Dale Cresap's blog

You are familiar with the concept of default states. Do you think the default state of humanity is judgmental or non-judgmental? It is deeply embedded in human thought process to categorize, and to explain by cause and effect. Both of these things favor a judgmental approach. Are you familiar with the Biblical commandments against judging? Have you found these hard to put into practice? You have to overcome habits to avoid reaching judgmental conclusions.

Do you enjoy interaction with other people? Are you secure enough to hold serious discussions with those who hold other viewpoints? What is your objective in these encounters? Are you more interested in learning or winning? You can’t really have it both ways. Do you enjoy winning? Yet you have encountered others whose objective was winning and you did not enjoy this experience. You can learn from others without compromising your own beliefs. Are you willing to change your beliefs on the basis of learning new truth?

How free do you feel to criticize other faiths and others who disagree with you? How do you go about it? Have you seen a decline in civil discourse in your culture? Have you contributed to it? So many feel free to mock openly anything or anyone that doesn’t belong to their tribe. By this they acquire a bad characteristic that does not serve them well in reaching those beyond their group. You have real and significant differences with other world views and beliefs. This is normal but does not excuse you from loving them.

Has your spiritual growth caused you to outgrow friends? This can be a painful loss. Are you torn between wanting to move on and reluctant to lose your community? Have you ever had friendships wither even when neither of you has gone through a substantial change? Perhaps you are looking for more permanence in your circle of friends than is reasonable to expect. You are not the only person to follow a path of growth and I will provide you with new companions for this stage of your journey.

Do you see yourself as on a journey? Most people accept this imagery as an expression for the growth of their faith whether they like to travel or not. The Bible is full of terms like following me, walking on the strait and narrow road, and running the race set before you. Most people in motion have a clear goal in mind, called a destination. Your spiritual walk is different in that you are not moving toward a fixed point on the surface of the earth. Yet the terms and concept still apply. For here we have no continuing city but we seek a city with foundations in the heavens.

Have you noticed how many books there are today by people who have gone to heaven and returned to tell the tale? The authors write with great clarity and detail. Do you think these stories speak with authority? Visits to heaven are rare, but Paul did it, so you know it is possible. When he returned he referred to things that were unlawful to speak. How do you interpret the meaning of this? Do you think it was against the rules, or do you think that he was trying to confine to words things for which words were inadequate?

Are you attracted to those who are educated, beautiful, and well off? Everyone is attracted to the attractive. But I was the champion and advocate for the least of these. What does this phrase bring to mind for you? Honest poor people of good character who have suffered setbacks through no fault of their own, who are kind and grateful for your ministry to them? But those are relatively easy to love. What about those who have bad habits from having made bad choices? What about those who are without morals and character? Do you judge them harshly while ministering to the other?

Are you comfortable in challenging authority? Most authority structures are rigidly defined and so you know who is in charge. If it is a universal rule that people make mistakes, then this applies to those in authority as well. Does their position over you make you hesitate to point out their errors? It isn’t always your responsibility to correct them, but how do you respond when what they expect of you conflicts with your deepest values? The early apostles answered this dilemma with the question, should we obey God or you?

Do you come from a place of great prestige? Some places have a good reputation and those from that location obtain the benefit of association whether they have done anything to earn it or not. You can change your location but you can’t change where you are from. Even in this age of sensitivity one of the last prejudices and biases that can be freely expressed without fear of objection is against small-town and rural people. You are right in thinking that this is unfair, but if you are a victim of it you can take comfort in the fact that I was too. Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Have you heard the phrase, I’ve got your back? This originated in the military and soldiers would say it when providing covering fire for friendly forces at risk. This is a powerful enough idea that the same phrase has been adopted in the civilian world for the same concept. Have you ever felt the reassurance of having someone do  this for you? Have you ever done it for someone else? Have you ever felt alone, and without anyone to cover for you? Everyone will feel this way at some time, and this happened to me too.