Dale Cresap's blog

What is your central identity marker? Most people have strong commitments for both faith and politics. In some circles these topics are avoided because they can be polarizing and divisive. Which of the two occupies the top position for you? Does your faith change to accommodate your politics, or do your politics change to accommodate your faith? If you are open to growth and change then it is reasonable to expect transitions and you should know the order of your priorities so you know what direction the changes will flow.

Are you immune to the effects of advertising? Does your faith give you a solid foundation that prevents you from being swayed by messages designed for that purpose? The advertising industry is betting over a hundred billion dollars a year that you are wrong. The Bible speaks of those who are carried about by every wind of doctrine. A modern addition might include cultural trends and fads. Perhaps you are too close to the situation to judge accurately and it would take an outsider to see it clearly.

Can you read? This demanding skill is the first thing you learn in school because it opens the door for the acquisition of knowledge. Once you can read all recorded history, literature, and other written information is available to you. Are you easily threatened and heavily defended? This has the opposite effect of knowing how to read. It keeps you from being open to anything you don’t already know. If you can get over being easily threatened and heavily defended it will open doors for you in much the same manner as learning to read. There are things you don’t already know. Go find them.

Who is the gatekeeper of heaven? Do you know the way? Is it like filling out an application for a job or admission to a school? Is it like buying a ticket for a long journey? You know the way and have applied for admission. You know that your application has been accepted. Does this place you in a position to rule on the applications of other people? If they want to apply on the basis of kindness to the least of these am I able to process their application accordingly? Will you object if I rule in their favor? What would be your standing to object?

Do you know that the Bible teaches you to judge yourself? Do you think that this applies only to examining your life for sinful behavior? What about the way you view the world; your assumptions about the way things work? Your view of the world is connected to your faith. Did you receive it as a list of doctrinal positions from your church? Have you had to alter any of your positions on these matters as a result of life experience? Do you defend your positions as an extension of your identity or do you continue to subject them to judgment?

Are you knowledgeable? You acquire knowledge by study and some has more value than others. Knowledge of technical systems may help you to earn a living or derive all the benefits of available technology where knowledge of sports statistics and popular culture would not. But even knowledge that is useful may have a limited lifetime. The technology you work with can become obsolete with time and your knowledge of systems declines with age. But there is knowledge that endures. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God for the knowledge you acquire about eternal things endures forever.

Are you secure? Insecurity can come in many forms. You speak of food insecurity for the poor, but the more commonly experienced types in affluent countries are financial and emotional. You know people who secure and insecure in various ways. Is there also a spiritual form of security and insecurity? In the parable of the talents two servants took the talents entrusted to them and put them at risk and as a result increased them. The other servant buried his talent in the earth because he thought I was harsh and unfair. Do you know that I love you?

Do you view your life as a comedy or a tragedy? Or something else? These were the categories of ancient theater. The term comedy is still in common use for this, but the term tragedy is used for real world events. It is unavoidable that you will experience some suffering in life. Does this make your life a tragic story? Yet even in the ancient dramas those with tragic flaws and events could bear them with dignity and retain their character and learn from them. How do you respond to your own tragic life events? Do I sustain you in them and use them for your development and transformation?

Have you heard that accident rates go up when drivers talk on cell phones? In many areas this practice has been outlawed for this reason. Yet drivers have been talking to passengers in their cars for as long as cars have been around and this does not appear to cause a problem. What is the difference? A cell phone conversation is different from one in person because it lacks a sense of immediate presence, and this makes a real difference. Can you think of other areas in which presence is important? You do not see me, but can you sense my presence? Are you aware that I am always with you?

Are you seeking wisdom? This is a pursuit highly commended in the Bible. Do you compare it to looking for your car keys? These are vastly different activities. You expect the search for your keys to be short and focused and when you find them the search is over and you can get on to your next activity. You can expect the search for wisdom to take a lifetime. It doesn’t have a ‘eureka’ moment when that which you desire is found once and for all. Hopefully you will retain the wisdom you obtain along the way as you continue your search. Don’t be discouraged.