with excellence.”

No words were rendered as no response was required.  I took a week of time off, went away, and did nothing but reflect on His guidance.  Each day I spent time with Him and I asked what He would have me do.  Everyday His answer was the same: love My people and see the wonders of My work.  And that is exactly what I did.  I engaged with as many people as I could and enjoyed the beauties of nature.  Five days after I returned to work, His glorious plan began to unfold.  The miracles of the Messiah moved the mountain.  He made a way for resolution to my plaguing problem and I am extremely thankful to Him.  As Lincoln Brewster tells us: Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.  The heavens declare Your greatness.  The oceans cry out to You.  The mountains, they bow down before You.  So I’ll join with the earth and I’ll give my praise to You. – Majestic

The long, drawn-out difficult observation time that ended just before I took leave was chocked full of faith forewarnings for me.  Particularly, I had watched a high-ranking person determine that reaching the next rung on the ladder was worth everything and he was willing to do anything to get it.  In his haste to reach the next level, he failed to realize that anything received at any pace other than in God’s time can never bring fulfilment, but is merely an accelerant of spiritual degradation.  You see, “any cost” is the only price the devil is willing to pay and the moment we name that price is the second we sell our soul.  Every move from that point forward is a contorted turn or ill-conceived twist that leads to places of no return.  The intersection of greed and power is named Hubris Hill.  The crossroads of arrogance and opportunity is called Corruption Court.  “Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it’s set a rolling it must increase.” – Caleb Colton

At that point, anyone with half of the currency can now convince us to give the whole thing away, leaving us begging for borrowed time from hollowed hearts.  As the pace gets faster and the stakes get higher, we find ourselves over leveraging our diminishing worth while clinging to vacated promises backed by overdrawn credit. Suddenly, the suitors stop knocking and no one takes our calls.  It is then that we realize the time we spent perched in dark smoke-filled rooms sipping single malt scotch and savoring select cigars was likely in Lucifer’s Lounge.  We sat at the table listening to his lies while debating the Spirit’s voice in order to rationalize righteousness into a wicked situation.  By negotiating, we risked what we had to gain what we didn’t need.  We rolled the dice with the devil, the master of deception, and lost it all.  As two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time, neither can God and evil.  By dismissing the Spirit, we gave the devil a foot hole.  The hunt is now over and it’s time for the kill.  The wicked one has won!

Or has he?  He is jealous for me; loves like a hurricane.  I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy; when all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory.  And I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me… And we are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.  If his grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.  And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest.  I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us…Oh, how he loves us all.  He Loves Us – John McMillan

Just like us, God gave the ranking person worth and his value comes through Jesus Christ.  Through our relationship with Him and community with His people, a paved path to the foot of the cross is always beneath our feet.  To the extent that we lose our way, simply say, “Jesus, please help me!”  He is a loving Lord and an eager savior, longing for a relationship with His children.  We strengthen that relationship through worshiping only Him, loving His people, reading His word, and praying.  As Matt Redman reminds us, When the music fades, all is stripped away.  And I simply come longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless Your heart.  I’ll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself is not what You have required.  You search much deeper within, through the way things appear.  You’re looking into my heart.  I’m coming back to the heart of worship.  And it’s all about You.  It’s all about You, Jesus.  I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it, when it’s all about You.  It’s all about You, Jesus – Heart of Worship.  If we simply remember that we cannot sell what we cannot earn, His grace will remain on the forefront of our minds, preventing us from placing our salvation in the showcase window of Hell’s pawn shop.  This life is about advancing His kingdom, not our selfish pleasures.

Now is a time for prayer and encouragement, not casting of stones.  As we have done so much for which we wish not to be judged, forgiveness is a large paving stone on the path to the foot of the cross.  We’ve all had the experience of being caught up in the moment.  Remember, character assassination kills more than just a reputation.  It massacres minds and slaughters souls.  The scars on His hands are reminders of our redemption, not reverberations of our self-righteousness.  Offer healing to the hurt and love to the lost by being fast to forgive.  We are His beacons who have been called to shine His light.  So beam brightly!

I pray fervently for the ranking official.  Lord, may his resignation resign him to Your ways.  May he raise his hands and heart to You to receive the blessings You have in store for him.  May he live the rest of his days gaining strength from time with You.  May we heal from the difficulties and offer forgiveness to our brother, remembering the experience as a shadow that casts shade on the dog-day decisions that we may one day face.  May pride never prevent us from calling Your great name long before our darkest hours – In Your son’s name, Amen.

Romans 12 tells us, 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.  Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.  You’ll be changed from the inside out.  Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.  Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  (MSG)

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November 16, 2014

Calico’s Corner II

By valencia68

“Power will intoxicate the best hearts, as wine the strongest heads. No man is wise enough, nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.” – Caleb Colton

The captain was hubris and here are his officers:

Calico’s top brass of smiling faces and nodding heads did well because they appeared to be doing good.  Their pleasant demeanor and non-confrontational attributes earned them a place in the inner circle.  They were pleasing and loyal to the captain during peace.  When tensions erupted, they never rose above the battlefield to see what was really happening.  They hedged their bets that the captain would survive and wanted to remain in the good graces of the one they presumed would be in power.  As you cannot serve two masters, their smiling faces and nodding heads were of service to none.  Luke 12:48 tells us, 48 “But anyone who is not aware that he is doing wrong will be punished only lightly.  Much is required from those to whom much is given, for their responsibility is greater – (GNT). Was their search for the Savior obscured by the presence of a pleasant face?  Did their comfort of going along to get along outweigh their requirement to stand up?  Had they ever defined personal integrity such that they would know when that line had been crossed?

