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Aug 22 2012
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Christianity, Politics, Religion, Undeserved Privilege

Undeserved Privilege

There was a recent article on yahoo about the wealthiest congressmen/women that are currently in office.  These hundreds-of-millionaires were listed as the election process draws closer at hand.  There has also been the constant discussion of GOP candidate Mitt Romney and his über bank account.  In reality, in order to hold a public office you must have a lot of personal wealth.  In fact, of the 44 presidents only 9 were not millionaires.  Yet was is ironic is the ever-increasing chatter of people saying that those running for office are of privilege; privilege in the sense that it is somewhat undeserved.

The idea that privilege as a negative is somewhat of a paradox, isn’t it?  Don’t we all strive to be a person of privilege?  If we were truly honest about it, we are all of privilege…underserved privilege.

When we think of privilege, we usually think about money.  However, true undeserved privilege does not stop or even begin with money.  For me, as a Christ-follower, I am a person of underserved privilege.  Romans 5:2 (NLT) reminds us,

“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

Undeserved privilege begins with Christ.  More often than not we lose sight of this fact and jump directly to money and “things” as the primary distinguishing line.  However, what is lost is this fact,

Undeserved privilege is a humbling experience.  

To be “undeserved” means that someone else is acting on our behalf.  We don’t deserve it; whatever it might be, but it was given to us anyways.  This ups the ante for us that have received.  The adage, “To whom much is given, much is required,” rings true.  When we experience the undeserved privilege of Christ’s mercy and grace, irrational generosity, sacrificial responsibility, and spiritual and tangible contribution becomes the norm.

To be a person of “undeserved privilege” starts with being open to receive, and then turns into being freely to give.

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May 02 2012
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Budget, Colbert Report, Money, Morality, Politics

Budgeting Morality

After getting rid of Direct TV and then cable, my wife and I have now been using Hulu for all of our Television experiences.  Most mornings, I get up and turn on The Colbert Report, hosted by Stephen Colbert.  In my opinion, this is probably one of the most cleverly written shows as well as executed shows on the air.  There is always satirical banter from Colbert that usually promises semi-equal jabs for the right and the left on the political spectrum.

On last nights show, Colbert had a Georgetown University’s Priest named, Thomas Reese on the show to talk about the Catholic view of Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget proposal.  Not having seen the entire proposal and only going with what was said on the show, Rand’s proposal was described as the typical republican proposal: removal of funding for low-income programs and cuts for the corporate businesses/wealthy.

Regardless of whether that is an accurate description or not, or whether you think one way or the other about how America should go about economic growth and sustainability, what was interesting about this interview was what Thomas Reese said about the budget being a form of morality:

“We believe that a budget is a moral document.  It represents the values of a country, of a nation…“

I thought that this above statement was very interesting because when I think about it, there is a lot of truth to this statement.  Most of the time we probably don’t think of a budget as a moral statement or document, but for (I’m making generalizations here) democrats/liberals there is a sense of great moral responsibility to take care of the poor through government programs; even to the point of redistributing wealth.  On the other side, republications (generalization once again) tend to have a great sense of moral responsibility when it comes to abortion and marriage.  Both of these are not only important, but also moral causes.  When we look at those perspectives of moral responsibility that both sides of the political spectrum take, budgeting very much becomes a moral issue.

Now we could argue on and on about what is right, wrong, moral, and immoral when it comes to any and all political parties.  The real questions that we must ask ourselves is,

“Does my budget show my morality?”

One of the best ways that I have heard a budget described is from Dave Ramsey.  He says that a budget is you telling your money where it is going.  Since we tell our money where it is going in a budget, “How are you budgeting your morality?”  

One thing is true about government and also true about you and me is the fact that we can tell a lot about what is important and what we value in where our money goes.  The important part of the process is not looking to the right or to the left. but rather looking in the mirror (and looking at a spreadsheet) to access whether your money is representing what you value…what you view to be a moral imperative.

It is very easy to get caught up in the political jargon of what the left is doing wrong, or what the right is doing wrong, but what about what we, as individuals are doing wrong?  Our disgust of the government and political system will not change anything or even have a positive impact on our own lives.  In fact, we end up deceiving ourselves into feeling superior to “those” on the left or “those” on the right as we continue to forge headlong into our own stagnant moral compass that would rather argue than live out what we believe.

Living out what we believe, means budgeting morality in our lives.  If God is important to your life, then your budget includes tithing.  If charity is important, then giving to the poor or underprivileged is a part of your budget.  If family is important, then savings, insurance (life, health, etc.) are in your budget.  Don’t let your money dictate where your life will go.

We get to tell our money what is important.  Why live any other way?

