On Orderliness

I Corinthians 14:33a – “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”

My students hate outlining.

As most of you know, I teach English to college students.  I mold young minds, and, most importantly, young papers into objects of  academia, mature and beautiful.  Alright, now that my fellow teachers have stopped laughing, let me remind them that this is our ultimate goal – to be examples of Christ and to push our students towards being more mature versions of themselves and to enable them to better express that maturity.  As part of this process of maturing, I ask my students to construct an outline of the papers they mean to write.  Now, each one follows a process unique to the writer, so I pretty flexible on exactly what that outline will look like.  Some stream-of-consciousness writers construct something almost like an image – a “connect-the-dots” of topics and points.  The structuralists prefer a deliberate construct of Roman numerals, numbers and letters, each set as specific indentations on their papers.  And then there are the others….

I always have one student who says, “I don’t need to outline.  I know what I am trying to say, and once I start writing the words will just flow onto the paper.”  I’ve heard this from undergraduate and graduate students alike.  Even some of my colleagues have admitted to me their disgust for outlines.  Now, I could very easily rabbit-trail here into a description of the various forms of outlining, and I could point out that many so-called anti-outliners actually do construct them without being conscious of it, but instead I’ll just say that outlining – more often than not – strengthens papers.  When a student comes to me saying, “There’s nothing left for me to write on this topic and I’m 7 pages short,” I say, “Let me see your outline.”  Generally, they don’t have one.  Without outlining, students tend to leave topics underdeveloped and/or out of logical order.  As a result, their papers may be short, shallow, and illogical. 

I realize that I’m generalizing here, but several years of teaching experience have taught me the value of process.  One of the most significant lessons that I can teach my students is that how we do something is just as important as the end result (if not more so). I Corinthians 14:40 commands, “[A]ll things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” (NASB).  Adam Clarke’s commentary on this verse clarifies,

Let all things be done decently and in order is a direction of infinite moment in all the concerns of religion, and of no small consequence in all the concerns of life…. Where decency and order are not observed in every part of the worship of God, no spiritual worship can be performed. The manner of doing a thing is always of as much consequence as the act itself. And often the act derives all its consequence and utility from the manner in which it is performed.

Processes are emphasized over and over again in Scripture.  Repentance, praise, worship, sanctification – these are ongoing, continuous acts.  Suggestions and regulations addressing how they are to be carried out are given throughout the Bible.  How something is being done is just as important as what is being done.  Jesus could have appeared as  the son of a human man and woman (and thus have been merely human); He could have manifested Himself as Spirit (and thus have been God, without the experience of human existence).  Instead, Jesus was completely God and completely human – a Divine paradox made possible by virgin birth and the only possible solution to the quandry that is a simultaneously Just and Merciful God.  How He came was vital.  How we act is vital. 

So, to brothers and sisters who speed on the 91 freeway at night because no one can see them, or who curse in rush hour traffic, or who use Facebook while at work – please know that I sympathize with you.  The urge for release when no one is watching is immense.  But sometimes that release develops into a habit, and habits transform our lives.  Some of these can be good changes.  We might develop a habit for praying during traffic.  We might develop a habit of smiling at the receptionist at work.  We might develop a habit for ordering the same raspberry hot chocolate twice a week (much love to Candace and Zippy in Wanda’s cafe for knowing my order before I give it). 

Frequently, though, the habits we develop are negative ones that we allow to grow because we simply assume that they go unobserved or that they “don’t matter.”  This is a fallacy.  It all matters.  Don’t let the habits that develop unseen dictate your “process” of life.  Let your “how” be as beautiful to the Lord as your “what.”  Don’t be someone who goes to midweek Bible study because “that’s what you do” or because others expect it of you.  Be the person who spends time in the car on the way to study turning off the music and starting to shut out the distractions, preparing to learn and to grow.  Don’t be the man or woman walking to work on a campus which emphasizes recycling who leaves the plastic bottle in the parking lot for “the maintenance crew to pick up.”  Be the person telling your students to recycle and bringing their graded papers to class in a reusable grocery bag.  Don’t be the Christian who says “Thank you” on Sunday and then spends the other six days of the week complaining.  Be a process-oriented person.  Scrutinize your words and your actions.  When our end result (Heaven) is being reflected in how we live, there is peace.  There is order.  When process and end result are dissimilar, there is confusion, discomfort, even pain.

So smile during rush hour.

On Gratitude and Prayer

Philippians 4:5-7 – “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

More recently than I’d like to admit, we were completely broke.  I had no idea how we’d make rent, much less pay the month’s bills and expenses.  Our pantry held cheerios for breakfast, peanut butter and crackers for lunch, and beans and rice for dinner. James had milk and Matt and I had water.  For several weeks.  (Let me just tell you that while you can survive on this diet, limited variety is unpleasant for picky toddlers and beans in the longterm are unpleasant for our family in general.  Ladies, you know what I mean.)  I couldn’t work and Matt was given minimum hours and was getting absolutely no call backs on any of the job applications he submitted.  We were being slowly eaten alive by the interest rates on our debt and I was getting calls from creditors (something previously completely foreign to me).  Our marriage was  strained and we were exhausted in every way possible.

Then one evening we prayed.

