It's Better to Try and Fail

First, a few words from Kanye:

I woke up this morning, I said my prayers
I'm all good, then I tried to talk to my dad 
Give him some advice, he starts spazzin' on me
I start spazzin' back, he said "That ain't Christ-like"
I said, "Aaaaagghh"

The struggle is real. It’s very rare for someone to actually notice and tell you that you are being Christlike. But when you’re trying to be Christlike, it’s very common for people to tell you you’re not being Christlike. Somehow our society sees it as better to not even try to be Christlike at all, than to try to be Christlike and not get it right all the time. When this happens I want to scream with Kanye: “Aaaagghh!”

• True Christlikeness is the actual goal of Christianity.

• True Christlikeness is and always will be the remedy for our ailing world. 

• True Christlikeness was God’s goal in creating humanity in the first place.

So, what is true Christlikeness?

One of my friends says being like Christ is being a “non-anxious presence in the world.” It would be great if Christians became that in their homes, workplaces and all the in-between activities.  

Another way I have heard Jesus described is, “love in the flesh.” It would be wonderful if Christians became that in their relationships, and in the pockets of society where pain, fear and injustice seem to reign. 

As for us at Living Streams, we are currently spending time unpacking the way “familymatters.net” describes the heart of Jesus. True greatness, or true Christlikeness, is having a humble heart, a servant heart, a grateful heart, and a generous heart.  

So, how can my soul be formed to be more Christlike? 

In John 15 Jesus made it very simple for us. He said, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will bear much fruit.” So, basically, if you want to be more like Christ, then you spend time with Christ. As you spend time with Christ, you will find yourself being formed and shaped by the words of Christ. The next thing you know, you will be living and loving more like Christ. In the process of time, you will most assuredly fail, or fall short. However, it is truly better for you—and for our world—that you try and fail, rather than to not try at all. 

• If you want to become a more non-anxious presence, then spend time with the Prince of Peace.

• If you want to become more loving in your relationships, then spend time with Jesus, who is love.

• If you want to be more humble, helpful, grateful, and generous, spend time with the Servant of All, who gave it all for you and me.

David

A Beautiful Heart

I’m a bit of a kleptomaniac in one area of my life. No, I’m not into stealing cars, stealing from the government, or picking pockets. And I’m not talking about stealing candy (like when my eighth-grade friends and I went on a two-week stealing spree at 7-Eleven and Woolworths). 

I’m talking about the fine art of stealing words. And my problem with “word thieving” is so profound it may even be affecting the way I speak.

People ask me about my accent all the time. When I tell those people I was born and raised in Arizona they are usually a bit surprised—and thoroughly disappointed. But I think my accent is connected to my word stealing. When I hear people say words that inspire or awaken, I don’t just want to steal the words, I also want to steal the way the person said the words. I think it’s a subconscious attempt to incorporate into my own speech the way the words sounded to me. Some call it an accent—but it is probably more like schizophrenic speech. 

For our next sermon series at Living Streams Church I am once again stealing some words. The source is a nonprofit organization called “Family Matters.”  I first heard these words grouped together when I heard a talk given by the founders of Family Matters at Phoenix Seminary. 

What the founders were teaching is this: True greatness comes from having a Humble Heart, a Servant Heart, a Grateful Heart, and a Generous Heart. I have been “chewing on that” ever since I heard it. I even bought my daughters heart boxes; and for a while, I would give them a heart sticker whenever I saw them demonstrate one of these types of hearts. 

People often search to know who they are and how they can be better. The enneagram is really helpful at teaching us about personality and the pitfalls connected with our own. The Myers-Briggs personality test will teach us about what drains us and what fills our tanks. The Strengths Finder test can help us know the good we have to offer humanity. But these “four hearts” make the deeper magic that lives underneath our personality and can cause us to shine.

Sunday, November 10, we’ll begin a sermon series that will peel back the confusion in our culture, silence the incessant banter of our society, and study the beautiful heart of Jesus—so humble, helpful, grateful, and generous.

David