Neighbors can be a blessing or a curse. For the most part I've been blessed with decent neighbors. However, in one place I lived, I had a neighbor who wasn't very sensitive to her neighbors. It's not that she was obnoxious. It's that she had a some dogs that were out of control and she did nothing to control them.
Her adult children struggled with relationships and keeping jobs. So they would be in and out, staying with her for various periods of time. They would buy dogs and since they had no place to keep them, they would bring them to mom. Max, a mutt with some apparent German Shepherd mix, was an irritant. He didn't like staying in his own yard so he, on a daily basis, would dig out under the fence in her yard run around my back yard and eventually dig out under the fence in my yard. My girls were terrified and for years wouldn't play outside, especially the back yard because Max could be on the loose. I tried staking and tying down the fence, unsightly railroad ties to no avail.
As irritating as that was, Garth was a very energetic dalmatian. Hyper was an understatement. But, he had his days and nights mixed up. Every night he would sit in the corner of the fence next to my bedroom window and bark and howl at the moon and everything else all night long. When day break, he'd be quiet. He was so loud and obnoxious that my neighbors on the other side complained vigorously that he kept them awake. I tried everything to get that dog to shut up, but once again to no avail. I learned to sleep with two fans running in the room just to cover some of the noise.
Although my neighbor acknowledged the problem, she didn't do anything to resolve it. She just blamed it on her kids. I thought of a few solutions, like antifreeze and a twenty-two, but my wife wouldn't let me. Wouldn't that be great news, preacher gets arrested for poisoning or shooting elderly neighbors companion. So I did without sleep and my girls played in the house.
This Proverbs passage talks about being sensitive to your friends and neighbors. Nobody likes a loud or boisterous person first thing in the morning. It's too much to handle. Some people don't like anyone in the morning, at least until they have their coffee. But sensitivity goes beyond just being noisy. Obnoxious behavior drives people crazy any time of the day.
Why is it that the people we're closest to are the very people with whom we have the least manners or around whom we have the most obnoxious behavior? Why is it that people we are closest to we have the least sensitivity for? We are the least concerned about offending our own family than anyone. We say what's on our mind with little regard to the affect it has on our listeners. We show the least respect for members of our own household. Why is it we become the most selfish with the people we love the most?
God, I know I'm selfish. It's apparent in my home the most. Help me to be more sensitive to my wife, to consider her and her needs.
Showing posts with label neighbor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighbor. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Monday, February 4, 2008
Daily Reflections on Ex. 20:1-20 (Do We Have to Keep All Ten Commandments?)
When our growing church needed to expand, we looked at several possibilities. We realized that our facility was limiting our growth and ultimately we had to relocate. Our seven weekend services were too much strain on everyone, including the facilities. Our elders finally decided to purchase several acres of land on the edge of town. Our goal was to build in phases so as to accommodate the needs of our growing congregation without over taxing our resources.
Wise thinking. But God had different plans for us. We had already started to plateau in growth. People would drive onto our lot, not be able to find a parking place and drive off never to return. We really couldn't wait on a ten year plan. It was then God gave us the unique opportunity to purchase an old Wal-Mart building. 60,000 square feet on 7 and a half acres, complete with concrete parking lot, right at the center of the statistical hub of our city. God even sliced the asking price in half for us. After the sale of our properties, the purchase of the Wal-Mart facility cost us only about $125,000.
It's amazing how God works. What seemed impossible odds were relatively nothing for God. As were going through the whole process of relocation, fund raising and transition, I kept coming back to these stories of God at work in Exodus. God did some amazing things for children of Israel when things looked hopeless or impossible. They even heard the voice of God speaking to them. Now that would get your attention.
God struck a covenant with the Children of Israel. He told them he would provide for them and protect them and choose them for His own people if they simply would honor Him and obey His instruction. So God gave them 10 basic commands by which to live. That's it 10. Shouldn't be too hard, right? Well, let's just say they couldn't make it a month.
