Being a Christian or a person of faith has its share of challenges. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about being thrown to the lions, stoned to death, or otherwise tortured, but I do have a lot of gray areas when it comes to my daily actions involving others.
Today, I'm thinking about a simple annoyance and not something earth-shattering, but my actions, even in the simplest matters, should reflect who I am. That's the dilemma, and I'm talking about telemarketers and solicitors.
Have you ever felt inundated by phone calls, especially ones that you know are solicitations and robo calls? I certainly have, and I vacillate between answering the phone and putting it down on the end table so the caller just hears dead air, or leaving a message on my machine about being on the no call list (doesn't apply to charities or political entities), or just picking up the phone and being frank.
Being frank seems like it might be the best, but it's also the hardest, I think. That's especially true if it's a charity solicitation. It's difficult to say no if the caller is soliciting for a worthy cause, even though some may not be. I feel sorry for some of the telemarketers because you know they probably receive a lot of abuse.
But...we all have our limits, even if we practice generosity. I believe God expects us to share, but at some point, we have to decide which charities are most important. I donate to many including my church, and I'm not willing to exchange one of those I've supported for many years for another (unless God makes it clear to me that I need to do that).
So, I guess the next time my phone rings with one of those caller IDs that actually indicates the name of the charity, I need to be frank. It's not right to let them continue making useless calls.
On the other hand, for those IDs that say "unassigned" or give a city and state, I really haven't decided what to do. If it's definitely a scam (like I've won a prize for a contest I didn't enter, or an offer to lower my credit card interest on an undesignated card), I don't mind just letting the caller dangle a little bit. That's a very bad way to make a living by preying on others so maybe I can delay that a little for the next person they try to call.
If anyone has better suggestions, I'm open to hearing them. Consumer Reports suggests the following: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2012/07/how-to-stop-unwanted-robocalls/index.htm. Then maybe I'll just try a little experiment - I'll answer the next
ten calls and then decide how to handle them individually. Wish me luck!
Friday, May 29, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Being Always Thankful is Easier Sometimes
Saturday I had one of those days. Not the bad kind, but the one where you wish you had bought a lottery ticket. Everything seems right with the world and things just go your way. We've all had them, and it seems easier to remember those because they don't occur as often as normal days or the ones that just make you want to bury your head in the sand.
My day seemed routine, but really improved in the evening. I attended a fundraiser for which I had had tickets for some time. Feeling very fatigued lately and a bit under the weather, I missed the awards ceremony for Kansas Authors Club District 2 that morning, but I didn't want to miss the evening event since it was paid for already.
At the evening event, I wound up winning a door prize basket and two silent auction baskets which were also a good deal. When I returned home, I had a message from a friend telling me I had won an award from the KAC contest. It wasn't until the next day that I discovered it was first prize in the humor category which thrilled me even more. After always being a bridesmaid and never a bride (winning 2nd or 3rd and never first), I missed it. Maybe for me the key to winning is not to attend the ceremony.
All that aside, it was a good day, and I was happy to thank God in my prayers. I'm trying to do that daily, but it just seems easier to do when all goes well.
I'm reading a book that often talks about thanking God even when circumstances seem to warrant anything but appreciation. But, if we truly look at life, there is always something for which we can be grateful. Just the fact that we have our faith to fall back on and the ability to talk to God when things don't go right, is sufficient reason to be thankful. I just have to remember that we sometimes learn more from negative situations than from positive ones.
Romans 8:28 states: "And we know that in all things God works for the good56 of those who love him, who have been called57 according to his purpose." Thessalonians 5:18 also states: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
So there you have it - God wants us all to be thankful when things go well and also when they do not. I remind myself that many times God has made lemonade from my troubles which were lemons. But, I'm just so incredibly happy when things go my way like they did Saturday. Maybe that's giving me a little glimpse of what Heaven is really like - not just occasionally, but every day.
My day seemed routine, but really improved in the evening. I attended a fundraiser for which I had had tickets for some time. Feeling very fatigued lately and a bit under the weather, I missed the awards ceremony for Kansas Authors Club District 2 that morning, but I didn't want to miss the evening event since it was paid for already.
