Dale Cresap's blog

Do you spend a lifetime acquiring knowledge and character? Do you also spend a lifetime acquiring money? Which do you think is more valuable? Even those who are not believers will rank character and education ahead of money. Yet these things depart with you when you leave this mortal life, while your money stays behind. Those who receive your money will be glad to get it. If character is still more valuable, how will you spend it now to obtain the benefit of this greater value while you are still alive?

Are you desired? Is there anything more validating for a  person than to be wanted by others? Conversely, is there anything worse than being rejected by others, to be ignored and considered undesirable? Have you noticed that your culture enforces a rigid hierarchy of attractiveness, in intelligence, social standing, financial worth, and particularly physical appearance? Even if this code is unspoken it is real, and everyone knows where they fall on the spectrum. Most of these qualities are assigned at birth rather than earned, so what do you do if you didn’t win the lottery?

Do you see yourself as an insider or an outsider with regard to your faith? How do you see me? I went to church up until the time of a dramatic departure and never went back. Yet I never renounced my Jewish faith of origin. I spoke of new wine and new wineskins, and this is an enduring principle. I raise up prophets in times when change is necessary. They cannot be outsiders who have no credibility in the organization. Neither can they be insiders who are too firmly attached to the status quo to challenge it. The most effective change agents stand on the perimeter.

In the beginning, I said that it was not good for the man to be alone. Do you  think of this only in terms of marriage since it was at this time I gave him a companion? Not everyone is married, but the principle is universal. Everyone needs a community. What punishment is worse than rejection and isolation? Even for prisoners solitary confinement is considered severe. Christians tend to think of their church as their community. This is a good place to start, but not a good place to end.

Is everyone special? Everyone would like to be, but if everyone is, then no one is. Something in the human heart cries out for a unique identity, and this you already have. The problem arises when you compare yours to others and use it to set you above and apart. The desire to be superior to the rest of humanity only causes you to be alienated and isolated from the rest of humanity. You are fearfully and wonderfully made and you can be grateful for this. Can you be just as grateful on behalf of everyone else for whom  the same is true? This is as special as you need to be.

Are you familiar with the phrase ‘preaching to the choir’? This implies an attempt to convince someone of something they are already fully persuaded of. This should be an easy task. Everyone needs a supportive community, and the Biblical terms for this are edification and exhortation. Recognizing that, you should also recognize that this does not fulfill the Great Commission to preach the gospel to every creature. You should expect that those who are not familiar with the gospel message will be a harder sell, but  you will be expanding the Kingdom of God on earth by doing so. 

Are you familiar with the idea of valid criticism? Obviously, you should have your facts straight if you take it upon yourself to offer criticism. If you are convinced of the truth of your assertions, does that make the criticism valid? Is it possible to use the truth for condemnation, and that those who do so are judgmental? Even in adversarial proceedings in a court the accused has the opportunity to offer exonerating or extenuating testimony on his own behalf. Is the true story complete without this?

Have you ever had experiences that make you feel vulnerable, ashamed, humbled, contrite, and awkward? These are not experiences that people intentionally seek out, in fact, they go to great lengths to avoid them. Have you ever been on the receiving end of love? Can you see how receiving love would feel the same as those things listed above? Love is transformative, but the egoic self can’t admit the need for help, nor ask for it, nor receive it graciously when it comes.

You consider belief to be central to your faith, and you are right. Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness. What do you think belief consists of? Is it assent to validity of the major doctrinal claims of your church? Yet none of these things existed for Abraham, so what did he believe? Do you see belief in terms of propositional truth? But for Abraham it was relational, even as you assert that your faith is a relationship with me. Can you expand your concept of belief to include the intangible connection that gives you life, as he did?

Is your faith robust? Will it withstand challenges? There is a normal human desire to surround yourself with those like-minded, who hold the same values, beliefs, and world view. This is comforting but not rigorous. If you arrive at the same conclusions they do, they will tolerate some sloppy reasoning in the process. Can you find opponents of good will? If you can have an honest engagement with those who do not share your values and world view, they won’t let you get away with sloppy reasoning and this will sharpen your thinking. As a result, your faith will be stronger.