Slave, Servent or Self?

     You know as a Christian I used to think that I was walking a tightrope at times. I didn't want to be shouted down from my faith. It's easy for this to happen. You try to share and move through the world as a Christian but the world says that you should keep your faith at home. That your faith has no place at school or work. That you should even keep your faith for Sunday where it belongs. Don't even worry about praying at the dinner table because there are so many other things to discuss anyway. Focus on what's important, keep the "God stuff" for Sunday between 9am - 10am where it belongs. Problem with that is my faith then became sort of a charm of many on a bracelet, something pretty and nice but nothing of too much concern. Convexly, I didn't want to dive into my faith so hard that it was all just posturing and the actual point to my faith was lost. I didn't want to attend Mass on Sunday, just to be seen. I didn't want to pray "greatly" with beautiful words that were just for show and had no real meaning behind them. I have learned (for now) that it isn't a tightrope that I am walking. It's merely walking though life honestly and true. My focus is God, my love for him, my study of him and my best attempts to live the humble life that Jesus Christ laid out for me.

 Okay, well that's a great idea you may think, but what exactly does that look like. How does that play out on an average day. I'll be honest, I'm not going to tell you what to do. God calls us all to different lives and vocations. We are each a puzzle piece beautiful and unique but when locked together we become a great picture that is something so much bigger than ourselves. Often we don't even see what many of the other pieces look like, let alone have the ability to see the "big picture". For me and many others I know though we try our best to focus on service. We put ourselves in the service of God with the talents we have and we put ourselves in service of others whether those people or Christian or not. We love as Jesus called us to. We become a slave to Jesus, not to sell our lives off as we believe we are nothing, but as slaves that we surrender in totality and keep nothing of ourselves for ourselves. You maybe thinking, "Uh, okay... why?" It is because when we are successful and we surrender as Jesus calls us to we find love, true unbridled love. We find peace and joy that sustains us through any hardship. It's a matter of surrendering to that puzzles so that by being a part of something greater our role in this world can truly manifest 100% as we can shine as the beautiful creation of God that we are.
   
     As I sit here I imagine Jesus, the Son of God. Mighty in more ways than I could ever even imagine. God could create with mere thought and word yet he humbled himself to come to this earth as a fragile baby. He could have chosen to have his son born to the finest house with the most respect, but instead he was born to a family that couldn't even get a room at an in and was born in a stable. Jesus could have attained power and sat on a seat of judgement and ruled over all, but instead he chose to walk the county-side and serve. He served the blind and helped them see. He served the lame and helped them walk. He served the dead and their loved ones and brought them back to life. Jesus on the eve of his horrible death even knelt and washed the feet of his Apostles. Jesus loved and served completely and so I try as I may each day as well.


     It can seem like a heavy weight to bare at times. It's no surprise that many don't choose this path or rather don't understand it. When do you know that you are right? When do you realize that you have gone to far? Is that even possible? How do you even think of trying to live this lifestyle, let alone execute it? It's really quite simple. It's a matter of letting
 go and letting God in. It's a matter of spending time in prayer listening to God, but also then spending time in prayer in complete silence so that you can hear God talking to you. It's about letting go of "yourself" so that you can be present in the moment and to be truly aware of God's desires for you. But know this, giving up yourself doesn't mean that you will give "you" up. It is a matter of giving up the old broken down you that barely makes it around the block without backfiring or breaking down for the you that runs at peak performance, but don't forget to still get yourself in for a tune-up on a regular basis.

Some of this may sound odd or even obscure. Don't worry about it. Go with it. God is calling and no matter what your age, the best days are still to come when they are with God.

Michael Smith

You Know That Person That Loves To Complain?

Letting go can be hard especially letting go of one’s self can be hard. Most are trained to be spoiled. That can be a tough thing to reverse, especially in this country (US). We are born and people, usually parents tend to our every desire. We are fed, clothed, carried everywhere, when we soil our diapers others change us, and many entertain babies to make sure that they don’t fuss. We get to school age and begin the long process learning that we are not the center of the universe. I hear many comments about, “How this or that should change”, because “THAT’S NOT THE WAY I LIKE IT!” That guy in front of me should speed up or just pull over so I can pass. That person shouldn’t be so greedy cause they took the last piece on sale. Why do I have to PULL UP to the line and have them bring it out TO me? Why can’t I just sit here at the window? I will admit myself guilty so many times of thinking such things. Letting go and having faith that we will get what we need can be a hard thing. God calls us to have faith in him. Like the my child that doesn’t understand why its bad to play video games 24/7 we don’t always understand why God works the way he does.  We think far too micro and can’t see the macro view. I finally got the point where “gave up”. I let go and gave my life to God. My way wasn’t working. I was lucky that I was Baptized long ago and received a good dose of Grace. I decided that I no longer wanted to live a life of slavery trying to eat, drink, consume and attain every desire that I wanted. I let go and gave it all to God. I dove into that faith thing. I was afraid that everything I built would fall apart, and you know what? It did fall apart, but something more beautiful was built in its place. I tended to my faith. I studied and read and worked to be a better Christian. I go to mass regularly and I don’t just show up. I look to learn. When I am mad at the world I stop, pray and love. I have faith in God and he hasn’t let me down. God already has sacrificed so much. He let his son die for you and me and everyone, but we have to accept Jesus. We have to accept him as our savior, follow his ways and become a baptized in the Holy Spirit. God offers us so much, it may not be what we want but it is what we need. We just need to let go and have faith and we will fly, or do you like to sit and complain?

