What Defines You

One night I was having a bible study with a few friends. One of the topics of discussion was the upcoming school year and the various things that we do that will keep us involved in the school athletics. Chris Orr, sports editor for the newspaper, was part of the group and we were talking about the games that we will cover for the newspaper. Bill Christner was also among us and he was asked if he was going to work in the press booth again. He answered that he was not going to this year. It was not the answer that the asker expected to hear. He was shocked to hear that Bill was not going to be in the booth. The asker followed up with they typical question, “Why?”
Bill’s response opened up a view to what is important to him, “It's not something that I need to do. That is not what defines me.”
His answer gives an unfortunate commentary on what society values as opposed to what a true believer values.
Society states that we are defined by our occupations. Whatever our job is, determines the value that we have to society. Doctors, lawyers, schoolteachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public service jobs are considered to be great jobs. They hold these jobs in higher esteem as opposed to a ditch digger, construction worker, circulation manager of a newspaper, or any other lesser jobs. Yet, without ditch diggers, towns would flood. Without construction workers, buildings and roads would not be built. Our occupations should not define us.
Society also states that if you make a certain amount of money that you should be held in high regard. Politicians do everything they can to get a celebrity to endorse them. The media promotes celebrity activism. Sean Penn, Michal J Fox, Cheryl Crow, and Oprah Winfrey all were brought to the forefront during the recent election. One study showed that two days prior to the election, and subsequently up to the election, the media showed more commercials featuring the celebrities than the candidate they supported. The downside to this is that it makes ourselves, those not in the limelight, less important, even to our own thoughts.
Are these the things that define us? Alternatively, is there something else? When we get past the money and the professions, what defines us? Some will answer it is our family/marriage that defines us. This response gives society a moral ground on which to stand. When truly backed into a corner, this is the humanist answer: our marital status and our family define us. The problem is that it states that people who are married are more important than people that are not married. Those who have children are more important that those who do not have children. This thought discounts those that remain single for religious purposes similar to priests and nuns. The thought also makes those that are unable to conceive because of medical reasons feel inferior.
The way we should be defined is not by our occupation, our income, and even our marital status. What defines us is our relationship to our Father in heaven. “And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life.” (1 Corinthians 7:17 The Message). God will define us. The question that you must ask yourself, “What defines me?”

Youthful Exuberance

This time of year is always exciting for the citizens of Dickinson county and specifically the ones who live in Abilene. The parade, fair, rodeo and everything else associated with the fair brings about a much anticipated excitement. I know people of all ages enjoy the fair, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone that enjoys the fair as much as the young children. They approach the fair with uninhibited enthusiasm and excitement. I had a first hand experience with the thrill that children have with the parade and fair.
I watched the parade with my family. We had managed to find a clearing on third street between Broadway and Spruce. When the parade turned the corner at Buckeye and Third, my daughter noticed the horses. She let out a little shriek of laughter. She then started to pat her knee, trying to get them to come to her. Throughout the rest of the parade, she had a huge smile on her face. She even figured out that if you wave at the people, they'll throw candy! She was having a great time. That all paled in comparison to when we attended the fair.
The first place we went to was the rabbit and chicken barn. She was in animal heaven. When she was able to pet the rabbits, she let out a shriek of excitement. She would laugh and reach out again to touch the rabbit. As we left the rabbits and chickens, she started blowing them kisses.
Every barn we went to, brought forth a shriek of excitement and joy. Whether we were visiting the horses, cows, pigs, sheep or goats, she was happy to be there.
What about church? Are you that excited when it comes to going to church? Are you that excited when it comes to worship? Are you that excited about Jesus? We are told that we must become like little children in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven, “And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3 NIV).
There is a specific word found in the Bible for that type of excitement. The word in Hebrew is Halal and it is generally translated as “Praise”, yet that does a disservice to the word. One part of the definition is, “foolishly clamoring, youthful exuberance.” It is where we get the English word “Hallelujah”. This can be described as the type of praise that David did when he danced before the ark. He was excited and was praising God for the return of the ark.
Somewhere along the way, we feel that church, worship, and praise should be low key. We enter a service very mellow and lower our emotions and feelings from there.
Christians need a worship attitude adjustment. We should be more excited over Jesus than we do over the Super Bowl. We should be more excited over church than we do the World Series. We should be more excited over worship than we do the Final Four. If you're not excited for Christ, the church or worship, how do you expect other to be. We need to become like children and let the youthful exuberance show.