Dave,
You are right. David from the Bible was a murderer and an adulterer. But that's not all he was. Let's look at the whole picture. David was also chosen by God to lead His people. He loved God and "the LORD" was "with him," (1 Sam 16:18). David was a man who followed God.
However, there came a time in his life when David became complacent. It was during this time that he saw a woman and became lustful for her. Instead of turning his head and heart from her, he took her, she became pregnant, and so he ended up having her husband murdered. He then took her as his wife. God knew of this and He had Samuel confront David about it. David, being king could have had Samuel killed for confronting him, but David took the rebuke for what it was and he repented. Still, he paid dearly for his actions. The consequences of his sin rippled through the rest of his reigning years. You can read about his sin in 2 Samuel 11 & 12.
Even though David fell, should we condemn him? Obviously the answer is a resounding, "NO!" God didn't condemn him. He forgave him when he repented. God also forgives us when we repent. But God doesn't take away the natural consequences of our sin.
That said, we need to remember that we humans don't see as God sees. God looks at the heart. David's heart was turned to God. He strayed. He returned. We are the same. We love God. But we stray. Hopefully we return.
God's re-acceptance of David should reassure us - like the story of the prodigal son and the forgiving father in the New Testament. We should be comforted that no matter how great our sin, we are embraced by God when we repent. Most of us won't commit the sin of murder. We won't commit adultery. Those are some of the worst of the sins we could commit. They fall on the top ten list of BAD THINGS not to do. But God sees all sin as repugnant. We aren't to compare ourselves to others. We are to use our perfect God as our measuring rod and understand that we never measure even close to His perfection.
We can know through David's story that if God would accept someone who has committed the most heinous of actions back into His embrace, He will accept us, who also sin, back too. Instead of looking at David as a let down, look at him as one who is like us, a sinner who loves God but strays. Be encouraged because even though David failed miserably to the flesh, God used him to do great things. Be happy that he found his way back to God and thus was deemed worthy to be listed as an ancestor of Jesus!
As far as your name goes, try to emulate the good in this namesake of your and hope that you can love God so much that it can be said that 'the LORD is with you!' Grasp the fact that David did great things for God and open yourself to Him, asking Him to use you to do great things too.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Faith News: Pope Francis speaks about doubting one's faith.
In June of 2013 Pope Francis was visiting some Jesuit-run schools in Italy and Albania when one of the boys asked him about how he could overcome doubts he had regarding his faith.
Pope Francis responded by speaking about walking: He said, "Walking is an art; if we are always in a hurry we tire and cannot reach our destination ... Yet if we stop and do not move, we also fail to reach [it] ...Walking is ... thinking about where I want to go, and also coping with the weariness that comes from walking. ...The way is often hard-going; it is not easy. ... there are days of darkness, days of failure, and some days of falling ... In the art of walking it is not falling that matters, but not 'staying fallen.' Get up quickly, immediately, and continue to go on. And this is beautiful: it is working every day, it is walking humanly. But also: it is terrible to walk alone, terrible and tedious. Walking in community, with friends, with those who love us: this helps us, it helps us to arrive precisely at the destination where we must arrive." (Our Sunday Visitor, July 6, 2014 - p 11 "Pope Francis on Doubt.)
Looking at his reply to this young boy, the next question is: How is our faith like walking?
* We must not tire in our faith.
* We must not stop trying to believe.
* We must remember to think about our destination (heaven/relationship with Jesus/eternity with God).
* We must remember that we will have days of darkness, doubts, failure, and falling.
* We must get up after we fall.
* We must get up quickly.
* We must get up immediately.
* We must work at it every day.
* We must join a community which helps us with our faith journey.
In these ways we can overcome our doubts and build our faith.
Pope Francis responded by speaking about walking: He said, "Walking is an art; if we are always in a hurry we tire and cannot reach our destination ... Yet if we stop and do not move, we also fail to reach [it] ...Walking is ... thinking about where I want to go, and also coping with the weariness that comes from walking. ...The way is often hard-going; it is not easy. ... there are days of darkness, days of failure, and some days of falling ... In the art of walking it is not falling that matters, but not 'staying fallen.' Get up quickly, immediately, and continue to go on. And this is beautiful: it is working every day, it is walking humanly. But also: it is terrible to walk alone, terrible and tedious. Walking in community, with friends, with those who love us: this helps us, it helps us to arrive precisely at the destination where we must arrive." (Our Sunday Visitor, July 6, 2014 - p 11 "Pope Francis on Doubt.)
Looking at his reply to this young boy, the next question is: How is our faith like walking?
* We must not tire in our faith.
* We must not stop trying to believe.
* We must remember to think about our destination (heaven/relationship with Jesus/eternity with God).
* We must remember that we will have days of darkness, doubts, failure, and falling.
* We must get up after we fall.
* We must get up quickly.
* We must get up immediately.
* We must work at it every day.
* We must join a community which helps us with our faith journey.
