Dale Cresap's blog

Do you have a personal training program? For economy of effort education is usually conducted in a classroom where all the students get the same lesson. One-on-one instruction, known as tutoring, is more expensive to provide, but in recent times the availability of on-line content makes it possible to tailor instruction to a student individually. Are you led by the Spirit? How do you perceive this? I have promised to perfect that which concerns you, and to lead and guide you in the way of righteousness. Do you see it as inherent in salvation to be transformed into my likeness?

Have you ever wanted to be your own boss? If you struggle with the boss you currently have, then perhaps you think you could do better. If you talk to people who are self-employed, you will find that everyone is their boss. Is it easier to please one person selected and promoted for this purpose, or to please everyone? It is written that it is not within a man who walks to direct his own steps. Do you value your liberty? How conscious are you of your need for outside direction? It is also written that no man can serve two masters. Happy are those who have one master who is benevolent.

Have you heard the old saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? This implies that observation is not entirely objective and there is eternal truth in this. Several people can watch the same event and see different things, so it is not reasonable to expect a single dispassionate account of what happened, and even science recognizes that events are influenced by observation. What is in your eyes? Are you disposed to see beauty where others see ugliness? Could your ability to see beauty be a creative act that brings forth beauty? He who has eyes to see, let him see.

Have you ever been a prisoner? Can you think of anything more shameful and humiliating? If there is one thing that is a stronger indicator for comparing people than any other, wouldn’t it be whether they had the liberty to move around at will, or not? Most believers have never been prisoners, although if you were you would be in good company with people like Joseph, Paul, Bonhoeffer, and of course myself. Do you think these were shameful experiences for them?

Do you consider church to be a place of dignity? This term has multiple meanings, and some are appropriate, such as the recognition of the intrinsic worth of every person. But David danced before me with all his might, and his wife made a sarcastic comment that he was undignified. He replied that he would be more undignified. Is ecstatic dance a routine and accepted form of worship in your church? Note that I was pleased with David and not with his wife. Could you enlarge your understanding of dignity to include worship that involves movement? Are you prepared to be more undignified?

What do you see in the world? Woe and sorrow and affliction and injustice? You don’t have to look very hard to find these things. What is your response to them? Are you filled with woe and sorrow out of sympathy for those afflicted? But you are called to be joyful. How can these seemingly contradictory things be reconciled? You are not called to be joyful because of your brother’s affliction but in spite of it. Your misery would not assist him. Who normally performs a rescue of one in distress? Is it someone who is also in distress or not?

Have you heard of people whose life is not their own? This is the price of fame, and celebrities and holders of high political office lead managed lives under public scrutiny. This description may not apply to you, but be careful what you wish for, because the cost is real. Yet perhaps this applies to you more than you think. Have I not described you as being bought with a price? Therefore your life is not your own either. In the case above this is the price of being involved in something larger than yourself.

Is your faith entirely intellectual? My commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Including the mind in this list clearly states that there is an intellectual dimension to your faith. But is there more to it than reading and listening and thinking? The other terms in the list imply that there is, that your love for me can involve every aspect of your being. What can you do that would demonstrate your love for me with your strength? Is loving me with your heart more than an intangible feeling?

Have you heard of people described as having an iron will? Are you one of these? Is this a trait that you find admirable? Those who do would say that this is resolute and steadfast. Those who do not would refer to it as stubborn and pig-headed. Whether this is admirable or not depends on what you are committed to. If your interests are selfish or evil then your resolve works against the greater good.

Do you view vulnerability as weakness? But vulnerability is a prerequisite for growth and creativity. It is exposure to risk, but some risks must be taken to move ahead. Can you be known if you don’t express who you are in a real undefended way? Yet you cannot be vulnerable with everyone, for some will mistake your openness for weakness and attack. Beware of those who will respond with judgment, condemnation, exploitation, and abuse. Think of this as an opportunity to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.