Dale Cresap's blog

Do you feel free to bash other faiths? There is a level of essential disagreement with those who hold different world views, and these are points at which you may not yield or compromise. But you can agree to disagree agreeably, and be respectful in your differences. You can do this without invective or attack. You have observed those who make it a personal crusade to denigrate other faiths by any means available. Do you think that this advances the cause of truth? Do you have any record of me doing this?

Do you live is a society with rigid social castes and classes? In these situations everyone knew where they belonged in the order and considered it their destiny to remain there. Fortunately these absolute barriers to upward mobility are becoming rare. Yet even without the rigid assignments you cannot assume that you live in a classless society. You still know who is above and below you, and they know it too. Do you try to obtain favor with those above you and hold yourself aloof from those below?

I taught you to be angry and not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. This does not require you to be angry, but it does require you to limit the duration of it if you are angry. Can you do better yet? Depending on the time of day you are offended, you could claim several hours of righteous anger. But how righteous is your anger? How often does your anger work for redemptive purposes? Find a way to transform your anger into a righteous response, or let it go. You don’t have to wait until sundown to do this. The sooner you can let go of your anger the better.

Do you want to hear my voice? I promised that you would, and my motivation for you to hear me is greater than yours. Since I know everything, you can ask me anything, but some inquiries are better than others. Do you want to have detailed plans about your own future? Do you want to have special insider knowledge of future events such as the end of the ages? What about definitive answers to long-standing doctrinal disputes? Don’t make this difficult for me. Don’t ask me to give you a burden that you can’t bear. I have so many other things to tell you.

There is a popular approach to life that can be described as eat, drink, and be merry. Sometimes the reasoning behind this is adding in saying, for tomorrow we die. Many people follow this path of enjoyment, but find that it is an incomplete and unsatisfying approach to life. If you fail to interact and commit yourself to being a positive influence in the world and on others around you, then you will not be missed when you are gone. Do you look forward to an eternity in heaven?

A teacher asked a student what he was drawing and he said a picture of God. But, the teacher replied, no one knows what God looks like. They will when I’m done said the student. This expression of overconfidence is amusing, but there is a serious principle behind it. Do you see your own life as drawing a picture of me? Those who observe your actions will consider whether they give an accurate picture of me, or will draw accurate or inaccurate conclusions about me based on them. What kind of picture are you drawing? When you are done, will people know what I look like?

Do you think that taking the Bible literally is the only respectable position for serious believers? Consider my words to my disciples to beware of the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees. They thought I made this statement because we were out of bread. I chided them for their little faith and inability to comprehend transcendent truth. In other words I chided them for taking my words literally. You have encountered people who can see no meaning beyond the surface. This is not something to strive for, but neither is explaining away the plain meaning of eternal truth.

Do you know people that you would describe as sensitive? Are they discerning of the hurts and needs of other people, or does their sensitivity extend only to things that bother them? Empathy, sympathy, and compassion are highly regarded qualities in every faith tradition, including your own. But in them all it is implied that they extend outward to others rather than being consumed internally. If you can apply these qualities toward others more than yourself then the more sensitive you are the better you are able to discern and minister to the needs of others.

I promised that those who would seek would find, and also that those who continued in my word would know the truth and be free. What do you seek? You do well to seek the truth, but many who think they are seeking the truth are really seeking to win arguments and assert themselves. These are incompatible goals, and if you are serious about pursuing one you must be willing to release the other. Real seekers are known for their humility, being quick to hear, determined to reflect, and slow to judge.

Are there issues you feel strongly about? Perhaps spreading my message is one of them, and you may have others. Can you express your passion and your humanity at the same time? For if you have to sacrifice your humanity to express your passion you will end up harming your cause rather than advancing it, and this applies to my cause as much as any other. Have you heard that tone of voice and non-verbal communication have more impact than your actual words? You can make this principle work in your favor rather than against you. Let your words of grace be spoken with grace.