Who are you LOYAL to?

I was looking around my kitchen the other day and was surprised to notice for the very first time that all the appliances we had in the kitchen were from different suppliers. In fact the more I looked I was shocked there was not one that seemed to be the same.

           

We had a “Kambrook” Toaster, “Fisher and Pykel” Fridge, SMEG dishwasher, “Westinghouse” Oven, “Russel and Hobbs” Jug, “Breville” Urn, “Sunbeam” Electric Frypan and a “CannonSP6” Stovetop.

I didn’t even know there was that many different companies that made kitchen appliances.  It started to become a challenge for me, so I looked around the rest of the house. It got worse…..

All our remote controls ALL different brands

We have a “Clean TECH” vacuum cleaner, “Phillips” Iron, “Ariston” Washing machine, “Hoover” Dryer, “Pioneer” Blueray player, “Sony” DVD player, “LG” TV, “ONKYO” amplifier, “Telstra” T-box, “PC” main computer and “APPLE” laptop.

Seriously, I thought to myself, could we be anymore diverse! Not one thing was the same…OBVIOULSY we are not “Brand LOYAL”. This is not good news for these companies; they obviously have not been successful in selling to us, their value. We simply go for the one that is the cheapest, most assessable and possibly even what looks the nicest on the outside at the time of purchase. Sounds very fickle I know.

While I am fine with this personally, as appliances are clearly not our passion, but it made me think about what AM I loyal to?  Is LOYALTY seen as important today? In a world where everything is easily replaceable and expendable, does LOYALTY have a place?

It seems that I am not the only one as FORBES magazine recently posted an article titled “Consumers Are No Longer Brand Loyal”(www.forbes.com, 12/10/2014 @ 9:30AM 3,493 views)

The article said “With today’s savvy consumer, it’s imperative that brands focus on how to better interact with them, how to build stronger relationships, and how to ensure that those relationships generate trust and meaningful engagement over time.”

Wow, so companies are talking about relationships, trust and meaningful engagement as being important keys to keeping their customers as they struggle with maintaining their customer base. Excuse the cynic in me, as I look around and see the breakdown of “loyalty” in the area of marriage, friendships, the Church you belong to, the country you live in, the sporting club you support etc. These are surely the places where relationships, trust and meaningful engagement are “key”. There are people jumping from ship to ship in every aspect of life.  This happens when things are not working for them, or when something looks more attractive or is cheaper to obtain. In a world with so many options it is just too easy to NOT BE LOYAL.

The word Loyalty is closely linked to being someone who is FAITHFUL and someone that is TRUSTWORTHY. These are important qualities that God looks for as He asks us to put Him first, to be LOYAL to Him first above everything.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

God’s loyalty towards us has never changed; it knows no limits and no bounds, no matter how much we have dumped him, been disloyal or unfaithful.  

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

They are big words, big challenges, in a world where LOYALITY is losing ground in every aspect of life….it begs the question!

SO what/who are you LOYAL to? What will you hold onto and stay with even when the grass looks greener on the other side? What would you sacrifice something for  even if it may require dying for? Is there anything?

Start the way you mean to finish

Sam in the temple at Capernaum where Jesus taught

As a parent I am always asking myself, “Are we teaching our kids about what is really important in life?”  As a pastor I have always struggled with children growing up in the faith and being involved in so many wonderful things in the Christian community and then when they get to their HSC year, they pull out of everything to concentrate on study.  Then they get their car, their freedom, a job and a girlfriend and all these things take a very quick priority over the things of God.  We then find ourselves asking, “Why are they walking away?” I have seen it happen over and over again.  I hear the conversations and the reasoning and have always felt helpless as I watch wonderful kids walk away from it all. What are we really teaching our kids about what is important in life? Isn’t this is an imperative question we all must confront as adults?   In this western, consumerist, achievement focused, self-gratifying, lucky country, what are we modelling to our children and the children of our communities?

 I hear these types of statements from young people:

·      I need to stop serving in ministries or going to church so I can focus on my education so I can get a good job and live comfortably.

