Reigning Cats or Dogs?

We have two kittens, now about 5 months old. The girl is "Sam" and the boy is "Luigi" or "King Louis the 16th"(which had a ring to it, despite the tragic circumstances of said king's demise), depending on which side of the Italian/French border you prefer. In spite of such fascinating names, the cats are inevitably referred to as "the boy cat" or "the girl cat."

It has been said that "dogs have owners, and cats have staff." Nothing epitomizes this maxim more vividly than watching my son Michael's voluntary servitude to whatever might be the kitten's pleasure. Bob Sjogren, in his book "Cat & Dog Theology" expands on the comparison between cats and dogs to describe the importance of adopting an accurate perpective on the meaning of life.

Bob argues that you get "dog" and "cat" people. Dog people view life as follows: "He loves me, died for me and he answers when I call his name, He must be God!" Cat people think differently: "He loves me, died for me and he answers when I call his name. I must be God!"

For Cat Christians, the ultimate reason behind all existence is their own benefit and blessing. Nothing makes sense or is worth fighting for if it doesn't ultimately promote my interests. Cat Christians will endure terrible hardship at times, but all with the understanding, that in the end, their endurance will be vindicated with an even greater reward.

Cat Christians will even wear the trendy "It's not about me." T-shirt if they believe it presents an opportunity for God to trust them with "next-level" blessing.

What if it pleases God's glory to throw you under the wheels of the truck instead? What if you are the martyr whose blood will become the seed of the church? What if your uncanny suffering is destined to stand as a testimony to unseen accusers as recorded in the book of Job?

What about the generations of Israelites that would die languishing under Eqyptian slavery waiting for Moses to be born? Where was their big redemption? How about the missionary who watches her children die of malaria before her own life expires after battling tubercolosis? Is her faith somehow deficient? Can every Christian expect to come back with a knock out punch in the 15th round after falling behind on points? Like ants crossing a stream, some have to die to build a bridge for others, and ensure that progress continues. How often has the kingdom of God been halted in it's expansion to indulge the comforts of a self serving Christian?

I know that insane leaders and cruel tyrants have used this very logic to motivate the sacrifice of followers to their corrupt ends. However, if our Savior's defining hour was the cross, why should we be such strangers to hardship if we claim to be His followers?

I suffer from a severe case of Cat Christianity. Like lymphoma, it keeps manifesting everywhere. Drilling down to the core of my motivations is harrowing. Why after so many years in God's kingdom do I lack nobility of spirit?

Emergent writer, Brian McLaren, wrote about a root cause of self serving Christianity. He says that many Christians have a fundamental flaw in their make-up. They got into this thing because they wanted to escape hell. This begs the question: at what point should " I don't want to burn in hell." evolve into " I want to lay my life down for God's glory, no matter the cost"? People who desperately want to escape the flames are the least willing to run into burning buildings to save others.

Fear filled preaching about hell has triggered a self preservation motivation for getting saved. We need to saved from selfishness and self absorption. We aren't called to simply escape hell and go to heaven, we are called to be reconciled to our God, live for His glory, and serve others with the ministry of reconciliation, no matter the cost.

The Beginning of Empowerment

The last two Sunday's messages have been a re-examination of the foundational teaching of repentance. We have learned about how many believers never live a healthy Christian lifestyle because repentance isn't fundamental to their conversion experience.

I made a personal commitment to Jesus after hearing the gospel preached in the eighties, and I often testify how I sinned more after my conversion than before. It seems as though the gospel had been reduced to a humanistic: "Just accept Jesus" before I darkened the door of the church that night. As young Christians, we were taught that if we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, He will progressively change our mind about sin and make us want to do good instead. As much as the Spirit plays a huge role in purifying our hearts, God cannot force us to repent from sin. The Spirit convicts, but we have to make up our mind to repent, and to follow through on that.

Why did repentance become so unpopular? In a world drenched with feel-good, popular psychology, the diagnosis of sinful practices requiring a humble acceptance of error and a radical course correction just didn't sit well with a generation hooked on self-expression. Caricatures of heavy-browed, finger-wagging preachers chastising their cowering flocks caused image conscious churches to wade into the swamp of democratically demanded affirmation.

While the church was softening it's message, society urgently attended to the empowerment of disadvantaged and oppressed people groups. Those seeking empowerment ranged from disadvantaged race groups, to women, the unskilled, to those pursuing alternative lifestyles. Few of these groups looked to the church for a pathway to empowerment. The irony is that the key to empowerment was lying fallow in the church.

Empowerment achieved can look suspiciously like the oppressed attaining the lifestyle of the oppressor. Those lacking self-determination looked over the fence of injustice and resolved to somehow obtain what the privileged had. The African-American wanted the respect and rights of the Caucasian, the women wanted the male privileges of high paying careers and freedom from the burden of homemaking, the unskilled worker wanted the wage and opportunity to relax that only the successful few enjoyed. The battle for equal rights for alternative lifestyles continues till today.

Just one question: Who said that a lifestyle equal to the privileged oppressor equates to freedom and empowerment? In my experience of apartheid South Africa, the oppressors were as disfigured and trapped as the oppressed. The oppressor has the further disadvantage of being blind to the golden cage. Most importantly, the oppressor has increased wrath stored up for the final day of judgment.

This gives rise to my premise. Empowerment cannot be achieved without God. Equality to a more privileged sinner might feather your nest, but how will that help if the whole tree is on fire?

You see, I believe that freedom isn't the absence of all authority. In fact, careful observation of history reinforces that freedom requires fences or boundaries to secure it. Without some final authority we are left with anarchy and without the rule of law, no-one is safe. It therefore stands to reason that empowerment can only occur through adherence to ultimate authority. In other words, if I comply with God's requirements, I escape all other oppressors and experience the freedom of having to bow only to my Creator.

I begin to comply with God's requirements by repenting from a sinful lifestyle. Therefore repentance is the beginning of empowerment. Forget the march to city hall, rather get a change of mind about the life God wants you to live.

Go Deep!

Columbus day weekend was a shocker for sport lovers across Boston. The Red Sox: swept out of the play-offs by the Angels! Now what? Are we forced to support our rival Yankees against the resurgent West Coast teams? Not likely. Rather, I suspect the subject of baseball will all but disappear from New England conversation until next summer.

What about Brady and the Pats? Are you kidding me? Somehow contriving to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory! I get the feeling that the monkey on Brady's back is his reputation rather than his repaired knee. The Broncos QB, Orton, who looks like Mr. Unassuming and probably won't marry a supermodel; played like the seasoned pro, while Brady desperately tried to engineer the old magic to no avail. Sure he did OK in the first half, but the long bombs exploded on the turf, and were it not for zippy Wes Welker grinding out the yards, the game would have been over long before the end of regular time.

I mentioned football in Sunday's sermon. I compared the fisherman Peter's return to the deeper water after an unsuccessful night on the sea in Luke 5 to the resolve of a receiver to dash into the end zone one more time to catch the elusive ball and win the game. In tough times we must still position ourselves within reach of opportunity and expect success, especially in response to Jesus command to "go deep."

My family and I went deep when we passed through "the eye of a needle", leaving our life in South Africa behind to go into the deeper water of the USA, expecting a great catch! It has been hard work just getting to and staying in this "end zone" of opportunity. The game is well into the fourth quarter and we need a touchdown to go to extra time. Like Randy Moss I feel like the ball just hasn't been there for a pass completion.

I will keep running into the end zone, continue sailing into deeper water to let down my nets. My hands are raised, my head is lifted, I know my quarterback has His eyes on me.