My dumb valentines post
Feb 14th, 2010 by ljkim
Disclaimer, the following are Leo’s personal thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of God, the Church universal, CityFellowship, or even the cat or monkey… Let me start by saying I’m not a fan of Valentine’s day – and here’s why: First, I think it tends to make some single people feel inadequate as though there’s something wrong with being single… Some of the greatest and most fulfilled people in history were single at the time. Wouldn’t it suck if someone like Joan of Arc, (or Daniel in the Bible) was sitting around feeling bad for herself (or himself) because no one asked her out? And EVERYONE is single at some point for key portions of their lives… So making single people feel bad is a bad play in my book. Continue Reading »
The one unforgivable sin in the Bible is (basically) the sin of refusing forgiveness… Everything can be forgiven except that. If you’re not sure why – just think about it for a bit. Now there are plenty of times in dealing with friends and family and clients, that you might feel like – “this problem is such a big deal, that we can’t go forward until you deal with it.” In other words, we have our own list of unforgivable sins – and if someone steps on one, we cannot move forward in that relationship until it’s settled… Can you think of an example of that? I’ve known people who literally lied or drank so much or were so addicted to poor behavior that everything in my heart screamed out “No! You can’t do that! I’m cutting you off from friendship unless you deal with this!” 
There was a time in history when Christians led the way in terms of business and commerce in Manhattan (thanks to Dutch settlers – we mentioned on Sunday)… Now my Masters degree is in Divinity, not Business, so all I can really tell you is the theological component: That is, all work is a part of, and extension of “love your neighbor.” In your work life, you serve God by serving people, giving them something of value (whether you perform a service or enlighten, or entertain – all in constructive ways). And like I said, I’m not really qualified to tell you anything more than that about your work, your career, your business… But I do know of a few people who are qualified to tell you quite a bit more – and I think you need to hear them out. 
We started talking about financial contentment yesterday. This is such a wild idea in our society that it can be hard to imagine what it means. Now there’s a tendency to want to soften it up so that it seems less contrary to our society – I think that’s the wrong approach. Instead we need to develop our imagination for what God is suggesting. So if you were totally content financially and in terms of material possessions, how would that affect the stuff you buy? 
Most people aren’t ready to really learn the secret to it – so if you want you can go climb a mountain or sail the seven seas first – then come back and read the rest… But the secret comes straight from God, proven by miles of empirical data, agreed upon by believers and non-believers alike… And here it is: happiness comes from taking care of something, loving it, and watching it thrive. The bigger it is, and the more you love it, the more you’ll experience heartache because of it – but at the same time, the more joy you’ll get…
Ministry can be hard, and it can be heartbreaking, and it requires a lot of waiting… but in the end, through God’s power it pays off. You may feel like you’re losing at times, but if you’re involved in God’s ministry for you – you are on the winning team… The question is how will you hold out till the end? How can you keep perspective and not let the immediate “realities” get to you? In the Bible, God wants His people to follow Him, be faithful – love Him, and serve Him…but in the midst of these things God also wants His people to *ENJOY* the good things He brings them (cf. Jer 2:7)…
I love the fact that so many people today want to make a difference with their lives. And I love that so many people are actively looking for unique types of work in which they can make the world better. But here’s the thing about ministry: your personal ministry and your work may (or may not) overlap, they are not the same thing… So we said Martin Luther King Jr.’s job was “pastor.” But his personal ministry was as a civil rights activist. Bono is the lead singer in U2, but his personal ministry is debt relief for African nations (I know, I said that already but I want to focus on the work part).
The key to great coffee is NOT a great coffee maker… A $9.99 cheapo French press can be better than a $199.00 Braun. All you need is freshly roasted coffee beans. Now you would think that an expensive coffee maker would make better coffee. That’s what the advertisers want you to think. But if you enjoy coffee, it’s better to spend the money on getting good coffee and not on the machine…
Some people have an unspoken belief that being spiritual (or maybe even just being a better person) and being miserable go together… Billy Joel sings, “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.” The thing is saints laugh a lot more…it’s those who follow the gods of money or sex or drugs or whatever who wind up in tears. Anyway I don’t want to argue the case that God’s way brings more joy – there’s only one way to prove it, and that’s to live it – so those of you who know me well may know that I can be a miserable like anyone else…but as I’ve been growing in holiness, humility, trusting God, I’ve also been growing in laughter, joy and fun. What I want to point out here is that the theology of misery is (unfortunately) alive and well in our secular world.