·      I will get a good job and make sure I have security and then I will follow God in my spare time.

·      I want to chill with my friends and just relax. Life is to be enjoyed, there’s plenty of time for getting serious later. 

My son is doing his HSC this year.  We have always tried to teach him to “start the way you mean to finish.”  I am encouraged to read in Luke 9: 57-62 that Jesus has an answer for these tough questions. When something is repeated in the Bible three times I always feel it is something we should take note of. In Luke 9, three different people state that they want to follow Jesus. Jesus responds very strongly each time in a manner that is still very relevant still today and would be received just as poorly today as well. In all three responses he was saying, “If you are really serious about following me, then start like you mean to finish”.   We hear excuses being justified by the busyness and pressures of modern 21^st century, but actually they are excuses that have always been around. It is heartening to think that the same issues that arise today were issues in Jesus’ time too.

Excuse #1:

Luke 9: 57-58 reads On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.   Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”

In another book of the Bible, the “someone” in this passage was described as a learned scribe.  This infers that he was someone who was highly educated. Jesus sensed that he was looking for personal comfort and responded by asking for self-denial. I wonder what Jesus would say to, “I need to stop serving in ministries or going to church so I can focus on my education so I can get a good job and live comfortably.” Would Jesus encourage our kids to abandon everything to focus on study? Of course, I am not saying that being educated is not valuable but when it becomes the main focus and the top priority of our life, leaving following Jesus as a low priority, is that how we are meant to finish?  My Son turns 18 in a few months, so we are feeling like this is the last year we can really help him establish good rhythms in life and actually “start the way you mean to finish”.  If studying for the HSC is a good reason to stop everything, then there will always be something else to replace study when study is over.  Relationships, jobs, leisure, travel, marriage, children etc... there will always be something else we think we must do if we are seeking comfort, stability and status or adventure ahead of Jesus.  In his response I hear Jesus saying, “Following me is tough and challenging and it is a different track than the traditional, worldly values in life; are you ready for that?” Are we as parents modelling a life that seeks Jesus over everything else?

Excuse #2:

 Luke 9: 59-60 reads -Jesus said to another, “Follow me.”  He said, “Certainly, but first excuse me, please. I have to make arrangements for my father’s funeral.”  Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God’s kingdom!”

This response of Jesus seems harsh and heartless, unless you really get what the person was saying to Jesus. This person was saying, “Can I go back home and wait for my inheritance – so I will have a good fall back plan? I will stay at home until father has passed and then I will get my inheritance and then I will follow you!” This could have been 10-15 years away. Jesus says, “Your business is life, not death.”  Jesus was trying to help him understand that to say, “I will follow you” means to do it NOW. Life is not about accumulating for yourself and/or waiting around for someone to die, for you to get your inheritance.

This is so true today! We think we have all the time in the world to do what we want to do in life. We always want to accumulate more and we just don’t have time to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. The truth is we will never have enough time to get all our affairs in order and to be free enough to serve him, unless we make it our top priority.   It is no wonder we hear our children saying:

I will get a good job and make sure I have security, and then follow God in my spare time.

Jesus says, “Leave secular matters to secular people, spiritual matters need to be first if you want to follow me.” I am not suggesting they don’t need to be attended to but we all know how easily they take the place of following Jesus. It is not about what to do and don’t do but more about what needs to come first. Start the way you mean to finish. As our kids begin to think about study, a career, a relationship, an adventure, as they are becoming adults, how do they mean to finish? After all, is it your business life or your eternal life that really matters at the end of this short life?  What are we doing in this life that has eternal value?

Excuse #3

Luke 9: 61&62 reads -  Then another said, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home”  Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”

Jesus says, “What God thinks needs to be more important than your family and friends.”  You can’t please everyone and ultimately you are answerable to God for what you do with the time and resources he gives you. Maybe this person might have been a people pleaser needing to make sure that his family was all okay.  Or maybe he was the type of person that would have gone home to make a list of things that needed to be done before he could really commit and we know what happens then! The list never ends and the years roll on and he is still saying “Hmm I really want to serve Jesus with all my heart...one day”. For our kids it is often about enjoying the ease that the Australian life brings us.