It may sound as though I’ll follow that up with a miraculous story of inheritances or lottery winnings or job offers, but the truth is that nothing much changed.  Matt’s hours stayed limited (they still are), I accrued more medical debt, and our savings didn’t immediately bloom back into existence.  No, our circumstances stayed relatively the same, but we changed.  We’d been attending church, paying tithe, praying over meals and our financial circumstances, but up until then something had been lacking in our prayer life: thanksgiving.  Yes, we’d told each other that “it could always be worse” and that there was “always someone who had less” than we did, but those were platitudes – form letters to our intellects that never translated to truly grateful hearts until that evening. 

In our prayers together that evening, my husband and I did more than just say, “Thank you, God, for keeping a roof over our heads.”  We went back to the blessings He’s bestowed in our personal lives: finding each other, our children, our educations and jobs.  Most importantly, we remembered the unhappiness in our hearts before finding relationships with Christ.  Suddenly, in light of that blessing, our financial struggles and petty squabbles seemed almost ridiculous. 

As we can see in Philippians 4:6, we are to voice all of our supplications with thanksgiving.  Although many of us may be familiar with this verse, I find that even mature Christians often forget or misinterpret it.  In his commentary on Philippians 4, Matthew Henry observes, “We must join thanksgivings with prayers and supplications; not only seek supplies of good, but own the mercies we have received. God needs not to be told our wants or desires; he knows them better than we do; but he will have us show that we value the mercy, and feel our dependence on him.”  We are not merely to be thankful for the material blessings He’s given us (although His provision and grace certainly deserve our gratitude), but we are to pray with thanfulness in light of the preceeding verse: “The Lord is near” (Phil. 4:5).  We are intimately connected with a God who not only hears our struggles but has given us the only possible means of weathering them: His Spirit in our hearts.

My family, as do many in this economy, still struggles financially, although things are gradually improving.  My husband and I both work to make ends meet and to raise our children; we live within our means and are grateful for what we have.  We continue to pray, and in our prayers, we gain that peace that passes all understanding – a true readjustment of perspective and the knowledge that all earthly struggles are nothing in light of the fact that we have eternity to be content.

So, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thess. 5:16-18).

On Gratitude

Hebrews 12: 28-29 – “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'”

Every year, my mother gives my children Easter baskets, but to call these gifts merely “baskets” is a gross understatement.  They are gift bags overflowing with books and puzzles, set inside baskets overflowing with candy, residing within larger gift bags holding socks and other mom-appreciated items, inside…. You get the picture.  My mother loves to give gifts like these.  She shops year-round and uses the slightest Hallmarkian excuse to give: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Work Professionals Day, etc.  Every year, she says, “I’m giving the kids their baskets, but you’re an adult now, so don’t expect anything.”  But every year she packs me and my husband her version of a “small something” to go along with the kids’ baskets.  This year, our bag included jelly beans, candy corn, novelty socks, a Clone Wars DVD, fruit snacks, a note pad, earrings, and assorted chocolates.  Random, yes, but to explain my mother’s gifts in detail would require a white board, three packs of dry erase markers, and two semesters.

What is significant about her gifts aren’t the contents (although, as I’ve pointed out, they generate some fun stories), nor is it how frequently or selflessly she gives.  What’s important is that, even though she tells me that I’m an adult and no longer deserve presents, I still expect them.  I’m  not saying that I’d resent her in the slightest if she didn’t give me one, but my relationship with my mother includes a familiarity with her habits.  I’ve become accustomed to her gift-giving, and, this year, for the first time in many years, I remembered to be thankful to my mother.

“Gasp!  You haven’t said ‘thank you’ for years?  What kind of a daughter are you?”  No, I’ve said thank you, and I’ve even meant it, but I haven’t shown her gratitude in a long time. 

The Oxford English Dictionary defines gratitude as “[t]he quality or condition of being grateful; a warm sense of appreciation of kindness received, involving a feeling of goodwill towards the benefactor and a desire to do something in return; [or]gratefulness.”  Note that being thankful or grateful includes not just a sense of appreciation – I’ve always appreciated my mother’s gifts – but a desire to demonstrate that appreciation in a concrete way. 

My sudden awareness of my ungrateful behavior towards my mother over the years transfered into a desire to repay her.  I simply don’t have the funding or creativity to give her gifts in the same way that she gives to me, but I’m now finding other ways to illustrate my appreciation.  I bring my children to visit, do her dishes, call and chat when she needs to talk, etc.  These are all things that I used to do before, but now I do them with a much fuller heart and a desire to give back – to give love.

It doesn’t take much to transfer this lesson I’ve learned about gratitude to a much higher Gift-Giver.  The Bible is filled with verses that remind me of how much the Lord has blessed me.  John 3:16 and James 1:17 are both beautiful examples (in fact, my son James was born at 1:17 in the afternoon, so the latter is the verse we dedicated to him after birth).  Hebrews 12 gives a clear picture of the things waiting for us.  So, how do we demonstrate gratitude to a God who has given us something we can never repay?  Hebews 12:29 tells us to “worship God acceptably with reverance and awe.”  Exactly what constitutes acceptable worship is something to discuss on another day, but we cannot forget that just “saying thank you” to God during prayer is not a sufficient demonstration of gratitude.  Yes, thank yous are important and should not be neglected, but a grateful heart will show up in every aspect of our lives.  Say thank you, mean it, and then ACT.  Demonstrate the fear of the Lord in your words and in your treatment of others, for our “God is a consuming fire.”