Okay. So
earlier this week I had the absolute pleasure of participating in a live Nativity set
for my church’s youth Christmas party. The youth room was set up in a
restaurant style form, and the kids sat back and enjoyed dinner while they learned
about the Nativity. It was presented in a way that was humorous, while still
showing them what the Nativity is and what it symbolizes. They laughed and had
a great time and I was so very blessed to be part of it.
I did not
feel this way entirely though.
I mean it
was wonderful and everyone, including me, had a lot fun, but before actually
dramatizing my portion in the Nativity, it was the complete opposite.
The few days
leading up to this wonderful Christmas party, I was absolutely dreading
performing in this drama. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to do it for the
youth, I love them, and I wanted them to enjoy something that they could
definitely learn from. The reason that I did not want to be part of the drama
was because acting in front of a group of people makes me pretty nervous.
Actually, being in front of people in general makes me pretty nervous. Add
anxiety to the mix and there are definitely going to be a lot of thoughts and
doubts going through my mind.
Fortunately,
just as it was for the Panama missions trip that I had the honor and the
blessing of being part of this past year, after actually doing the drama, I was
overjoyed by the fact that I did not let the fears and the doubts I imposed on
myself affect something that was used to impact the lives of so many.
Yes,
“afterward” it was amazing. During the process however, that was not the case. All
I could think about was how I could get out of that situation. So much so that
even during the run through, when I was going through my lines and finding out
how little I actually knew, I was contemplating on how I could get out of that
uncomfortable situation.
See,
sometimes we are placed in certain situations for a specific reason, but
because of our thoughts surrounded by self-doubt, fear and anxiety, they may
cause us to try and control those God
given situations.
It was because
I was nervous and unprepared (mostly because of my own doing) that I wanted to
remove myself from a place that God had called me to be. The whole time I wasn't thinking about how the situation I was in could bless another, but how it was
affecting me and how it made me feel.
I had become so
accustomed to running away due to feelings of fear, stress and anxiety;that I almost ran away from an opportunity to share
about the birth of Christ; even if it was only for brief moment.
What came to
mind as a result of this event was what I had heard a little over a week ago. I
had listened to a sermon by Steven Furtick, and though he said many profound
things throughout his preaching, there was one particular thing that he said
that stood out to me.
“Greed
always finds an excuse, generosity always finds a way.”
Just let
that sink in for a moment.
What he
meant by this was that many times we make decisions based on how they can
benefit us instead of us trying to help out another. Or, when some situations
cause us to feel uncomfortable, we decide to take the “easy” way out and
decline to help someone in need.
“No I’m
sorry, I have that thing…yeah the same thing that I always say when you ask me
for help… yeah that. Sorry, maybe next time.”
The more one
says no, the more those “next times” diminish away until they just stop coming
at all.
Being men
and women of God we should stop trying to control
certain God given moments in order to seek comfort, and instead seek to be
generous. Generosity doesn't mean saying yes to every single opportunity that comes to you, but if you are able, you should be willing. It is when we are demonstrating
generosity that were are not only being faithful to Christ, but we are being
more Christ-like.
Shortly
after the Christmas party came to a conclusion, my amazing pastor blessed me,
as well as several others, with the wonderful invitation of a spontaneous movie
night at his house.
How does this
tie in with us taking control of
situations in our lives?
Well the
first movie that we watched was “The Giver” and that film is simply amazing and
very impactful, especially when looking at it from a different lens. Just to
give a brief summary of the movie, so yes spoilers, the movie takes place in a
totalitarian society in which every aspect of each person’s individual life is controlled, monitored, and censored.
Their spouses, their jobs, and even the clothes that they wear are all
strategically selected in order for the town to be able to maintain their idea
of “sameness.” This society is also devoid of all feelings, color, music and
many things that we may take for granted in our lives.
The choices
of the citizens of this society were taken from them. They were being manipulated by the elders of the town,
because the elders felt if they gave the citizens the freedom to make their own
choices that they would chose the wrong ones every time. But that was not a
choice for any of the leaders to make on the behalf of others. If the leaders
wanted to impose those rules on themselves, that is their choice, but removing
the choices of an entire society and causing them to be oblivious to anything
and everything else that is out there goes far beyond anything that could be
considered humane or fair.
What the
elders were trying to do was play God. They were anxious, fearful, doubtful,
and stressed about what could happen because of what had happen, and as a
result, they tried to control
something that was never meant to be controlled. They were uncomfortable about
their situations, and instead of being generous, they opted for greed.
Greed only
ever benefits one person, or at least it seems that way. The person making the
choice to become greedy deceives themselves into believing that they are
helping themselves by not doing something that makes them uncomfortable, but
they are really robbing themselves of blessing someone else, and in turn
themselves.
In the movie
the elders robbed themselves of the opportunity of having a better society than
not only of those of the past, but of the one in the present. Unfortunately,
because they felt safe in the choices that
they believed that they could control, they were just hurting
themselves, lying to an entire community that trusted them, and prevented
people from living life the way that it was natural meant to be lived.