I want to chill with my friends, and just relax. Life is to be enjoyed. There’s plenty of time for getting serious later.

Jesus tells us that we can’t have it both ways.  We can’t keep putting it off; we must seize the day because we don’t have as much time as we think.   We are modelling this to our children by the things that take our time, by the way our home runs, by the things we value and stand for.  Does what we are modelling say, “I follow Jesus?”  I remember when I was 18 years old; it was a great time in life.  I thought life was all ahead of me and there was nothing I couldn’t achieve. I was fortunate to have parents who modelled a Christ-centred life. They were and are successful and talented people who have given their life to honour and follow Jesus. They live in a way that models the way they wanted to finish. It doesn’t mean they don’t struggle with all three issues and more. They are certainly not perfect but I am thankful for the way they have lived their lives.

Sam with his Pop, someone finishing well.

The window of opportunity we have to mould and shape our children is not long.  I don’t know where the past 18 years have gone. We don’t know if the three talking to Jesus listened and made the right choices but we do know that the same questions keep coming up even today and we know that Jesus’ answer has never changed. 

Matthew 6:33. ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

We must teach our children to live in a way that they mean to finish. We must begin as early as we can teaching them that the choices they make really matter. If we want to follow Jesus...every choice, every thought, every day we must live in the way that we mean to finish.

Hey Mum, My front teeth can finally touch together!

It's a proud moment when your child says - "look, mum, my front teeth can finally touch together." You just don’t expect to hear them say it when they are 14 years old.

There are things as children grow, that we sometimes take for granted will just happen. Things like learning to walk and talk, teething problems at the age of 1 and then teeth growing and touching so they can chew food.

We always knew our daughter had a large tongue, because when she was born her tongue was sticking out, which we thought was so adorable. As she began to speak,  I was sad that she didn't say the word "mum" for years, but she was very cute as she always seemed to have her tongue protruding out of her mouth, which meant that words with the letters "m", "p" “v” and "b” in them, didn’t come out quite right. In fact the gap was so large she could put her thumb through the gap sideways.

She would say “let’s watch a Bideo”, which was so adorable. And because she was always so talkative and full of life, we thought she would simply grow out of it.

By about 3 years of age we wondered why Georgia still refused to eat meat, until we worked out it was because she couldn't bite down and actually chew it.

It was then that we started the speech lessons, dentist appointments, there were talks of major surgery, or braces etc. She was such a trouper, facing each challenge with determination and courage, often astounding doctors and therapists with how well she accomplished what she was asked to do.

I still remember the day she got her first mouth brace with a steel gate to keep her tongue back. At first she couldn't talk and had trouble breathing when it was in her mouth. Initially, she stopped smiling, for she was embarrassed and very self conscious. It broke my heart to see her struggle and I was afraid that she would potentially shut down. But it didn't last long. As they say; you just can't keep a good kid down.

So last year, on the 21st November, 2014 at 14 years of age, when Georgia said "mum my front teeth just touched" it was a momentous moment for us all. It was the first time in her whole life that she was finally able to feel her front teeth touch together.

I say all this to point out that, other than being proud of my amazing daughter, there would be very few people who know anything about this burden that she has quietly carried for her entire life.

It is something that could have stopped her, shut her down, squashed her spirit, but it never has. My daughter is known by many to talk, sing, speak and use her voice in many crazy ways that continue to make the world around her laugh, cry and be inspired.

It is always a choice, isn't it? What we do with the things that we carry. They can define us either way, and they either deflate us or make us stronger. We all have something that challenges us, something we have to live with daily. Each day we must decide; are we going to let it hold us back or will it make us more determined to thrive anyway?

My daughter amazes me every day. She is a big inspiration in my life. I know that mouth of hers has only just begun to change the world around her. Watch out world, here she comes!