Matthew 8:5-11

5As he entered Caper'na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." 7And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." 10When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. 11I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,

Do You Hear the Chains Clanging?

Slave has such a negative connotation and it should. When we think of slave we think of all the injustices of the world where one group of people took away the rights of another. I remember once after playing a concert with my band a woman came up to me and asked if we were Christian. We were a 2 piece Heavy Metal band and we wore suits, sounded like a good idea at the time. Anyway my drummer confessed that he didn’t believe and before I was so struck by the question that before I could answer the woman declared that, “God just makes you a slave”, or words to that effect and stomped off. I have been a Christian for most of my life. For a few years I faded away but I never felt like a slave following God. Are there things that God does not want me to do? Yes, he doesn’t want me to abuse drugs because he wants me to fill my life with something meaningful and he loves me so he doesn’t want to see me physically deteriorate. He wants me in the here and now rather than hiding in a chemical illusion. Yes, he wants me to wait until I am married to have sex. He doesn’t want me catching diseases and he wants me to save that most intimate special movement for the highest love between two people who are ready to bring new life into this world in a relationship the is commented with no end. Yes, he wants me to love him with all my mind, body and soul. Its not because God is an egomaniac, its because created me out of love and wishes to have it reciprocated. Yes, God wants me to stop thinking about myself and help my fellow man. He wants me to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and tend to the sick. Does doing all these things make me feel like a slave? No, I don’t feel like a slave, rather than eat as much as I want and get drunk all the time and try to have sex with every woman I see and take drugs that put me in a state of false euphoria I focus on the “we” not the “me”. Doing all those things makes me feel like a selfish jerk. It makes me feel like I only care about myself and feeding my ego. God calls me to give up my life. To give up looking inward and to take up my cross. He asks me to look outward like Jesus. He asks me to help others to no end. All the rules that make me a slave as some say are this. 1. Love God (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) with mind, body and soul. 2. Love others as myself. Thats what it all boils down to. So each day, even the trying ones, I suit up with my cross and head out. Am I perfect, no, but God still loves me. When I make mistakes I ask for forgiveness and trod on. Free of the chains of pain, addiction, ego and sin. Because as I see it sin is where the slavery is cause enough is never enough and you keep trying to get more chained to a cycle slavery feeding my ego.

Matthew 16:24-27

24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.

Mad As A Slave

It can be very hard to battle the truth when it sits right in front of your face. I have a trouble with anger. Its something that I have spent a lot of time dealing with through prayer and meditation. When the truth used to present itself to me and show me that I was wrong in something I would work very hard to defend myself. The thing is, there is nothing wrong with being wrong. We are flawed and have free will it is inevitable that we will make mistakes. I once was told that the best way to face my shortcomings was to pray to Jesus first thing in the morning and envision him in front of me. I was told to ask for his help that he be a witness to me that day to help me stay on the right track. I even pray to the Saints and Mary from time to time and ask them to put in a good word for me and for their help as well. Do I still get mad? Yes, but I find now that as soon as I do I remember my goal and my requests in prayer. I feel Jesus there with me shaking his head with a smile on his face reminding me of how to act and what to do. 

God sent Jesus not to remind us of his desire for harsh rule. He sent Jesus to teach us the love inside his lessons and rules. God doesn’t just make up rules to be like a dictator. He does it out of love because he wants to see us successful and happy. True evil reviles love and hates it for it conquers what evil is trying to do. God is pure true love and evil wants to see the fall of that. Evil will try and trick you into thinking you are getting what you want and deserve and are better off, and then enslave you because enough is never enough. Love teaches that sacrifice is more fulfilling and rewarding and creates a better place. How the world could shine if we would all love each other as we do ourselves.

Luke 4:31-37

31And he went down to Caper'na-um, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath; 32and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. 33And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, 34"Ah! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." 37And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region.