Tag: Arguing

Putting Others First

9 Comments

This week we wrap up our series, Who Do You Want to Be, by talking one more time about the kind of lifestyle we need to live if we are going to be ready for Jesus’ return and the transition of this world to the next. Because that kingdom is defined by the character of our God, reflecting His character is going to be key to our living in it. And one of the things that is absolutely central to God’s character is His constantly putting others first. Living ready for His kingdom means doing the same in our own lives. One of the best calls to this kind of a lifestyle came in a conversation Jesus had with the disciples. Let’s explore this together.

Putting Others First

One of my favorite cartoons from my high school days was Disney’s Recess. It ran for an impressive 10 seasons and even had a couple of feature-length movies to its name. The thing that made Recess so magical was how it captured the innocence, optimism, hope, and wonder of that special time in every elementary kid’s life. It may have only lasted for 20 minutes out of an entire day, but it was pretty unfailingly…well…magical. Do you remember playing on the playground at school when you were growing up? I think what I remember most about that time was playing kickball. All the boys would gather in the corner of the playground with a ball, split up into teams, and then argue for the next 15 minutes about the rules before we finally got a little bit of playtime in. 

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Mark 3:22-24

Leave a comment

“The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and, ‘He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.’ So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.’” (CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been so upset that you didn’t realize what you were saying? You said things and made charges and didn’t give the first consideration to how little sense you were making. It’s a little scary to see someone get that angry, let alone actually hit the mark yourself. It’s also a little funny when you get to watch from afar. In this case it was a lot sad too. Jesus had so gotten under the skin of the Pharisees they were resorting to making wild, offensive charges that didn’t even make sense. And Jesus called them on it.

Continue reading “Digging in Deeper: Mark 3:22-24” →

Morning Musing: 1 Peter 2:15

Leave a comment

“For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When was the last time you saw a post on social media that was so wrong you felt like it was your moral duty to correct it? Perhaps just this morning. There are a lot of people out there who are just ignorant, aren’t there? Of course, it may be the case that someone else has read something you posted and felt the same way. That’s not quite so comfortable a thought. Let’s shift subjects a bit. As followers of Jesus, we live in a world that seems increasingly intolerant of our faith all the time. And much of that vitriol seems to be expressed on social media…where we want to correct it. And we’re back to that again. Okay then, what should we do about it?

Read the rest…

How to Talk to Dummies

Leave a comment

In this second part of our series, Hard to Love, we’re shifting gears from why we should love the hard to love people in our lives (because God does) to how to become the kind of people who can do that. Sometimes we find ourselves hopelessly divided from the people around us on the biggest issues of life. If we’ll let these two things be our guide, we will find a way forward.

How to Talk to Dummies

Have you ever tried arguing with a wall?  I know that’s kind of a silly question, but humor me.  How would it work arguing with a wall?  Well, as long as you take the position that the wall should stand there holding up the roof and dividing one space from another, it’ll go pretty well.  You’ll win.  Piece of cake.  Now, if you were to take any other position than that things probably wouldn’t go so well for you.  Okay, if you were to bring a sledgehammer to the argument things would probably go in your direction by sheer matter of force, but beyond that, if you were to take up a position other than the wall was taking the two of you would simply not reach any sort of agreement or even a happy medium. 

Read the rest…