The American Dream Part 2...First Class or Coach as in a Coach Purse? Becoming a Harvard Christian

My youngest daughter asked me if she could attend a private Christian high school when she was in her sophomore year, because of the lifestyle of many of her friends in public high school.  Some of the girls had sex with as many as five different partners in public school at the age of 15 years old, or smoked marijuana.  These were children that I would considered had very good parents.  It was becoming more difficult with the amount of sin that other teens were getting into for her to find much in common with them as a Christian.  She had given her life to Jesus when she was in a private Christian pre-school at 4 or 5 years old and then went to public school since she was in first grade.  I believe we are in the "days of Noah."

Gen. 6:11-12 “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”

“Today we live in a world constantly threatened by terrorism, in our cities we have hate crimes, drive by shootings, mothers killing their own infant children, parents killing their children, children killing parents, inhuman behavior is becoming the norm, we have run amuck having no restraints. Why? Because there is no law, no real accountability, it’s lawlessness. The more tolerance today the less morals we have."

I found the above commentary on the Internet, and thought it is interesting, because I have one daughter that was shot in a drive by shooting at a gas station.  The bullet went through her back car window when a teen gang was shooting up the gas station randomly, grazed her ear and landed in her cheek.  She ended up coming out okay from the experience with no physical damage outside of her one ear had some ringing in it for awhile, and stitches in her cheek when they took out the bullet.  It was a "God thing" that her two-year old son was not with her in the back seat at the time in his car seat.  Glass from that window shot out, and her blood were every where.  Another example, of the “days of Noah.”

One of the problems with attending a private school are the female students had Coach purses, and drove very nice cars.  My husband and I both worked full time so we were above middle class, but with having a large family of seven children, it was a struggle to pay for a private school which cost the amount in tuition in paying for a university.  I got help from my ex-husband for half of her tuition to put her in Christian school, and my daughter worked summer jobs from the time she was 15 years old.  She was able to find a concession job at Indy Park pools where her step-sister worked. 

It was like I was going through the experience of my mother in putting pressure on her for me to keep up with the Jones when I was in junior high/high school.  I like getting designer clothes for bargain deals and my daughter was able to find vendors where she could get a Coach purse for $60.00.  I'm always looking for bargain deals like that in life.  I like shopping at garage sales.  For awhile, I had to quit going to them, because I got rather addicted to them.   My husband was always telling me how other people’s junk can be another person's treasure.  That is the way I look at divorce.  My husband and I may have been junk to our ex-spouses, but we were each other's treasures.  I remember when I sold my son's older Ford Escort car, it was like a tin can, but the guy who bought it from us, put fancy wind shield wipers on it, and fixed it up. 

When a person is looking at a high school student’s resume to get into Harvard University, a review committee may not just look at grades, but look at the overall portfolio of a person if he/she has done volunteer work and committee work in high school.  Some of the volunteer work includes serving on the yearbook committee, key club, journalism staff, and service-related projects in the community.  Where I work, our PhD Committee looks at a person’s research, and then publications for PhD student work.  It’s because there are a lot of students who apply and only the top students are going to receive assistantships and funding by our school.

In the Bible, a qualification for becoming an elder is a humble/teachable spirit in being able to admit a person can make a mistake.   If that quality is lacking in a person, I don’t know how a person will ever be successful in ministry.  Satan will “eat that person” alive if they can’t admit they have faults.  I deal with very intelligent people that don’t want to admit they make a mistake.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Doctor’s make mistakes that is why they have high malpractice insurance. I worked for the chief of general surgeon at a teaching hospital.   I know what “pecking order” is and dealing with those who have superior attitudes. Why on earth, Christians won’t admit when they flub up or have something wrong with them is beyond me.

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 1 Timothy 3:6

I was walking into church at E91 Street, and I was thinking about how at the time I had three toilets backing up at my home.   I asked the Lord, “God do I have crap in my life.”  Immediately, God said in my spirit, “Yes you do.”  I laughed 15 minutes with a deep joy.  I know it was because God was happy I’m getting crap out of my life.  That crap clogs up my spirit man and it hurts my fellowship with the Lord.  I find the best way I get the crap out of my life (this world’s thinking) is to listen to at least one book of the Bible on CD every night.

David was a shepherd boy.  I don’t believe that was like marrying a surgeon in our days.  Maybe a garbage truck employee?  That may have not been very impressive in Saul giving his daughter to David.  I believe shepherds were despised.  We see references to that when Joseph had Jacob and the family come to Egypt.  Pharaoh wanted nothing to do with them, because Joseph told Pharaoh his family was shepherds.   Many times in life there are “class perceptions.”  It’s called upper rich, upper middle class, middle class, poor, or poverty level.   

When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your occupation?'you should answer, 'Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians."  Genesis 46:33-34

There are times in my life where others have put me down and despised me.  I was dating a guy who got in legal problems with the police.  I was willing to accept his faults, but he was concerned that I was divorced before I was widowed.  He made a comment that his mother would not like that.  Who cares what your mommie thinks at age 48 years old?  I noticed he had two other brothers who were divorced also.  I probably felt like David in wanting Saul's daughter that I was never going to live up to mommie's or daddy's expectations.

A person in academia reminds me of a peacock bird.  Each bright feather represents a publication or a grant.  It's very impressive with the god (president) of the university, but how about the God of the universe?  What impresses the God of the universe?  Faith is what impresses God.

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.  Hebrews 11:6

God has his own pecking order, and to get to the top in God's kingdom, we are to humble ourselves:

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:12

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

  

I have never met a more intelligent man than my former husband; you would have wanted him on your Trivial Pursuit team.  I know the divorce and the death of his child brought him down to his knees as far as he learned to humble himself and realized that he needed to follow God in his life.  He drifted away from God from the time he was 19 years old until he was 37 years old, and then came back to God about one year before I met him. 

