Posts Tagged faith
Sometimes you just have to feel your way around
Posted by Steven Buehler in Life, Spirituality on February 7, 2010
Earlier in the week I had to take a friend (in extreme abdominal pain) to the emergency room for diagnosis and treatment, and of course the first thing they want to do is draw blood. So, they insert an IV, but it draws too slowly, making the sample unusable too quickly.
So, they try again. Nine more times over the next few hours, on the arms, the hands, the wrists. Each one either “the vein blows” or they can’t get a draw. After the ninth attempt the two nurses decide to call in another nurse named Jody. If anyone can find the spot, they say, it’s Jody.
Jody does it successfully on the first try. In the inside of the right arm, where one almost always finds one but the others couldn’t.
What was Jody’s secret? She doesn’t trust her sight. She feels for the right place. A proper IV site has a certain feel to the touch. A site might look like a vein but unless it feels a certain way it won’t work.
—
A lot of times I can’t trust what I see.
Those times that are what faith is for.
Faith allows me to feel my way around when looks are deceiving.
Faith allows me to find the right place to try again. And succeed.
(my friend is doing fine now, by the way, and recovering with anti-inflammatory medication).
image credit: Beelitz Heilstätten via stock.xchng
Talents.
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on March 22, 2009
I’m reminded a lot lately of the story of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28). That’s not surprising given that I’ve spent most of my personal and academic study involved in the parables. However, this illustration in particular has always taken me.
Jesus, if we were to set aside all claims to deity for a moment, was at the least a master storyteller. If you were to take the time to not only read the parables, but to also study the culture and times during which they were first told, you’ll find that Jesus has a masterful way of setting up his listeners and then yanking the rug of security out from under them. He sets up his audience to put themselves in the place of the character who seems to be doing the most right, only to be told that the very same “right” character was so very wrong. It’s speculation, but I’m sure that’s one of the biggest reasons that the religious leaders (Pharisees) wanted Jesus out of the way—he threatened their very security and livelihood.
The story goes something like this, in my paraphrase—a landowner, preparing to leave for a long trip, calls three of his workers and gives them responsibility to manage his assets while he’s away. To the first worker he gives responsibility for five portions, to the second, two, and to the third, one portion. Then, he leaves. The first two workers go out and invest what they’ve been entrusted with, doubling their portions, the third worker buries what he’s been given in hopes of at least being able to return to the landowner the amount he was given. When the owner returns, the two workers who invested what they were given are praised, while the worker who doesn’t loses what he was given and is thrown out of the owner’s employ.
We’re tempted (like any beginning Bible scholar) to determine the modern day equivalent of what each worker was given—we want to know how much it was in today’s dollars that the first worker got, that the second worker got, and how much the third worker buried in his backyard. The fact is that how much a “talent” is worth in today’s dollars isn’t important for this story, so we can set aside our calculators and slide rules. It’s the actions of the workers—specifically, the third worker who buried what he was given—that is important for us.
The crowd listening to this story, most of them being Jews, would have immediately identified with the third worker as Jesus tells the story. Israel was a nation whose intent was to preserve and protect their spiritual and national heritage at any cost. It was the cause of a lot of tension between Israel and the occupying Roman government and would eventually lead to Israel’s destruction only a few decades after Jesus gives this parable. In this sense, the parable is prophetic.
In Jewish law, burying something was considered the safest way to protect it from loss. In fact, if I had been entrusted with a friend’s life savings, and I buried it in my backyard, and a thief was to come and steal it from where it was buried, I could not be held liable for the loss.
The problem with this was that God’s expectation for His people (Israel) was that they would do much more with what they were entrusted than to simply preserve and protect it. They were expected to share it. To invest it in other nations. To be a beacon for other nations, a model for other nations to look at and desire to emulate by worshipping the same God of Israel. They were to be an example. However, Israel had repeatedly failed at fulfilling this trust (although, in a prophetic future they will finally succeed at this, but not because of anything they’ve done about it; it will be entirely God’s doing). Eventually, even the one portion they had (the land) was taken from them by the Romans, who then moved other nations into the land to take their place (which, by the way, is where we get “Palestine” from—there never were a “Palestinian people”; it was an invention of the Roman Empire after they forcibly removed the Jews from their homeland in order to prevent the Jews from ever again reestablishing themselves in the same area).
