They don't know what they're doing

Probably the most amazing, deep, and most ponderous things that Jesus ever said was when he was hanging on the cross. He said:  "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

They do not know what they are doing. 

Don't they know that they're murdering someone?  Don't they see someone with open wounds all over body, hanging from nails in his hands, moaning in agony?  Don't they know that this is wrong?

They do not know what they are doing.

I think Jesus was preaching a little sermon as he was pleading to God.  The sermon is: Don't judge... because you never know if someone is simply acting in ignorance.

In other words, we are all learning, all of the time.  Because we're all learning different lessons all of the time, we will never know when someone else is in the middle of learning a lesson.  We don't know what we're doing, much of the time, because we're always growing and becoming wiser.  More importantly, we're hopefully becoming more loving and selfless like Jesus.

Jesus was willing to forgive people who were in the act of murder. What does that tell you about Jesus? 

Are we willing to forgive murderers?  Terrorists?  Racists?  Abusers?  Homophobes?  Liberals?  Conservatives? 

Jesus loved people and forgave people right where they are at.  For all we know, they do not know what they are doing. 

Jesus redefined power

Why is Jesus remembered 2000 years after his death? One of the reasons is because he redefined power. Power during the time of Jesus was always achieved by violence and control of people. Kingdoms became powerful by pillaging and assimilating smaller, weaker countries. Priority number one was to make sure you had yours. Climb over others on the ladder of success if necessary. Avoid the poor, dirty, smelly folks because they're bad for your brand.

Then from a small town in Israel comes along a guy saying that we should love our enemies. We should make it a priority to take care of the poor. We should invite the unpopular, socially awkward folks to dinner before the powerful, who's who of our town. Love is the only law.

This whole "servant attitude" wasn't too popular with the power brokers that built their kingdom on control or violence, so they killed him. But before they killed him, he forgave them. And then he came back (without a gun) to offer some departing wisdom on how self-sacrifice -- as shown in his final act on the cross -- is really what the hokey pokey is all about.

Jesus forgiving his enemies revealed that their futile violent ways were overcome by the truth of unconditional love. Love wins. Jesus showed humanity what God is really like -- he loves and forgives EVERYONE, no matter if they're the director of the city's largest orphanage or they're putting to death the town's beloved pastor. He loves us where we are at, and simply wants us to trust him that this is true (and that his way is best). This is unconditional love. Love is the only power that can truly unite. Power by control and violence will always create attitudes of making sure you get yours by control and/or violence, no matter how it impacts others.

Serving others, not controlling others is the example that Jesus left us. Everyone is our brother and sister. When we refuse to recognize everyone as our brother and sister, we don't concern ourselves with making sure that everyone is fed. When we treat each person as our brother and sister, our community is healthy, and God's will is being done.

Going Off Script

 
I'm fortunate to have a couple of guys at my office who meet up with me once a week to talk about Jesus, a Jewish carpenter from the first-century AD whom we're all obsessed with (I know - NERDS!). This past week one of the guys, we'll call him Xavier McQueen to keep him anonymous (and also to make him sound really cool), shared how he went from a life of meh existence, and boring daily routine, to a life full of passion. This conversation lead us to some thoughts about how our office life and life as suburban Americans not only is the stuff of sitcoms, but is also antithetical to being a follower of Jesus, and living a life of passion and purpose.

I believe that it's in our human nature to seek consistency through routines in our daily lives because it brings us comfort. Daily rituals such as work, coffee, exercise, adrenaline, religious rituals and anything else that you seek out daily will bring you comfort aren't bad of course -- but they can easily become a way of of avoiding something outside of our comfort zone that could stretch us from comfort -- to joy and meaning. Creating a life of comfortable daily routines is like living in a "Panic Room" to insulate yourself from the bad guys -- but deep down inside we know we're not meant to live in panic rooms. We can't "live" in Panic Rooms. Plus if you saw the movie "Panic Room" you learned that those rooms aren't all that.

We miss out on beauty and a billions different spices of life that God wants for us when we only lock ourselves into daily routines. I'm sure you've noticed like I have that oftentimes the most memorable and meaningful experiences in life happen when things go off script. It's the time you got lost on vacation and came across the most amazing place. It's the "chance" encounter with someone that turned into your spouse or your best friend. It's the time when someone you love went through a difficult time, but you were there for them and you were blessed as a result. It was the time your spouse or your friend went through a hard time together, and you became closer as a result.

It's sadly ironic that the Christian religion can so easily turn into a lifestyle of routine and suffocating rituals, and a Panic Room. It's ironic because if you look at the life of Jesus and his followers -- their lives defined adventure and spontaneity. The only daily ritual in their life seemed to be the daily question of "what can we do today that will help others, even if it might get us killed?" Following Jesus means that your rituals will center on others - not yourself. When we are there for each other, then nobody gets neglected. When we stop loving and serving each other is when the system breaks down.

