May. 5, 2008 - Sugar coated and tax deductible

Today I was reading a book about a very famous American woman who we are all supposed to be like. A woman admired by all and criticized by none. Such a person seems almost unreal, something that we made up in order to have a standard to live up to.

I am supposed to be impressed, to be in awe of the amazing things this woman accomplished, and yet I am not impressed. Because, as I looked at her life I realized she didn't accomplish anything worth while, she didn't make a change in the world that helped anyone but her, she didn't make life easier for Americans who didn't have her status, she didn't inspire anyone who saw her to make a difference. She went shopping, married rich men, gave great parties, went to selective restaurants, became the fashion icon of her time, had control of a room the moment she stepped into it and had better manners than anyone thought possible.

So what, if anything, did she accomplish in her life? From what I could tell, not much. She's famous, yes, but if she hadn't married the people she did no one would know her name. She had manners, yes, but only to a certain degree. Fashion? A beautiful house? Amazing parties? Well behaved kids? Yes she had it all, but what did she accomplish?

As a read the book, the authors would praise her, saying how cleaver or cunning she was in a situation; when in reality she had been selfish, rude, unkind and at times deceitful. This is who we are supposed to be? This is the ideal we are supposed to live for? A person who gets what they want, when they want, without any sacrifice on their part.

If you look around you'll notice the entire world wants to be that person. At times, I've wanted to be that person. This is what were supposed to want, this is the dream we're supposed to have. Never having to do or say anything for ourselves, always passing the bill to someone else, always shifting the blame to the next person in line- if it was ever put on us in the first place. Sugar coated words and a few tax deductible gifts; this is what is considered charity today. If their isn't something in it for us we don't want to bother, if we can't get the best out of the deal we'll let it slide in hopes of a better one.

But as I read, I kept thinking of the word others. I kept thinking of the people in Greece I'm praying for this month, The people groups that show up in my sidebar each time you come to my blog, the persecuted church members I write about and the people at church my tithe serves. What about them? What about the joy that we get from helping others and giving back to our communities?

No, I'm not perfect. No, I am not the best Christian in the world. No, I don't give and serve as much as I should. But as I watch the rest of the world go down the tubes while reaching for the kind of life this woman lived, I remember our ideal. I remember the Sunday school lessons and the bible story books. I remember the fact that according to medical statistics America is the saddest country in the world; with more suicides and anti depressants than any other nation on earth. I remember the person I get to look up to, and somehow, it seems like a great privilege to be able to look up to Christ.

To live like Christ is a very different ideal than the ideal most people have. People who look like Christ are what the world wants and needs; yet they've lowered their standard until it is nothing more than who has the most stuff. Because that seems to be the American cure for everything that ails the planet- More stuff. This cure is the opposite of the one Christ offers us- Sacrifice.

Sugar coated words and a few tax deductible gifts- Not a lot of sacrifice required. To do something one must give up something; the woman I read about had manners but wasn't truly kind. Kindness- that is the ideal we are to reach for everyday. She owned any room she went into but that was because she demanded attention. Humility- that is the ideal we are to demand; not of others but of ourselves.

What did she accomplish? Nothing, she accomplished nothing in her life that anyone can remember. And, in reality none of us have accomplished anything if we do not show the love of God to those in our lives. That is our ideal, that is what we live for- to love like God. She was a fashion icon, but fashion can't buy healing. She threw great parties, but parties can't give us freedom. She always said the right thing, but speeches can't change nations. Love, Love the way God loves, is the only thing that can do any of that. That is our ideal. That is what we live for.

37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' ~ Matthew 22:37-39

~ Elise