Dale Cresap's blog

Do you know people who are self-sufficient? This is an admired quality in your culture. Do you have it? Do you long for it? Be careful what you desire. To those who said I have grown wealthy and need nothing, I said, don’t you know that you are wretched, poor, pitiful, blind and naked? So I had a difference of opinion with the wealthy. Which of us do you think was right? How could they not see their true state? Can you conclude from this that true wealth involves connection and the knowledge that you are not self-sufficient, no matter how much money you have?

Do you view prayer as a means for obtaining things from me, or as a way of being? You can make a case for the first approach from scripture very easily. You already know the verses. What about the second approach? This may not be as obvious, and not as many people seek it, but the path is real. The Bible teaches you to pray without ceasing. You can’t speak continuously, but you can always abide. When I tell you to be still and know that I am God, do you think of it as a prayer? I told my disciples that in that day they would ask me nothing.

Have you ever used a double negative? This is questionable grammar, and your English teacher may not approve, but the concept has broader applications than written or spoken language. Do you do things because you want to? This is an affirmative explanation. But there can be a place of compulsion where you are swept away by forces greater than yourself to do things so deeply embedded that you can’t say no. Do you normally think of this as the position of the addict?

You are a citizen of a nation on earth, and also of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is not of this world. So in a sense you have dual citizenship. You have doctrine concerning your home in heaven. Do you also have political affiliation and ideology in this world? Which is more important? Do your politics follow your faith, or does your faith follow your politics? If both are fixed, then the linkage of which controls may not be obvious. If you go through a faith transition, are you prepared to revisit your political positions to make them fall in line with developments in your faith?

Do you find that believers have reputation in the secular culture at large? How highly esteemed are you because of your faith by those outside the faith? Is this association beneficial to you or not? Do you contribute to it being better or worse? Do you see a trend over time of an increase or decrease of the reputation of Christians in society? If it is declining, would you attribute it to depravity and moral decay in the surrounding culture, or would internal problems in the way the faith is practiced be a stronger factor? Is the church criticized for being too Christlike?

Joseph was privileged and arrogant, and was treated badly by his brothers as a result, but he learned his lesson and went on to advance. In this process he remained gracious and did not become bitter or resentful about the injustices he suffered. When he is finally reunited and reconciled with his brothers he forgives them and says what they meant for evil God meant for good. This was true, but his receptivity and resilience were part of the story. So Joseph had a part in turning evil into good. Is it true that I mean all things for good? Can you do your part in turning evil into good?

Have you ever heard entertaining sermons? Is this the kind that you prefer? Do you offer judgment toward those who give them, thinking that they should be serious about spiritual things? Don’t be too hard on them. I gave entertaining sermons myself. I told stories to get my points across. These were accessible at multiple levels. You understand them as illustrations of the Kingdom of God. Did the original audience understand them this way? Some truth is too profound to present as a list of assertions. Do you look for redemptive purpose in the stories you hear? Seek and you shall find. 

Do you rank people according to their value? How do you assign it? Those with a lot of money are highly admired, but perhaps you can look beyond this and other outward displays of wealth, and look at character. Do you rank people according to the fruit of the Spirit that you see expressed in their lives? Perhaps this is a better measure of evaluation, but perhaps not. It still requires you to enter into judgment and assign rankings accordingly. You hold the sanctity of life as a doctrine on the basis that all people are created in my image.

My word gives instruction on being reconciled with your brother. You are to go to him rather than to others, and to resolve the difference on the smallest possible scale; not escalating the matter unless your brother will not hear you. Is there a still smaller scale than just the two of you? It wouldn’t seem possible, but what if the offense between you is the result of unhealed wounds within yourself? This is common enough that I told you to remove the beam from your own eye before you assisted your brother in removing the speck from his eye.

Have you ever heard of all men referred to as gentlemen, as in the phrase, ladies and gentlemen? This is a polite form of address, but have you found that not all men are gentle? Is gentleness even admired as a masculine trait? It should be at least in the sense of not being threatening to women and children. How much beyond that? Is your concept of masculinity formed by your culture or by universal enduring principles? Can you conceive of a masculinity that is gentle and at the same time strong, courageous, and fearless? If you are a man, can you practice it?