The "church" that Jesus started looked more like a house gathering of people plotting for missions of self-sacrificial love. These missions were not routine, they were not comfortable and they were not safe. "Ritual" was probably one of the last words anyone would use when describing what "church" was back in the days of togas and sandals. They sought love over comfort.

When you follow the God of love instead of making a god of comfort, it's impossible to have a life of me existence or boring daily routines. When we break out of our routine, we will find opportunities to give life to countless others and to ourselves.

Merit is BS

Merit is BS. Please hear me out. President Obama last night was interviewed by Bob Costas about the Olympics, and during a question on homosexuality, Obama said that he likes that being successful in the Olympics doesn't depend on your sexual orientation, race, etc. but instead "you are judged by your merit." What I'm writing now is not about Obama, but about the pervasive merit myth in America. This myth of the value of merit based achievement.

Read this: the playing field is not level. It never will be. If you think that working hard is a mathematical formula for success, then you're believing a myth. If you look at the countless amazing stories of people that have overcome adversity -- by their own merit -- then you're believing a myth. Before you queue up the Debbie Downer Wa Waaaaaa music on me, please let me explain.

I used to be one of those people that judged homeless folks for begging for money. I used to think "Frickin get a job man!" "Improve your own situation" "Wendy's is hiring right down the street from you." Until I learned that like 75% of the homeless are war veterans -- soldiers that came home with emotional wounds, and then added on to that chemical dependency wounds. I heard stories of other homeless people that needed to escape abusive situations.

I used to judge minorities for claiming a victim mentality. I used to think that color isn't a barrier to success anymore. I'd think of celebrities, athletes, politicians, and business people of different ethnic backgrounds -- man they overcame adversity so why can't everyone else? Then I heard stories from friends that experience discrimination regularly. Still today. I heard about getting pulled over for a DWB (driving while black). I saw and heard the statistics that clearly show that "White Privilege" is very real still today. I saw an HR study that a resume from a job candidate with a white sounding name is more likely to get a phone call for an interview than a resume from a non-white sounding name with the same qualifications. The playing field is not level.

Judging by merit is utilizing a broken measurement tool. Hard work is not a formula for success. The Olympics are probably the most obvious example of this, because most of the athletes getting awarded medals are people with not only hard work ethic, but with great genetics, great coaches, great training facilities, coming from big, rich countries. Judging by merit when it comes to people's careers, relationships, and other areas of life is just as flawed. Just to list a few variables that make for a bumpy playing field (in no particular order): where you were raised, how you were raised, siblings, friends, what type of education you received, genetics, IQ, mental fortitude, athleticism, diet, physical appearance, ethnicity, religion, and the list could go on and on. Countless things impact your outlook and your outcome in life. To say that you "succeed" or "fail" based on merit is B.S.

On a related side note, I should say that I'm not arguing that any one of these variables should keep anyone from "success" in the world. Any one of a countless number of variables, such as listed above, can cause adversity if you are claiming that someone can "merit" achievement by "working hard." I love the story of Nick Vujicic, the guy with no arms and no legs who uses his adversity to inspire millions. I'm a huge believer that anyone with any limitation can rise above. But I absolutely do not believe that success is merited solely by an individual's free will, and vice versa.

On another side note related to my other side note, I should say that I believe that despite millions of variables that impact our life, we can make choices that will affect us in positive ways and vice-versa. However, we can't always take credit for making good choices or making bad choices -- because of millions of variables. A lot of people, including ourselves, will make good or bad choices because we've been conditioned to think and act certain ways based on the millions of variables. The free will of other people individually and as a society plays in to our free will. It's really complicated. 

So without merit what do we have? Grace.

Jesus' life defined grace. Jesus spent much of his time focusing on the importance of taking care of the poor. Why didn't he spend his time instead telling the poor to work harder? Why didn't he open up a career center for disabled people? I contend it's because Jesus is a realist. He gets that the playing field is not level. Some people will be born into a hole that they won't climb out, some will fall into a hole they won't climb out and some will get pushed into a hole they won't climb out. It's not always the person in the hole that is to blame. It's ALWAYS our job to help someone out of the hole, and withhold judgment. Once we get to the know the person, THEN we can walk alongside them and coach them in their troubles if they ask for it.

Jesus sacrificed his life for people who lied to him, cursed him, and falsely accused him. Jesus' friends sacrificed their lives too, because they understood that grace should be given to everyone because we're all in the same boat -- we all got issues.

Merit is BS. Grace is the golden standard of measurement. Measure yourself, and others with the measurement of grace.