Dale Cresap's blog

When you have a dispute with your brother, or with anyone for that matter, how do you address it with him? My word tells you to go to your brother directly (rather than to everyone else). This is a good start. What then? Do you lead with your strong points and point out the errors in his ways? You would do better to acknowledge your opponents strong points and the weaknesses in your own positions. Why is this? Your opponent already knows these things, and this is his position.

In the world of commerce, those with whom you do business can be thought of as customers or clients. Do you know the difference? The term customer implies that a transaction takes place and nothing more. To view someone as a client implies that you are caring for their interests. Customers should be treated with courtesy, but being a client implies a higher level of involvement. Which type of treatment do you prefer for yourself? This principle can be applied beyond the world of commercial transactions. You can treat every person you meet as a client rather than a customer.

Do you see people who are recognized as spiritual leaders for whom you have no admiration, and others that you do admire? Do you have a spiritual leader of your own? As a citizen of a country you are under whatever system of government is in place. You may have had the chance to vote for your leaders, or not, and your candidate may have lost the election, but you live with the outcome whatever it is. There are leaders in my Kingdom as well, but the selection process is different. You are free to affiliate with the church of your choice, so in that sense you get to select your leader.

Faith and doctrine are central features of your faith. Do you think of faith only in terms of doctrine? Do you think you must have everything correctly understood before your faith has meaning? Do you recall the story of the Centurion with the sick servant? I commended him for having greater faith than I had found in Israel. Consider the magnitude of this statement. What did he believe? Would you expect a Roman to have faith according to correct doctrine? Yet I still commended him. Exercise faith according to what you understand and I will lead you into all truth.

Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘tell someone who cares?’ Have you ever said it? This is a harsh statement and is thought more than it is spoken. Have you ever heard someone tell you about something in their life that you didn’t really care about but expressed the courtesy of listening? Everyone has a story and everyone needs to be heard. This is therapeutic and an expression of human compassion. When was the last time someone really listened to you? You can pay it forward. Give the gift of your attention to someone who is lonely and isolated. Be the one who cares.

When you see someone with a disability, do you give them an extra measure of grace and consideration? Some disabilities are obvious, such as those that limit mobility. What about others? Who do you know that isn’t fighting a battle of some sort, to overcome inherent limitations or unfavorable circumstances? Do you make an issue of whether they made bad choices that led to their current condition? It isn’t necessary to be so judgmental. When you see someone in a wheelchair, do you ask if they were at fault in the accident that led to this? In like manner you can give grace to everyone.

Have you ever heard of fighting fire with fire? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use water? Are you grieved at the hatred and anger that you see in the world around you? Do you want to do something about it? Yet have you seen people attempt to oppose hatred and anger with hatred and anger? Doesn’t this just serve to escalate the supply of these things? Doesn’t it make more sense to become the opposite of what you oppose? In that case you should become more loving to oppose hatred and anger. I wouldn’t have told you to overcome evil with good if it wasn’t the best way.

Do you find it disturbing to have your truth paradigms challenged? This can occur in two ways. You may find that there are precepts that you accepted that don’t stand up in real-life experience. You may also find that there is truth outside of your tradition. Are you prepared to reject things that don’t work and embrace those that do? Which of these do you find to be more difficult? Do you view your life as a journey in the pursuit of truth, and follow wherever it leads, continually refining and enlarging your understanding? Have faith.

Do you think of empathy and compassion as the same thing? They are similar, but there is a difference. Empathy is a feeling. Compassion implies a response, and this is the term you find in the Bible. Have you ever heard of someone being moved with empathy? Yet you have heard of people being moved with compassion. Movement implies action, and you should take this connection seriously. If you encounter someone whose situation is so bad that you want to respond, let yourself be moved with compassion and do something to assist them.

Do you like to view wild animals? You can see them in the zoo, but would you agree that it is better to encounter them in their natural habitat than in captivity? You take pictures of them and share them and your friends like them. There is something embedded in humanity that responds to the majesty of these great creatures. What is it, and why does this matter? Are you prepared to see this as a spiritual experience? They are part of my created order that reflects my glory.