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I’m in my flat at 12 noon (5.17 pm now, uk) and have just read chapter 2 of Wayne Dyers book ‘Pulling your own strings’. I’m thinking about my work project…”Don’t do it, it’s a waste of time” comes to mind. But this is something that I want and feel motivated to do, except the thought that came to mind caused a paralyzing mental conflict.
In effect the self victimizing thought is “don’t do what you want and feel motivated to do, because it is a waste of time”. This in shorthand is “Your doing, feelings and motivations are worthless”.
But is it true?
It is written somewhere that our feelings are the pearl of great price. And I think that motivations are feelings of conviction about some value or action. So quite contrary to “Your feelings and motivations are worthless” is the fact found that “my feelings and motivations are valuable”.
If all people took this view and treated others in this way they would not try to deny others or themselves their own feeling or deter others or themselves from doing what motivates them. This is a little idealistic though when reflecting upon Kierkegaards states of being: aesthetic, ethical and religious. I suspect that people, groups and individuals, looking at one another from-to different states may feel that others challenge or contradict the validity of their own state of being. With this I could say that “my feelings and motivations are valuable to me, but not necessarily to others”. This is a complicated matter where ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ poses a question or two: What is love? How does God love me? How can I love myself as God intends? How can I love others as myself? I have put 1 Corinthians 13 at the end of this post to help answer these questions. I feel that a key to understanding what these questions ask is to know 'God is Love' (1 John 4 v8, and God is our Creator, redeemer and Sustainer). 1 Corinthians 13 defines Love by saying what it is and what it is not (It seems to me that I've both clarified and muddied the waters by putting things after the questions here, but I hope that you get something out of it nevertheless!).
It is written of God that His thoughts are not our thoughts. I suspect that this represents our state when we are turned away from Him or not connected to Him. While not likely through human limitation to possess His thoughts in totality, when we are turned to Him and connected to Him, He may or does transform our thoughts in conformity to His in accord with His purposes for us and others in our sphere of life, and beyond through our prayers.
If all people turned to Him and were connected to Him, God’s kingdom would have come on earth. Human living would therefore be divine.
People have expressed appreciation for my thoughts, feelings and motivation that I have shown in my writings e.g. Christmass letters and thoughts.com posts.
My public bible readings in church are respected there. One person very often says that the way that I read brings the reading to life in their mind. I put much into those readings including my feelings and motivations, or to be honest, it is true to say that I put all that I am at God’s disposal when I do those readings so that He may be heard through me in them. No wonder that they come alive in the mind of someone who is listening!
Z and M have criticized what I say in team meetings. K has seemed to have a haughty attitude towards me because I do not have a paid job. I think, first remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the spec from your neighbours.
I want to contribute to the good of the world in accord with God’s will. I believe that my feelings, motivations and values need to be shared to do this.
I do not want to be insignificant in terms of not doing and being what God has designed me to do, be and become.
Therefore, I must not not interact with the church and world because my doing, being and becoming is integrated with interacting with the church and world as is the worlds doing, being and becoming with this interaction. This may seem to be exaggerated but I mean it like the effect that a stone has when dropped into a pool of water.
Therefore, it seems to me that I must take risks to play my part for God’s kingdom come. This involves a cyclic process of:
Praying
Planning
Doing
Knowing
Evaluating
If I don’t get what I want I may become schizophrenic, my inner world isolated from my/the outer world, I would lose the sense of my soul and others would suffer because of this and I would suffer too.
If I do not realize my own significance in God’s plan for the world, it may be that I am working for a significance that God does not intend. In this case my unintended significance may be significant in terms of what God wants me to do, be and become!
I seems to me that I therefore need to ‘Let go and let God’ as well as practice the cyclic process of praying, planning, doing, knowing, evaluating.
I trust you LORD God to remove all influences against me doing, being and becoming what you want me to do, be and become. My part is to meditate upon the following and to do what you want me to do.
LORD God, please guide us to do, be and become what you want us to do, be and become. Amen.
LORD God, please guide us to activity and rest according to what you want when you want it. Amen.
LORD God, please help us to signify your presence in your church and world. All glory to you LORD God. Amen.
Balance inward convictions of faith and practical need with outward action and or speech by putting the following in my rule of life for keeping:
Pray, Plan, Do, Know, Evaluate.
Benedictio Sanctify.
(The meaning of this is along the lines of Jesus' prayer 'Father, consecrate them in truth, your word is truth' and from the beattitudes: ‘How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied).
Let go and let God.
And, oh yes, what about my work project?
I am continuing with this in God’s timing. Thank God.
If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
It’s like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.
There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. |
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Posted by becomeasalittlechild on 2008-03-24 13:23:00 | Rating: | Views: 144
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