In these ways we can overcome our doubts and build our faith.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
How should I respond to something someone else does that makes me look bad? For example, my boss is a lousy manager. When I ask her for help with something her answers make no sense. I'm sure that if I had a better boss I would perform better. Should I speak to the next manager up and complain? What would Jesus say about this? - Jeremy
Jeremy -
You're probably not going to like this response. However, you need to remember that our real work in this world is to be an ambassador for Christ so that we can win souls for Him.
That being said, all people should behave remembering that Christ is the ultimate judge. Because of his obedience on the cross, He has the "full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men." (CCC679) All people must remember that they do their work not for a human boss, but ultimately for God.
I know that sounds like I didn't answer your question. So, let me pick it apart some more: All people must take responsibility for their part in what happens in their lives. The easiest way to shirk responsibility is to blame another, then they don't have to do anything about the problem.
This wanting to get out of trouble by blaming someone else can be seen from the very beginning of humanity. Remember in Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil; Adam blamed Eve for eating it. Eve blamed the serpent. The serpent was Satan who should not have been in the garden in the first place as Adam's job was to guard/care for the garden. (Gen 2:15) Four thousand plus years later we humans still play that blame game. It is the bane of our fallen-ness.
St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Colossians (Col 3:17) that whatever we "do, in word or in deed," we are to "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Col 3:17a) That is a great reminder that our real job in this life - ie: our real responsibility - is to make God be seen in all that we do. If we have a lousy boss, we need to continue to do our work the best we can in spite of that lousiness.
Getting specific then, how can you find a solution to your work problems when the boss's answer doesn't seem like it's helpful? Perhaps you need to be creative. Is there someone else at the job who knows the answer? Why not ask that person? You might have to swallow some pride, and you might have to ask someone you don't particularly like for help, but others will see you overcoming the "incompetence" of the boss and you will be seen as a part of the solution to what's not right in the workplace rather as a hindrance to getting the job done.
Remember, attitudes can be caught. Make yours one that others will benefit from catching. You may well be the impetus which creates a whole new way of being in your workplace. It is not your boss's responsibility to make you look good. What is your responsibility as an employee where you work? Is it to snitch on your boss? If you look realistically at the answer you will probably admit that it is to do your job to the best of your abilities. The way you overcome your boss's imperfections will demonstrate the strength of your character. ...
... And, your attitude towards your boss and your attitude towards becoming a better employee is one way you can live out the duty of all Christians: that of drawing others to Christ. In the meantime, suffering any wrongs you feel have been committed against you can be offered up as prayer and sacrifice towards your Christian calling in the fundamental work of saving souls.
Hope this helped.
You're probably not going to like this response. However, you need to remember that our real work in this world is to be an ambassador for Christ so that we can win souls for Him.
That being said, all people should behave remembering that Christ is the ultimate judge. Because of his obedience on the cross, He has the "full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men." (CCC679) All people must remember that they do their work not for a human boss, but ultimately for God.
I know that sounds like I didn't answer your question. So, let me pick it apart some more: All people must take responsibility for their part in what happens in their lives. The easiest way to shirk responsibility is to blame another, then they don't have to do anything about the problem.
This wanting to get out of trouble by blaming someone else can be seen from the very beginning of humanity. Remember in Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil; Adam blamed Eve for eating it. Eve blamed the serpent. The serpent was Satan who should not have been in the garden in the first place as Adam's job was to guard/care for the garden. (Gen 2:15) Four thousand plus years later we humans still play that blame game. It is the bane of our fallen-ness.
St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Colossians (Col 3:17) that whatever we "do, in word or in deed," we are to "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Col 3:17a) That is a great reminder that our real job in this life - ie: our real responsibility - is to make God be seen in all that we do. If we have a lousy boss, we need to continue to do our work the best we can in spite of that lousiness.
Getting specific then, how can you find a solution to your work problems when the boss's answer doesn't seem like it's helpful? Perhaps you need to be creative. Is there someone else at the job who knows the answer? Why not ask that person? You might have to swallow some pride, and you might have to ask someone you don't particularly like for help, but others will see you overcoming the "incompetence" of the boss and you will be seen as a part of the solution to what's not right in the workplace rather as a hindrance to getting the job done.
Remember, attitudes can be caught. Make yours one that others will benefit from catching. You may well be the impetus which creates a whole new way of being in your workplace. It is not your boss's responsibility to make you look good. What is your responsibility as an employee where you work? Is it to snitch on your boss? If you look realistically at the answer you will probably admit that it is to do your job to the best of your abilities. The way you overcome your boss's imperfections will demonstrate the strength of your character. ...
... And, your attitude towards your boss and your attitude towards becoming a better employee is one way you can live out the duty of all Christians: that of drawing others to Christ. In the meantime, suffering any wrongs you feel have been committed against you can be offered up as prayer and sacrifice towards your Christian calling in the fundamental work of saving souls.
Hope this helped.
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