What makes this the rug that Jesus pulls out from underneath his listener is that this trust was not the “five talents” or even the two. It was the single portion that the third worker was given. What makes this even more ironic is that the owner gave to each worker “according to his ability.” The owner figured that this third worker could at least handle even this small thing. For God, what Israel had been given was the simplest and most basic thing they could use, and they didn’t use it. Eventually, it was taken from them (but prophecy suggests they will receive it back at the appropriate time—and this time, they’ll have learned their lesson)
What application could this all have for you and me? I think there are a few:
- God, the “wealthy landowner,” doesn’t give us any more—or less—than He knows we have the ability to work with. The fact that Jesus mentions that each worker was given a portion “according to his ability” is important. God knows how much blessing–and how much trouble—we are each able to deal with. He will never give us more trouble than we can handle, but he also won’t give us any less or more blessing than we can use.
- The corollary to the first point is that we will not get more until we get faithful what we’ve already got. The phrase “according to his ability” is applicable here. The first two workers got five portions and two portions because they had already shown that they could handle those amounts. They had to show that they could be faithful with a single portion or with two portions before they would get the five portions. If we are not faithful in using what we have now, even if it doesn’t seem like much, how should we expect to get any more? Even in the modern workplace, I could not expect to become responsible for a large project roll-out until I could show that I could handle the smaller regulatory changes (and unfortunately, I blew it on two of the smaller projects, so I lost even those and here I am collecting unemployment).
- Which brings the second point: we are expected to use what we’ve been blessed or troubled with. Even if it is for the smallest of profits, like the worker who could have put it in the bank to simply accrue a small amount in interest, we are expected to do something, anything, with what we’ve been given. Anything but burying it away to never be used or applied to our lives and the lives of others. More importantly, we’re expected to use it right here, right now (note, the first two workers “immediately” did something with what they were given—they didn’t wait until the economy got better or they were able to relocate to a more hopeful place). This is where “Grow where you’re planted” comes in that I’ve been constantly thinking about. There are opportunities to use what I’ve been given right here, right now if I would simply get my head out of my own hind end and look around. I don’t need to wait for the economy to improve, to get a job, or wait to be able to move to California or anywhere else to do what I should be doing right now. The fact of “Grow where you’re planted” is that I could be blossoming and flourishing today if i would simply put to use what I’ve been given to work with, even if it doesn’t seem like very much right now.
- The most important point: the blessing we are given is never meant to be kept for ourselves. This goes directly against so-called “Word of Faith” or “prosperity” teaching. The reason our cup sometimes overflows isn’t for us to think about getting ourselves a bigger cup. It’s so that the overflow can go through our cup into the cups of others. One of the reasons I listen to Joel Osteen, even though he’s classified as a “prosperity teacher,” is because he’s one of the very few such teachers, if not the only one, to make the point that blessing is meant to be shared and not hoarded (unfortunately, he waited until the last chapter of “Your Best Life Now” to make that point, but the point was made). We are blessed to be a blessing. If we are going to teach prosperity, we had better remember to include the reason for prosperity, and it’s not to keep it to ourselves.
Is life worth living?
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on October 25, 2008
Before all my recovery friends start trying to ring my cell phone, I am not suicidal. I’m actually doing quite well at this moment.
But that title sure grabbed your attention, didn’t it?
Why did that title grab your attention so readily?
Perhaps it’s because that’s a question everybody has asked themselves at some point. Like when the layoff notice hits the desk. Or when your supposed “love of a lifetime” serves you with the divorce petition and you suddenly have no family. Or when the local Sheriff shows up at your door step with foreclosure and eviction papers. Or when that once-in-a-generation recession hits and you lose everything but the shirt on your back. I’ve been through the first three, although being forced to move out of the family home into my own apartment didn’t require the Sheriff or foreclosure.
Let’s face it—generally speaking, we’re in unprecedented low times in our generation. We’re in times that are lately being compared to the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s, a time that only ended because the United States went to war. This time, unlike last time, the “contagion” has spread around the globe. Much of it is paying the price for the excesses we took when the economy was in much better circumstances. It’s not entirely the fault of politicians, so when laying the blame it helps to take a good look into the mirror as well as through the binoculars. Times like these, when the bills are piling up and the money in the checkbook doesn’t seem to pile anywhere near the stack of bills, it’s easy to ask the question.
