On Loving God

I read this last night for Church History:

"Who would dream of offering a man a reward for doing something he wants to do?...How much more the soul that loves God seeks no other reward than that God whom it loves. Were the soul to demand anything else, then it would certainly love that other thing and not God....[Jesus] gave himself to merit for us; he keeps himself to be our reward; he serves himself as food for holy souls; he sold himself in ransom for captive souls. O Lord, you are so good to the soul who seeks you, what must you be to the one who finds you?...Who confesses the Lord, not because he is good to him but because the Lord is good, truly loves God for God's sake and not for his own benefit." - 12th century abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux, excerpted from his treatise, "On Loving God."

I wanted to share this quote today because 1) it's incredible and I need to think it through, and 2) I think it applies to how I am called by Jesus to live...and vote.

Healthcare and Me

My family and I are blessed to work for the CCO, which offers some pretty incredible Health Care. Having worked for an insurance several years ago, I know something that a lot of people don't: while it is true that to some degree an insurance company determines the service you receive, it is actually your employer (unless you buy insurance directly) that determines your benefits!

Having said this, I will once more say, we have great insurance at the CCO.

This past week, Zeke and Ana, and to a lesser degree, Kelly and I all had the flu (yes, it was probably H1N1, but it's too expensive to confirm the suspicions of the doctors). We are on the mend and all feeling much better.

I will remind you that we have insurance. But not just insurance, but really good Health Care through the CCO, and yet, my family incurred a little over $100 in out of pocket medical expenses NOT including supplemental vitamins, and generic fever reducers, etc., which we also bought.

Now, that may not seem like too much money, but for many that can make or break one's monthly budget...including ours from time to time! But imagine other scenarios that many face:

-not having insurance and getting sick. Unless you're wealthy, at this point you have to debate between receiving care and paying bills.

-having an employer who puts the majority of the cost-sharing on the employee. You've got insurance, but it won't pay anything until you've paid a deductible, and even then you probably have to pay a percentage of the remaining cost of care.

-getting a serious condition, and then being dropped by your health insurance, or not having insurance, but needing it desperately because of a condition...and not being accepted by an insurance company because of that preexisting condition (e.g. pregnancy is often consider a "preexisting condition"; do you know how much a childbirth cost's now-a-days?)

Now, others have some of the above insurance scenarios, and something far worse than the flu comes to your home! We all just had the flu! Not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. No surgery was required, no lifetime medicines prescribed, no hospitalization required, etc. And we still had to pay over $100...and we have insurance!

All this to say, something MUST be done with the current system. I don't want the government to have absolute control over healthcare in the U.S....neither does the government! That has never been proposed as a bill. What is being proposed is the 'radical' idea that 1) We must care for all our citizens' health, 2) employers have a measure of responsibility to their employees regarding this, and 3) Insurance Companies will be accountable to the American people to do what they should instead of what they arbitrarily want.

Between the time I started writing this post, and now :) the House of Representatives passed the H.R. 3962 proposal with an amendment to ensure that the government will not pay for abortions (praise God!). I pray that the Senate will make changes that will make the bill even better, 'cause it's certainly not perfect.

“This bill will get better in the Senate,” said Representative Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat who has been outspoken in his criticism of some provisions of the bill but decided to support it. “If we kill it here, it won’t have a chance to get better.” This is an excerpt from this article.

Pray. Ask God how American Christians should care for others in our nation regarding health care. Read scripture and listen for His voice.

listening, speaking, anger...and "others"

What is it about being listened to that affirms us?  Being able to speak, and being listened to, affects us all deeply.  Why?

James commands followers of Jesus to be "quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry!" (check it out)  

I don't think these are three separate, unrelated commands.  I believe that they are incredibly interconnected.  

Even among people with whom we typically agree, how many arguments occur, coming out of our own unwillingness to listen to "the other"?  

(Anybody married?  I am...think about the arguments you have with your spouse.)

How much more difficult is it to listen to those we may NOT agree with on big issues.

[Place for paragraph I originally wrote as introduction of topic but moved to later in post...DON'T skip ahead!]

I am still thinking about what Heather had to say last night during her presentation...but there were three things that she shared that I was blown away by, because they were some of the best descriptions of a few biblical truths I have ever heard!  No, she didn't quote scripture, but for these three things, she might as well have!

Let me sum up the three things that struck me:

1) sometimes we try sooo hard.  We expend soooo much energy to find security, happiness, and love.  But it is often when we stop trying that these things are simply given to us...without our "earning" them by our efforts.

2) we often hide our true selves from others.  Especially when we fear rejection for voicing our thoughts, or showing people who we really are, we put up fronts and either practice total avoidance or put on masks.  But when we are just comfortable being our true selves, it's surprising that the world doesn't combust when we come out of hiding!!!

3) related to the last point, we often choose not to converse or relate with people we know we disagree with.  We don't talk to or listen to "others."  But we should!  We should listen to people we know we're going to disagree with about things, and when we do, we might be surprised that there are points of connection; things we might actually, shockingly, share in common.

Here are three corresponding scriptures that I think illustrate these truths:

earning vs. receiving love

hiding vs. speaking truthfully

listening to others vs. being angry at others

I pray that I may believe and practice these things.

Paragraph I was originally going to use to introduce topic:

I was incredibly blessed last night to listen to an outspoken lesbian comedienne from California.  Kenyon had a Speak-Out-Against-Discrimination Day (not to be confused with last week's Speak Out Against Discrimination-Day....just kidding).  Heather Gold was the keynote speaker for the aforementioned day, and I went to hear what she had to say.

Truth will be found...even in the places we least expect it.  

I am not 100% sure about what my response to Prop. 8 should be; it's something I'm still wrestling with.  Frankly, I'm glad I didn't have to vote on it.  But because of listening to Heather, I have a better perspective on where she's coming from.

While I don't agree with her on everything she said, there were those amazing truths that she spoke.  I was blessed by the opportunity to listen to her.  I feel no anger towards her, only compassion (NOT pity, but compassion) and love...

I pray that this honors Jesus who loves and has compassion on "others."

Final thoughts:

I am an "other" to someone...  

I know I want to be listened too...

"Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that." ~Jesus (per Luke 6:31-33)

Lord, help me to be quick to listen...