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Apr 23 2012
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Christianity, Fair, Politics, Unfair

Fair and Unfair

There seems to be an ever-increasing level of verbiage going around that basically says, “That’s not fair.”  We hear it in politics from candidates running for offices, “convincing” the people that they are not “getting their fair share.”  We see it in businesses and workers trying to “fight” for what is “right” and “fair” for compensation.  All the while, this idea of fairness negates personal responsibility and a basic understanding that “FAIR” and “UNFAIR” are in the eyes of the beholder.

I, more than anyone perhaps, like things to be fair.  I am a competitor, so I like to know the rules and boundaries and for everyone to play fair.  The problem with this mindset is when we bring it to the business world and quite simply, life.  You see, the rules and boundaries of a sport don’t stop someone one else from having greater talent and abilities in a game.  However, what we have done on a societal level, is trying to make things “equal” or “fair.”  We somehow have come to believe that because someone was born into a wealthier family, or had better “luck” or more opportunities than we have ,then that is somehow that is unfair, and they should be somewhat punished for it.  Why?  Because it isn’t fair.

We all can think of people who have had more opportunity, better talents, and just an overall “better” experience with life than what we have.  And yet we typically resent these people, don’t we?  We say, “Well, if I had their opportunities, their money, their talents, their luck, etc, then I would be like them too!”  Why are we making an excuse for not being at our best, by comparing ourselves to someone else?  The reverse of this is also true, but we go the opposite direction.  Those that are “lower,” less successful haven’t had bad luck or fewer opportunities, but rather they “have made bad decisions,” haven’t they?  Is that fair?

Once again, fair and unfair are always in the eyes of the beholder.  The amazing thing is that God actually speaks about this.  In Matthew 20, Jesus give the parable of the workers.  Essentially there is a vineyard owner, and he hires people throughout the day for a set wage.  Except at the end of the day, the men that were hired and only worked a short time, received the same amount as those who had been working all day.  What’s the response of the men who worked all day?  ”Hey, that’s not fair!” (my paraphrase).

This is the remarkable thing about Jesus’ message:  Jesus did not come to make things fair, but rather unfair.

Fair for all of us would be death.  Fair would be destruction.  Fair would be separation from God.  When it comes to God, the last thing that we want to fairness…I want what is unfair; grace and mercy.

My challenge for all of us is this: when we look and view our lives and the lives of others, let’s try not to look at what is fair or even, but rather let’s take a look at what God has given us, and compare ourselves to the best versions of ourselves.  You are not responsible to make things fair, but you are responsible for what you have been given.  Let’s not stop our lives to complain about what is “unfair” and forsake the our own responsibilities.  Fairness can never be the end goal.  It wasn’t for Jesus…thank God for that.

 

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Mar 06 2012
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Christianity, Politics

Politics and the Christian Attitude

The political juggernauts are in full swing today.  Today is the day where 10 states will cast their votes in the GOP primary to see who will be the next candidate for the presidency of the United States.  You never know what issues will sway the votes of the undecided, independent, or mass electorate that have made their minds up from the beginning.

I have always enjoyed politics, government, and US history.  I have always been of the belief that those who do not know the past are doomed to repeat it.  Doomed might not be the most accurate word, simply because not all of the decisions of the past are negative.  In the culture of 24 hour media, the history of the candidates is widely known, dissected, and replayed over and over for the electorate to decide if the replay is agreeable or disagreeable.  What do we look for in a candidate?  This answer is about as varied as the amount of people you ask.

This is true also for Christians throughout the United States.  Now for those who are expecting me to create a list for Christians to review and think about, you will be disappointed.  I am neither naive enough, nor proud enough to think that my list should dictate your thoughts.  I am also aware that when it comes to politics, people have a way of making up their minds way before entering a discussion.  Instead, I want to give you food for thought as you engage the political spectrum as Christians.

In their 2007 book, UnChristian, authors David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons (from Barna Research) tackle the subject of what the perception of “outsiders” to the Christian faith think about evangelical Christians.  In their research, many topics came up to the forefront, one finding being that Christians are “too political”.  The perception:

“Christians are primarily motivated by a political agenda and promote right-wing politics.”

Before everyone jumps off the ledge and begins the attack, the research shows that “outsiders” do not believe that Christians don’t have a right or responsibility to be active in politics.  In fact, “Many outsiders clarified that they believe Christians have a right (even an obligation) to pursue political involvement, but they disagree with our methods and our attitudes.”

I think that this is an important issue to think about as Christians.  Everything we do must come back to the purpose of Christianity.  The purpose of Christianity is not to win elections, but win souls to Christ.  What has happened in American Christian culture is that “American Christians” have become political “tools–at the expense of their own image and message.”  In other words, to outsiders, the message of Christ has gotten lost in the political process.