I was at a single's group, and they went around the table and they asked what single man/woman character on television that you see yourself as.  I told them I don't watch much television anymore, but it would be Dr. James Wilson on the show House.  He is the conscience of Dr. House as his friend.  I was always the conscience of my husband as far as getting him to obey the Lord when it came to pushing his teen children to go to church, and getting him to go to church when he wanted to go golfing or boating on Sunday.  One of the compromises we reached is that he would golf at 7:00 a.m. on Sundays in the summer and then meet me at church.  Some people attend church on Saturday night.  I was married to a man who was a lot like Esau who was an active outdoors man, and with the weather in Indiana not very good, there were only periods of time the weather was good to enjoy boating or golfing with it either being cold or rainy.  

One thing that impressed me about my husband from the start, and why I considered him a Harvard Christian, is that he supported a child for Compassion International, volunteered for Boy Scouts, the Homeowners Association, and would serve in church, but especially he was a good servant to his family.  He even helped his ex-wife install cabinets in her home after they were divorced!  God always brings my life back to service, either service to family, the community or to church.  It can include to the homeless, ministry to women in prison, widows now, or to my family.  Jesus said if you are going to be great, you are going to serve. 

The greatest among you will be your servant. Matthew 23:11

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, Matthew 20:26

But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. Luke 22:26

I find service at times is grievous. I host single socials. and when half of the people don't pick up their paper cups and plates, and I have so many to pick up after, I don't consider that being a maid is the type of service that God has called me to.  I find the same is true when I host holidays for family.  Family take it for granted that you are going to serve them hand and foot, when I had help in clean up and setup.  Since I had a husband to help me, in his absence, I don’t like serving like I used to.  I was sharing the burden, and now the burden has fallen all on my shoulders with little help from others. 

Many Christians are not considerate of others.  God blessed me with a man who was considerate, and I did not clean up after his messes.  Service to my husband was not grievous, because he was a considerate man.  Sometimes, this is rare to find a person with that type of consideration for his wife.  His servant hood attitude to family and the community was amazing.  Many men I find are selfish.  It's all about what they can get/take from you.  In former relationships in my life it was like that.

There were many times I came into work very sick because I was the only one who could cover for a graduation orientation.  If I did not show up the job did not get done.  Does that get noticed?  No…but God noticed those things we do because we are working for him. 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, Colossians 3:23

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, Ephesians 6:7

There were times I led worship at a single’s group, and I had walking pneumonia and could barely sing, another time I broke my ankle, but I was faithful to be there.  Did that get noticed?  Maybe by two people.  

People in general can be fault-finding.  I was singing at a single’s group with a worship leader when someone came up to the worship leader and said, “You did not play that Chris Tomlin song correctly.  The tempo is supposed to be played faster.”  There are different levels of worship leaders.  This guy happened to be a 12-year veteran of a mega church, and still this person did not like the way he lead worship. 

I look at music ministry like exercising in a gym is that you build up certain muscles to play.   I know I’m an intermediate level, and don’t have the level of ability to play for a mega church.  A mega church or Bible study would be like playing sports for the NBA or NFL to me.  This guy who was leading was at the level of an NBA/NFL player as far as worship goes, but it did not make that person happy.  You sort of feel like saying…if you can do better, please take the guitar from me and get up here and lead worship at this single’s group.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Romans 12:3

Comparisons in the Bible to servant hood is Jacob worked 14 years for Rachel and and Rebecca was tested by Isaac's servant request of watering a whole caravan of camels that took several hours.

So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. Genesis 29:20

Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also. Genesis 24:45

Love is a commitment.  Commitment to love one another.  Commitment to the Body of Christ and to serve one another.

There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. ~ John 15:13,

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. Hebrews 10:24

I don’t plan to be part of the American way.  What is the American way? It can be a Pharisee at times in playing dress-up for church.  A friend's comment: “Finding a church yet where they are serious about serving God. Not to dress up for a show, spending a bunch of money for a fancy building and getting all excited about how many people join.  Helping those in need seem to do so only so they can say they do, but the amount of time, energy and money given toward the needy is usually a penny to the dollar.”

Churches can hold pitch-ins for the community on the holidays where people can walk in, and host lunches for the homeless for food and clothing pantries.  A larger church with many outreaches is a good sign of productivity where it does not become like the Dead Sea.  I believe it is the same in our lives.  

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’  Acts 20:35

Are we taught in modern day Christianity that it’s better to give than receive, or that we are to claim our blessings from God?  The Lord showed me that he wants me to be Mary Appleseed.  Johnny Appleseed is an interesting story of a person who went from town to town planting apple seed trees.  My apples are words of encouragement to widows.

Johnny Appleseed (September 26, 1774 – March 18, 1845), born John Chapman, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples.  He was also a missionary for The New Church, or Swedenborgian Church, so named because it teaches the theological doctrines contained in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

Next, what is it like in our subdivision neighborhoods as far as the American way?  Most home owners association leaders go around and write letters rather than help their neighbors, and they are like a bunch of traffic cops.

A friend's comments:   “My feeling is my home is my castle, so I get to decide how I run my home, and it's not really anyone else's business. I think we've been conned into a belief that what other people do with their homes matters. But in other parts of the world, this belief doesn't exist. In Mexico, for example, there can be a beautiful villa right next to a shack, but no one thinks the villa is any less beautiful just because of what's going on next door.”

What the American way (dream) should be is servant hood, helping our brothers and sisters in Christ, helping our neighbors, and helping the poor and needy.

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 13:41

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1 John 3:17