Keeping Your Word

In the Broadway play My Fair Lady: Eliza Doolittle is courted by Freddy who writes her daily love letters. But Eliza's response is only frustration: “Words! Words! I'm so sick of words! Don't talk of stars burning above! If you're in love, show me! Don't talk of love lasting through time. Make no undying vow. If you love me, show me now!”

If you’re like me, you resonate with Eliza’s “If you love me, show me now.” We admire people who keep their word. When we keep our word, we may mean many things but we will mean at least the following:   

(1)   We will do what we say we will do. We show we are trustworthy and dependable.   

Whether in business or in our personal lives, we want to be with people who do what they say. I don’t remember my parents making empty promises to me or to my brother and sister. I do remember they kept their word to me when they said I would be getting a bicycle for my birthday – not a three-wheeler but my first two-wheeler. That was a promise kept that I will never forget! Getting that bike meant I could trust my parents to keep their word if they ever said they were going to do something.

(2)   When we keep our word, we are showing respect and even love toward the other person. We are showing we value the integrity of our relationships.

A student was looking for summer employment. She had two job possibilities. One she wanted very much and the other she really didn't want but would take as a second choice.

As you can guess, the second-choice job was offered first. She wanted to hold out for her first choice but she didn't know if it would be offered to her or to someone else. So she accepted her second-choice. A few days later, as you also could expect, the job she had hoped for was offered to her. She wanted to quit the job she had already accepted and take the job she really wanted. So she went to her father.

“Dad, I have a problem.” And she told him the situation.

He looked her straight in the eye: “Did you take the first job offered to you?”   “Yes.”

“Did you promise you would work there this summer?”  “Yes.” 

Her father then said, “Why are we having this conversation?”

All of us want to associate with people who do what they say they will do, who are trustworthy and dependable, and who value our relationship with them.

At the intersection of life and faith, where both pain and joy live, God is there with love for us. God is trustworthy, dependable and values the relationships we have with family and friends and with us. God is the essence of integrity and love.  

What do you think?  I would value a good conversation with you.

Chris

Jesus and Facebook!

If you are reading this blog, you no doubt know about Facebook – a social networking site with more than 300 million active users worldwide. However, an individual can only have “5,000 friends” listed on his/her account. Sorry about the others! ;-)

I started a Facebook page this past summer – a little late into the game compared to my 30’s something DNA related son and daughter. Facebook has enabled me to reconnect with friends from years ago as well as those more recent. Because I am friends with someone, some of their friends have asked to be my friend as well. So I have made some new friends and (who knows?) we might even meet face to face some day.

Would Jesus have a Facebook page? I think he would. He had this habit of going wherever people were. He was very sociable (Type A?) and always interested in everyone he met. He enjoyed spending time and eating and drinking with them. So much so, Jesus even developed a reputation with some of his critics for being “gluttonous and a winebibber”!

How many people today might want to be a friend with Jesus? I suspect more than we imagine.

• Here is someone who doesn’t judge you – although people who stand in judgment of others might have a tough time with him.
  
  
• He accepts you wherever you are on your life’s journey.
  
  
• He loves you for who you are – with all your foibles, flaws and failings.
  
  
• He wants to connect with you – whoever you are. I like the way The Message Bible talks about Jesus: “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” Jesus is God’s way of communicating love and hope and peace and forgiveness and joy into human existence.

A key part of our mission at OYM (Oriole York Mills United Church) is to bring to life the teachings of Jesus Christ. We realize Jesus cannot be separated from his teachings. For instance, Aristotle says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Socrates says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Buddha says to his disciples, “Follow my meditations.” Confucius says to his disciples, “Follow my sayings.” Muhammad says to his disciples, “Follow my noble pillars.” However, Jesus says to his disciples, “Follow me.” Jesus calls to us in a more direct and personal way. And he calls us to make a profound commitment to relate to Him and be like Him as much as humanly possible. That’s the intriguing difference about Jesus and others: a follower can follow the teachings of its founder without having a relationship with that founder. Not so with Jesus Christ. The teachings of Jesus cannot be separated from Jesus himself. Jesus Christ is still alive because he was resurrected from the dead – now that’s something to think about! -- and he embodies his teachings.

I find it remarkable that Jesus wants to be friends with human beings. At its best, being “church” is one remarkable social (and spiritual) networking human family circling the Earth. You become his friend – I become his friend – someone else down the street, even on the other side of the world becomes his friend and we then connect with each other through God’s Holy Spirit (another topic for another blog) and learn to care for each other.

Do you consider yourself to be a friend of Jesus? If so, in what ways? If not, do you wish to become His friend? I think I can help you in such a quest. I’d enjoy interacting with you via the response mechanism attached to this blog. Or if you wish, send me an email. I’ll enjoy making another friend.

Chris