Christians have mistakenly sold the power of the Holy Spirit to effect the world around them, and have bought into the lie that legislative power is the way to change culture.  Legislative authority and laws are, in essences, the rules that have been needed because people have lost the spiritual soul that God has given.  Outside laws do not change the inside spirit.  Christianity is about people, the souls, the lives that walk in and out of our businesses, schools, and homes.  We must live out the words, “be the change that we wish to see in the world.”

In politics, finding problems is the easiest thing in the world to do.  Christians must be the ones finding solutions.  We must get away from be enamored with the flash of political verbiage, political promises, and political expectations.  ”We must realize that our political activism, if expressed in an unChristian manner, prevents a new generation from seeing Christ.”

Christians must be politically involved, but we must not forget the purpose of the Christian faith.  ”It is a huge mistake to become married to an ideology, because the greatest enemy of the gospel is ideology.  Ideology is a man-made format of how the world ought to work, and Christians instead believe in the revealed truth of Scripture.”

It is my belief that if Christians want to actually see the soul revolution in the United States today, it will not start with impacting politics…it will start with impacting people.  It starts by coming up with Biblical solutions to our worlds problems.  We must realize that our personal influence with our families, friends and co-workers have more power and impact than a single vote.

Yes, engage in the political process.  Go and vote.  But don’t forget about the purpose of the Christian faith; it is not politics, but rather loving God and loving others.  Lets have our attitudes reflect this when we engage people in the political system.

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Nov 09 2011
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Authentic, Change, Democrats, Election, GOP, ideas, Obama, Passion, Politics

Election Cycles and Ideas

So another election cycle is over.  Wait, what?  Yeah, the elections were held throughout the nation yesterday, but we didn’t hear a whole lot about them, because we have already focused on 2012.  This is probably the 3rd time that I have not voted in an election.  Not to say that I am proud to help make up the 18-29 year old age group that consistently doesn’t vote, but there are life issues that do happen that makes voting really tough.

Having a degree in Political Science  from the University of Kentucky (Go Cats!), I have always liked government, politics and history.  However, I think the more and more I see of politicians (from both sides of the aisle), I wonder what outcomes these elections mean?   Depending on the side you talk to, one will say it is an indication that the President is on the right track.  To the other, it is not an indication that the President is on the right track, but rather districts and states that have traditionally voted a particular way.  Politicizing the votes that they desire is rather funny.

The hardest part about politics is the desire to be seen as authentic, and yet not really being authentic.  Another hard part is the desire to hide, cover, or keep out of the public view the simple understanding that mistakes have happened in the past.  We all have them right?  Somehow politicians and even the voters are fooled every election cycle to believe that being authentic is being squeaky clean; that authenticity is perfection.

The crazy thing about elections as well is the belief that the extremes need motivating.  The extremes of both parties are always motivated…they don’t need any more motivation.  Elections are about the undecided.  And those are few and far between if we are really honest.  Even more crazy is the fact that we want to sway people who have no particular stand on issues.  The undecideds are the same undecideds year after year.  So politicians strategies about what issue is the important issue to sway the undecided.

And yet the issues have less to do about whether an undecided will vote for a particular person or not.  Voters look to the individual.  Can they trust them?  Are they the most authentic?  And when they find the person that they believe in, they vote that way.

I am not directly opposed to this type of voting, because you have to feel like you can trust your leader, but trust in a leader generally needs some sort of foundation.  Over the last 20 years there has been shift in the foundation.  I am not going to argue whether is it good or not, because it just is what it is.  There is a shift in GOP voting as well as Democrats.  What “is important” has changed in people’s minds.

So another election cycle is down and we are left wondering what changes will take place.  We wait wondering, and yet in the past 20 years we recognize the change.  Although change has happened because of the leaders we elect, I think there is far greater change that has occurred simply out of circumstance and belief in ideas.  Circumstances will always arise; from unseen wars, economic crisis, etc.  But the most change comes from ideas.  Ideas that spread like fire across the prairie.  President Obama’s slogan while running in ’08 was “Change we can believe in”, and yet the people changed it to “Yes we can.”  This was not a decision made by politicians, but rather the idea of people who changed what was a simple statement into action.

The point is this:  Election cycles are important.  It is important who we elect.  But don’t forget where real change comes from.  Change comes from the ideas and foundations that move people to action.  When a politician realizes this, they will be tough to beat because authenticity will flow out of them, and they won’t care about the rhetoric of perfection.  They will strive to push their idea(s) out of obligation to help others, out of obligation to bring change, out of obligation to themselves.

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