Resource and Remedy … January 13, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2119)

Each of us considers “normal” to be whatever we view as acceptable behavior, and has become our fallback position. So if you grew up around worriers, it seems natural to worry. If you were surrounded by gruff, unemotional human beings, you will think it is bizarre to be gregarious. If your background is in Judeo-Christian values, then you will be caught in the paradox between “do I love my neighbor as myself?” or is it “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?”

Even though we all believe we’re on a quest to find a remedy for our everyday problems and even our nagging addictions, we might want to stop and realize that the resources we tap will certainly determine the quality of the treatment.

Yesterday as I met the delightful and hungry souls at Cypress Trails United Methodist Church, I realized that each of them was  joining into a body of believers while secretly pursuing a private belief system of their own, which had been infused into them from the time they were tiny children, and is now “normal,” even if unfulfilling.

For we are much more likely to accept an unfulfilling life than we are to question our “normal.”

To challenge our upbringing means we put ourselves on the outside, looking in–and that sense of abandonment can be terrifying.

But every remedy I have found in my life has demanded that I question my resources, values and even faith to set in motion a new miracle for myself.

After all, in my case, it is difficult to get over obesity because I was taught that food is love. It’s like trying to remove affection from existence. It seems unnatural. It seems ungodly.

Take a moment every day and ask a simple question: am I doing this because I have chosen to do so and it has proven to make me a better human being, or am I repeating behavior that I learned, which has trapped me in the person I am instead of the person I desire to become?

In the realm of spirituality, ten commandments that we dangle over the collective head of humanity does not always jive with “judge not, lest ye be judged.”

You have to make a choice.

And when you’re choosing, just make sure that what you follow breeds life … instead of stifling it.

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Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.

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Fallback Position… July 8, 2013

Jonathots Daily Blog

(1937)

“Now abide faith, hope and love…”

Really?

Where do they abide? Do they have a home somewhere that we can visit? Or are they polite virtues, waiting to be invited into our houses?

Even though these three have great power to turn our race into a meaningful creation, there are forces at work in the human family which would love to limit their effect. And you know what the problem is? It’s all done under the guise of “acquiring knowledge.”

Faith suffers because there are folks who promote the “regality of reality,” where faith is concluded to be ignorant, silly and unrealistic. I will concur with them that faith in the presence of stark reality does appear to be somewhat child-like. As I hear some talk show host decry the story of Noah and the Ark as being “foolish fable,” I have to ask myself, then why is this he still talking about it–after five thousand years? Faith has the luxury of longevity, whereas reality has about a twenty-four-hour lifespan.

Likewise, hope suffers from the same slings and arrows. Whereas faith is often attacked by a darkened reality, hope is buffeted by cynicism. The three mantras of the cynic are:

• “We already tried that”
• “People can’t pull that off;” and
• “How do we know that the goal is suitable for everybody?”

Cynicism is the enemy of hope, who desires no enemy.

And then there’s love. Love is drained of its influence and passion by fear.

• Fear of rejection
• Fear of strangers.
• Fear of anyone outside our little circle.
• Fear of being abandoned.
• Fear of not being given our due.

So even though faith, hope and love try to abide, reality, cynicism and fear do their very best to evict them.

This would be fine if the battle lines were drawn clearly between two camps dubbed “Good” and “Evil.” But it isn’t that way. Even those who have a sustaining trust in God have relinquished their faith, hope and love–adapting to a society which touts a temporary reality, a growing cynicism and a penchant for fear.

Is it possible to have faith and still be so absorbed in this world that you remove the mustard seed from the ground so nothing grows?

How about claiming to have a hope, but still privately nurturing a cynicism about humanity, and therefore the Creator who spawned the idea?

You might even insist that you’re a loving individual, but so overtaken by your own worries and trepidations that you fail to step out of your circle and expand your vision.

I’m afraid the church has taken a fallback position, trying to be relevant to our society instead of being the great welcome wagon to faith, hope and love.

I reject all reality if it ignores the importance of faith.

I’m going to walk away from my cynicism because it taints my hope.

And I will allow the Holy Spirit to dispel my fears so that my love can be pure.

I am not ready to surrender.

I don’t need … a fallback position.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event