Dale Cresap's blog

Are you generous? The world runs on money, and this influence is present in the church as well, where stewardship is a euphemism for giving, and it is reduced to one dimension measured in dollars. I have given some people more financial resources than I have given to others, and of whom much is given much is required, but does that make them more generous than others? I want you to think of generosity in terms of generosity of spirit, which is a larger and more extensive view of which money is just a part. How many dimensions of generosity are present in your life?

Have you heard it said that anything you say can and will be used against you? This concept isn’t limited to those who are arrested. You know intuitively who you can trust with information that could be damaging to you, and who will use it against you. Yet if you don’t share it with anyone it will be damaging to you by keeping it inside. As a part of your own inner work you need people you can confide in. who can you choose? Start with those who are doing their own inner work for this puts them in a position to show empathy and mercy.

Have you heard of some churches being criticized for being too emotional? Perhaps you have done this yourself. Have you ever heard of a church being criticized for being too intellectual? The conventional view is that emotional responses are easy to generate in the moment but they do not endure. Then what is the best approach to bringing about enduring change in people? Emotions are a valid part of human experience, and if they are not engaged, then the whole person is not engaged. The more dimensions of the person that are involved, the better, and all contribute to transformation.

Are you looking for my return? There are many passages in scripture to encourage you to do so. To those who love my appearing, to hastening the day of my return, to what manner of life you should live knowing that I will be back. Do you have a scenario in mind as to how this will occur? This is not as bad as setting dates, but many people have constructed elaborate sequences of events concerning this throughout history and none has proven to be correct so far. The admonitions to watch for me do not give detailed schedules.

Would you rather trip over a rock or have a rock fall on you? Neither choice may be attractive, but one is clearly a lower risk than the other. This is true even though when I proposed these alternatives, I said that the one who falls on the rock would be broken. The choices were presented in such a way as to imply that these were the only ones available. Does this sound like a dilemma between being broken and crushed? Have you known people who were broken and yet lived lives that were full and abundant?

Are people eager to confide in you? Do you see this as gossip or not? If they only confide their own issues then it is not, but if it concerns other people it could be. You have heard that those who gossip to you will gossip about you, so you should be wary of second hand accounts of the faults of others, and there is another consideration. People are quite adept at knowing who is a receptive audience for what information, and if they have identified you as one who is eager to hear gossip you shouldn’t think of it as a compliment.

Have you ever experienced a miracle? Do you know anyone who has? What are your criteria for determining if something is a miracle? For some it must be a direct contradiction of natural laws. Others are willing to regard multiple unlikely favorable concurrent events as miracles, and the timing is part of the process. Regardless of your definition, do you acknowledge that I can intervene in your world in ways that do not pass the criteria for a miracle? For the definitions are yours rather than mine.

Do you know any social justice warriors? Are you one? I had every reason to be. My homeland was occupied and there were plenty of injustice issues around to choose from. But you can see from my life that I gave very little emphasis to these issues. I had a core message about the Kingdom of God and that was my primary emphasis. When pressed on the matter I said that my Kingdom was not of this world, and that the Kingdom of God is within you. I was demonstrating to my followers that my message could thrive in any circumstances.

Do you practice the pursuit of happiness? In some countries this is a central value enshrined in the founding documents. Yet have you found happiness to be elusive as a goal? Have you seen people putting ever more effort into pursuing it only to end up with less and less? Perhaps happiness is better obtained as the byproduct of a good life rather than a primary goal. Is this the way you would describe the happiest people you know?

Do you pursue excellence? For what reason? Do you do it because you believe in the value of what you are doing and want it to be your best effort? Or is it because people are watching and you want to make a good impression? You know which of these is the ‘right’ answer, but don’t be quick to assume that you are not influenced by the opinion of others. Do you put the same effort forth if you know that no one else will ever know as you do the value of your work?