Fortunately,
there are protagonists for these types of situations.
The main
character in the movie, Jonas, the receiver of memory, was not consumed by the
greed that had dominated his elders and in turn the community. Though he had
been under the control of the leaders his entire life, after he began receiving
memories from the Giver (The previous receiver of memory), he had the knowledge
and the memories that no one else had. Through those memories, he experienced
what color was, and music, love and death. As a result he decided that he wasn't going to stop until everyone in the town knew the truth about everything
that was being withheld from them, even if it cost him his life.
Jonas could
have become complacent and greedy to try and control the climate inside of him, because of the uncertainty of
his plans, but instead he decided to be generous and selfless and gave up
everything that he knew was safe in order to bring the truth to the people he
cared so much for.
Sound
familiar?
John chapter
three verses sixteen and seventeen read,
“16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (New International
Version. Jn. 3.16-17).
God gave up everything. His one son, his one and perfect son,
in order for humanity to be saved. He counted the cost, and he knew the immense
amount of hardship that his son would endure in his life, but because God’s society was suffering so greatly
and indulging in things that that they knew not the harmful effects of, he had
to act.
It was
because God’s insurmountable love, that he generously
and freely gave his son in order to save us. He found a way in which no
other could have. The love from God is not controlled or swayed, it is freely given
out of love.
And this was
just the first movie.
As if the
first movie wasn't a blessing enough, my Pastor decided to put on another film that I had never seen before, “Jurassic Park.”
Like “The
Giver,” “Jurassic Park” had a character that also tried to play the role of God,
and just like in “The Giver” it did not end well for those trying to supersede
him. Again, just to summarize the movie, so yes more spoilers, “Jurassic Park” for
the most part, takes place on an island in Central America. One of the main antagonists,
an older gentleman by the name of John Hammond, found a way to create dinosaurs
from ancient dinosaur DNA that was recently discovered. Though many would consider
this is an amazing feat, and perhaps it was, Hammond’s reasons for bringing
back these ancient creatures was not for anyone else’s benefit other than his
own.
For one,
even though he found a way to create dinosaurs, instead of reaching out to
scientists in order to contribute to further research of these ancient animals,
he kept the secret all to himself. That is until he himself needed
something. When he thought that his park might not open because of I don’t
know, it not being safe for people, he reached out to a small group of
scientists, to persuade them into believing that the park was completely safe so
that he could get their word to back him up. He even invited his own
grandchildren to the park to prove how “safe” it was for the children.
What he was
doing was being selfish and manipulative.
His own
selfishness and greed had even influenced those around him in that very same
attitude. Dennis Nedry, the man responsible for taking down the security in the
park, thus releasing the dinosaurs, acted out of greed by trying to sell the
dinosaur DNA to another for a profit. Ultimately this did not end well for him
or for several others, but this does prove a point.
Everything
we do affects someone or something. Cause and effect.
In the case
of “Jurassic Park” Hammond’s poor decisions lead to others making equally poor
decisions, which ultimately ended up costing them more than just some money or
fame. Had Hammond demonstrated an attitude of generosity and become an
example to his peers, this entire situation could have been averted.
His greed to open an amusement park, which
was rejected because of the lack of safety of the park, led him to want to control the situation. His greed was so
severe in fact, that it led him to invite his own grandchildren in order to
prove that the park was safe, when obviously it was not. His selfishness had put the lives of his own family at risk, just for a chance of getting what he "thought" he wanted. As a result, the park
failed, and myriads of dangerous not so extinct dinosaurs escaped.Because of
this they killed several lesser characters in the film and nearly killed the
protagonists and those close to them as well.
On top of
that, Hammond was manipulating nature, and taking on a role that was never
meant for him to adopt. He was trying to bring to life what God declared as
dead millions of years ago.
How many
times in our lives do we try to control certain situations in our favor or
bring things back to life after God declared them as dead for our own good?
Like Hammond
sometimes we forget two very important things.
One that
certain things are removed from our lives for a reason and should remain that
way unless God says otherwise. And two, sometimes we forget the positions that we’re
given, and seek to either reject the responsibilities of the position we are
given, or try to excel to a higher one that was never meant for us to occupy.
Had Hammond opted
for generosity and listened and stopped trying to pursue what he was told not
to, there would have been no dinosaurs, and there would have been several more
characters that would have still been alive by the time the credits hit the
screen.
Ultimately, though
it may be easier to submit to our various feelings of doubt and inadequacy that so often bring excuses, it is always worth so much more to be generous;
for the sake of others and ourselves.
For when we
opt for generosity, we are demonstrating not greed or offering excuses, but we
are demonstrating and offering something that this world seems to lack.
Love.
Whenever I’m dealing with issues of stress and anxiety amongst other feelings trying to
influence me to make poor decisions that I think will benefit me, but really benefits
no one at all, I like to think about a specific scripture in the bible.
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me’” (New King James Version. Matt. 25.35-40).
No comments:
Post a Comment