At the evening event, I wound up winning a door prize basket and two silent auction baskets which were also a good deal. When I returned home, I had a message from a friend telling me I had won an award from the KAC contest. It wasn't until the next day that I discovered it was first prize in the humor category which thrilled me even more. After always being a bridesmaid and never a bride (winning 2nd or 3rd and never first), I missed it. Maybe for me the key to winning is not to attend the ceremony.
All that aside, it was a good day, and I was happy to thank God in my prayers. I'm trying to do that daily, but it just seems easier to do when all goes well.
I'm reading a book that often talks about thanking God even when circumstances seem to warrant anything but appreciation. But, if we truly look at life, there is always something for which we can be grateful. Just the fact that we have our faith to fall back on and the ability to talk to God when things don't go right, is sufficient reason to be thankful. I just have to remember that we sometimes learn more from negative situations than from positive ones.
Romans 8:28 states: "And we know that in all things God works for the good56 of those who love him, who have been called57 according to his purpose." Thessalonians 5:18 also states: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
So there you have it - God wants us all to be thankful when things go well and also when they do not. I remind myself that many times God has made lemonade from my troubles which were lemons. But, I'm just so incredibly happy when things go my way like they did Saturday. Maybe that's giving me a little glimpse of what Heaven is really like - not just occasionally, but every day.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Appreciating our Heritage
Among the books I'm currently reading is one about Christianity's early
martyrs. It's a book that I know one of my sisters will never read because she
has difficulty even watching the crucifixion scenes so prevalent around Easter.
Although persecution still exists in various parts of the world, for not just Christianity, I think it's easy to forget the sacrifices that others have made to bring our faith to us. After reading some of the tortures and death accounts endured by Christian martyrs in the centuries following Jesus' resurrection, I found myself asking God in prayer to thank them for keeping my religion alive.
I don't want to go into detail about their sacrifices, but let's just say that beheading may have been the easiest of what some experienced. The trials and tribulations of their lives under persecution often made me grimace, and I was grateful to learn of their fates through words rather than a depiction of their suffering. Like many, it’s impossible for me to watch the crucifixion of Jesus without pain and tears.
I like to think that my faith is unwavering, but it leaves the question of: How much could I endure of pain and suffering? If early Christianity depended upon me, would I have had the courage and fortitude shown by the martyrs?
The answer, I think, is that their strength had to come from God, the same God who abides with us through our difficulties which pale in comparison. For whatever God asks me to do, I have to believe his promise in Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
I’m thinking there couldn’t be any greater temptation than to say you disavow what you believe in when confronted with such horrific punishment. No man would alone have the strength, so it must have come from the divine. (As a Stephen Minister, I also learned this is the verse most erroneously misinterpreted as, “God never gives you anything more than you can handle.”)
I will never take Jesus’ sacrifice as anything but with profound, humbling, sincere and eternal gratitude, and now I can no longer forget the importance of the early Christian martyrs’ sacrifices either. I am truly grateful to them for allowing God to use their lives in the most challenging way to bring my faith to me.
Although persecution still exists in various parts of the world, for not just Christianity, I think it's easy to forget the sacrifices that others have made to bring our faith to us. After reading some of the tortures and death accounts endured by Christian martyrs in the centuries following Jesus' resurrection, I found myself asking God in prayer to thank them for keeping my religion alive.
I don't want to go into detail about their sacrifices, but let's just say that beheading may have been the easiest of what some experienced. The trials and tribulations of their lives under persecution often made me grimace, and I was grateful to learn of their fates through words rather than a depiction of their suffering. Like many, it’s impossible for me to watch the crucifixion of Jesus without pain and tears.
I like to think that my faith is unwavering, but it leaves the question of: How much could I endure of pain and suffering? If early Christianity depended upon me, would I have had the courage and fortitude shown by the martyrs?
The answer, I think, is that their strength had to come from God, the same God who abides with us through our difficulties which pale in comparison. For whatever God asks me to do, I have to believe his promise in Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
I’m thinking there couldn’t be any greater temptation than to say you disavow what you believe in when confronted with such horrific punishment. No man would alone have the strength, so it must have come from the divine. (As a Stephen Minister, I also learned this is the verse most erroneously misinterpreted as, “God never gives you anything more than you can handle.”)
I will never take Jesus’ sacrifice as anything but with profound, humbling, sincere and eternal gratitude, and now I can no longer forget the importance of the early Christian martyrs’ sacrifices either. I am truly grateful to them for allowing God to use their lives in the most challenging way to bring my faith to me.
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