The Ten Commandments still remain the basis of our relationship with God. It's true that those of us in Christ are under a new covenant that centers on God's grace through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, Redeemer, Lord and friend. However, Jesus said that not one aspect of the law would diminish, that He came to fulfill the law not do away with it. He also said that the law is summed in two basic commands, love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
An interesting thing happened after we purchased that old Wal-Mart building. People used to joke about us being the Wal-Mart Church. You can imagine some of the comments. Some wondered if all our greeters were going to wear blue smocks with yellow smiley face buttons. Some asked if we were going to adopt slogans like, "always low requirements." We got accused of being the "Lite Church." We thought about offering a discount tithe of 8%. We kicked around the idea having only 8 commandments, you get to choose your 8. But then we realized that people were already doing that and less.
Jesus abbreviated the 10 commandments to two simple commandments and yet what I've found is that people can't even keep those two let alone the ten. We have witnessed the incredible power of God's love and grace. We watch His hand continually go forth in our behalf and we can't do the simplest thing of obeying God. It blows my mind, because I'm just as guilty as the next person. I'm just thankful that God is a patient God and that His grace is bigger than my disgrace.
God, you truly are amazing. Words can't describe you. Your power and might are infinite. There is nothing impossible for you. Why do I doubt? Why do I whine? Why do I ignore you? Why do I disobey your truth and wisdom? Forgive me, Father. Fill me again with your wonderment.
Wise thinking. But God had different plans for us. We had already started to plateau in growth. People would drive onto our lot, not be able to find a parking place and drive off never to return. We really couldn't wait on a ten year plan. It was then God gave us the unique opportunity to purchase an old Wal-Mart building. 60,000 square feet on 7 and a half acres, complete with concrete parking lot, right at the center of the statistical hub of our city. God even sliced the asking price in half for us. After the sale of our properties, the purchase of the Wal-Mart facility cost us only about $125,000.
It's amazing how God works. What seemed impossible odds were relatively nothing for God. As were going through the whole process of relocation, fund raising and transition, I kept coming back to these stories of God at work in Exodus. God did some amazing things for children of Israel when things looked hopeless or impossible. They even heard the voice of God speaking to them. Now that would get your attention.
God struck a covenant with the Children of Israel. He told them he would provide for them and protect them and choose them for His own people if they simply would honor Him and obey His instruction. So God gave them 10 basic commands by which to live. That's it 10. Shouldn't be too hard, right? Well, let's just say they couldn't make it a month.
The Ten Commandments still remain the basis of our relationship with God. It's true that those of us in Christ are under a new covenant that centers on God's grace through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, Redeemer, Lord and friend. However, Jesus said that not one aspect of the law would diminish, that He came to fulfill the law not do away with it. He also said that the law is summed in two basic commands, love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
An interesting thing happened after we purchased that old Wal-Mart building. People used to joke about us being the Wal-Mart Church. You can imagine some of the comments. Some wondered if all our greeters were going to wear blue smocks with yellow smiley face buttons. Some asked if we were going to adopt slogans like, "always low requirements." We got accused of being the "Lite Church." We thought about offering a discount tithe of 8%. We kicked around the idea having only 8 commandments, you get to choose your 8. But then we realized that people were already doing that and less.
Jesus abbreviated the 10 commandments to two simple commandments and yet what I've found is that people can't even keep those two let alone the ten. We have witnessed the incredible power of God's love and grace. We watch His hand continually go forth in our behalf and we can't do the simplest thing of obeying God. It blows my mind, because I'm just as guilty as the next person. I'm just thankful that God is a patient God and that His grace is bigger than my disgrace.
God, you truly are amazing. Words can't describe you. Your power and might are infinite. There is nothing impossible for you. Why do I doubt? Why do I whine? Why do I ignore you? Why do I disobey your truth and wisdom? Forgive me, Father. Fill me again with your wonderment.
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