Some—like the father of one of my nieces—answered in the negative and ended his (Godspeed, Joseph). Others—like the new sweetheart of mine that I hope to be able to introduce to you sometime in the future—chose to hang on and keep moving, even though doing so involves a tremendous amount of emotional, physical, and spiritual pain. (Note, it is the general “policy” in this blog that I respect the privacy of those dear in my life, so no names or photos of that special individual here without consent).
This brings me to this question: What would be the difference if we choose to hang on for just a bit longer?
If there is one thing that we try to hammer into the minds of people in recovery, it’s not to quit. Hang on, because the breakthrough can be just around that next corner. If you were to stop now just before it comes, what will you miss!
It turns out that if Joseph (true story, from what I know) would have waited a mere half hour more, and had his cell phone on his person instead of left in his truck, he would have gotten that call from his former boss offering him his old job back. Things would have turned around, but he missed out by mere minutes. And to even begin to think of the friends and family that will miss him because of one selfish decision.
The first step to gaining back the peace, stability, and serenity we desperately seek is to accept the fact that sometimes life just sucks. It’s the nature of the fallen world we live in. And you and I are imperfect, flawed human beings in the midst of that fallen world. Nobody is completely perfect on this planet; there is not a single person on the face of this earth who will not disappoint or hurt us at some time, either intentionally or unintentionally. This is reality; when we can accept that it is, we finally stop beating ourselves up when things screw up. We accept ourselves as we are, but at the same time keep hope and drive to continue to grow and learn from mistakes. Even better, we finally understand that the “power to grow and change” is outside ourselves. In the end, it comes from the people we put around us who encourage us and challenge us, and it is the product of our faith.
Growth is the product of cherishing every sacred moment of life. And every moment of life is sacred.
Whirlwind.
Posted by Steven Buehler in Uncategorized on August 2, 2007
The title pretty much describes the past two weeks, andthat’s okay.
While it does fall under the category of “Real Life,” I usually do not write about my “regular” job for a couple of reasons:
- I’m not interested in being “dooced,”
- Most of my work product would fall under confidentiality agreements concerning the disclosure of proprietary information, so I can’t talk about them in my blog anyway.
Plus, I don’t think a typical reader would be interested in what kinds of VBA genius I figured out for Excel during a given week, anyway. 
However, much of the past two weeks has focused on work, as I’m now out of a job after it was offshored to eastern Europe, although I do continue to get paid through late September as part of the deal so I can look for another position in the company. There are already a couple of good leads that I should hear about sometime next week, so hopefully my unemployment will not last long.
Today I finished packing up the equipment that I need to ship back to the company—everything but the SecurID tag so I can access the network up until UPS picks it all up on Friday. Of course it would all be shipped back to me if I find another position in the company, but rules are rules. There is a whole lot of paper to read about the severance process, transitions, etc., to fill my empty days for a while.
The ‘at risk of involuntary termination’ status was expected, and to be honest there is a sense of relief and calmness about the whole thing as the result is now clear as well as what needs to be done in response to it, and I’m no longer living in limbo over whether or not I’ll have a job the following week. The severance package also helps in the event I can’t find another position and have to start looking somewhere else.
The two things that have kept coming to my mind since getting the letter last week are the two things I always keep telling “my guys” in the recovery group. Of course, they’re based on scriptures.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
“A lamp to my feet”—we never see the entire road ahead, and we don’t need to. We are shown where we need to put our foot down next, where our next step is to be. The rest is simply trust that the One who guides us knows the destination. I mentioned this when I wrote about the original announcement of my work being offshored.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
This verse is very important to me. It tells me a lot of things.
First, I’m never alone in what I deal with; there’s nothing on this earth that I could go through that someone else hasn’t gone through already, so there is always the opportunity to learn from another’s experience and for someone else to learn from my experience.
The second thing it tells me is that God’s fully aware of our human limitations and knows how much we can deal with before we reach the breaking point. The issue is that most of the time, whatGod knows we can handle is more than than whatwe think we can handle. And that causes all sorts of faith issues.
So the lamp, if you will, is now moving, and I better be going with it lest I get left in the dark, huh?
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About Me
I'm a 30-something blogger, sometimes writer/musician, and geek-of-all-trades starting life over in Plant City, Florida, with the faith of my youth, the love of my life, and prayers for a job before my unemployment compensation runs out in April 2010. I'm also the host of The Sacred Project Podcast—This Ain't Your Grandma's Church Music!
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