And then there was the top brass who cowered on the lower deck.  These faithful soldiers usually lived their lives in neutral, moving along when impacted by another mass stronger than them.  They were always propelled by institutional inertia but had no meaningful energy independent of other forces acting upon them.  When caught in the downspout of the realization that the captain’s experience amounted to less than that of the most junior yeoman and that his actions imperiled all of the sailors, the sensory overload of it all as well as the storm and the mutiny overwhelmed them.  They, opposite the ship, rocked onto their port sides.  The motion of their jousting thoughts swayed their minds as they wondered if they could have made a difference.  Everything they had previously heard along the way was worth repeating amongst themselves but they couldn’t find it within them to report any of it to anyone who could do something about it.  James 1:22-24 says, “22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other.  Act on what you hear!  Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like” –  (TLB). And so they lay, motionless on the lower deck of the sea-tossed ship.  Did they ever feel confident enough to make a difference?  Were they always only in it for themselves?  Was there ever a moment when they offered him wise counsel?  Where they rejected so much that they finally stopped trying?

The first officer had been one of Calico’s greatest supporters until he became the captain.  He believed the captain to be a person of the people until his ego grew above his rank.  He then believed the captain was a changed man.  At that point, the first officer began providing closely held information to the offended sailors and the fleet’s stakeholders.  He armed the sailors with sling shots and ensured the stone of the mutiny struck its intended target.  “We often pretend to fear what we really despise, and more often despise what we really fear” – Caleb Colton.  Was the first officer reacting out of scorn disguised as deception whose reality lay in the blindness that was before him?  Was he reeling from the shame that he had never walked with kings and the guilt that, at least for a time, he lost his common touch?  Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your law. – Psalm 119:18 (MSG)

The second officer operated with a spirit of courage and believed that, “Physical courage, which despises all danger, will make a man brave in one way; and moral courage, which despises all opinion, will make a man brave in another” – Caleb Colton.  She moved the fastest and got the most done when the major crisis struck.  She had previously advised the captain that the building material was inferior and pointed him in the direction of the craftsman but was counseled for the delivery of her interjection.  She spoke with a smiler and a nodder to let them know the state of affairs only to receive a reprimand.  She sent notes to her counterparts in the fleet and letters to regulators in the industry but no one responded.  She met with the cowards and prophesied the mutiny and the storm, but they simply stood still.  She listened to the first officer and encouraged him to take constructive action.  She knows that the third officer’s report to headquarters will be the third time they have heard the story.

The third officer, motivated by a sense of duty, was troubled to have to deliver such harrowing news to headquarters.  She knew that the captain’s actions were wrong and that sailors were in grave danger.  Following the lead of the second officer, she helped to loosen the ropes of the life boat.  Provided she lives, she knows others will ask her three questions: What she knew?  When she knew it?  What did she do about it?  She believes she must have something respectable to say.

The saga continues on the Mediterranean, five miles off the Italian coast.  While water permeates the ship’s hull, it allows the floating Rome to burn.  Will 48 sailors make it to shore alive?  What about the rest of the crew?  Will the capsized ship sink?  How will the officers answer for their actions?  I will respond to those questions when the story ends.  In the meantime, are there times in your life when you have exhibited the traits of each of these officers?  Where are you on any given day when you forget to put on or give up your armor of faith, the knowledge of His word, the spirit of courage, the guidance from prayer and wise counsel, or a line of sight to the foot of the cross?

James 1:2-12 tells us, “2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.  5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father.  He loves to help.  You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.  Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.  People who ‘worry their prayers’ are like wind-whipped waves.  Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.  9-11 When down-and-outers get a break, cheer!  And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer!  Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don’t ever count on it.  You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers.  Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem.  Well, that’s a picture of the “prosperous life.”  At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing.  12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate.  For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life”  – (TLB). 

In You Are I Am, Mercy Me reminds us that while we doubt, God delivers.  I’ve been the one to shake with fear and wonder if You’re even here.  I’ve been the one to doubt Your love.  I’ve told myself You’re not enough.  I’ve been the one to try and say I’ll overcome by my own shame.  I’ve been the one to fall apart and start to question who You are.  You’re the one who conquers giants.  You’re the one who calls out kings.  You shut the mouths of lions.  You tell the dead to breathe.  You’re the one who walks through fire.  You take the orphan’s hand.  You are the one Messiah.  You are I am

When you choose to sit out, be prepared to stress out because the shame of standing by lasts a long time.  If you choose to get strung out be prepared to stroke out because the guilt that comes from abandoning others can never be medicated enough.  If you choose to stand out, you may strike out but you can rest with the dignity of knowing you gave it your all.

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