The personal blog of Anderson T. Graves II. Education, Religion, Politics, Family, and TRUTH------ but not necessarily the truth you want to hear.
I still love ya' though.
When I
complained that life wasn't fair, the elder ladies in my family would say,
"Baby, they killed Jesus! You know they gone do you wrong."
You know?
Jesus said the same thing.
But the Lord
went even further. He explained why life isn't fair, why "they"
do you so wrong. Hear His explanation unfold in a sermon titled:A
WORLD FULL OF HATERS.
---Anderson
T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in
Fairfield,Alabama;
executivedirector of
the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5: 10)
All across my newsfeeds I see people posting about the
haters trying to get at them, the cheating men/ women who don’t appreciate
them, the fake friends who gossip behind their backs, and the devil--- the
devil attacking them at every turn.
I envy those people.
I envy them because all their problems are external, and
external problems are easy to fix.
Got haters? Stop
listening to them.
Being cheated on?
Leave that fool and don’t take them back.
Fake, gossiping friends?
Stop telling them your business.
And stop calling them “friends.”
Hateful boss?
Transfer.
Dysfunctional, co-dependent family? Move and stop calling them 20 times a day.
Nosy folks on Facebook?
Get off Facebook. (If you can’t
handle strangers you friended disagreeing with you, just delete your social
media profile.)
And the devil? The
devil’s the easiest one. FORGET THE
DEVIL. Focus on God. Jesus handled satan
a long time ago.
I wish I was one of those people who’s pleased with myself
and afflicted only by external enemies and haters. But sadly that’s not my luck.
My biggest enemy is ME.
Like Paul said, “The good that I will to do, I do not do;
but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to
do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law,
that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in
the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members.”
(Romans 7: 19-23)
I don’t wake worried in the middle of the night, afraid of
what my haters are going to try. I do
stress over how prepared I am (or am not) to fulfill my part of all the deals
I’ve made with God over the years.
I seldom get into a lot of drama with other people. My headaches come from pulling logs out of my
own eye. My freshest and deepest scars
have come from wrestling with myself.
And I’m a tough dude.
So, I look with wonder at all these folks who only every
have trouble because of what other people do to them. It’s like the strange gospel narrative I hear
in some Christian circles:
We know that the Lord Jesus interceded in history to save us
from sin. But the way they tell it, the
Lord apparently came to save them from EVERYBODY ELSE’S sins. Must be because they quickly say that they
don’t regret their old ways. So they’re unrepentant ----but saved. Therefore, they must be saved from what other
people did wrong. In their version of
the gospel, every saint is a victim of sin, rescued by the grace of God in
Jesus Christ.
But I don’t read it like that.
The way I see the gospel, Jesus came to save me from MY sins. Jesus came to save you from YOUR sins. We aren’t the victims.
We’re the villains.
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life. (Romans 5: 10)
I have my share of haters, false friends, unreasonable
supervisors, crazy family, and spiritual attacks. I know that you do, too. But I strongly recommend a fresh assessment
of who is the greatest source of trouble in your life. Is it really ALL men? ALL women? Is it really only their fault? Or is it your choices? Does the problem begin with what they do, or
with how you respond to what they do?
But probably, it’s them.
Just them. Not you, not you at
all.
You don’t contribute anything to your own drama.
It’s probably just me.
If we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1
John 1: 8-10)
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield,
Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO); and director of
rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
We
like applause. More and more, as a
culture we seem to NEED it, and when we don’t get the public appreciation we think
we deserve, things can get real ugly real quick.
I’ve
seen people go clean off on Facebook, ranting for paragraphs about “haters” who
won’t like their brilliant status updates.
I’ve watched otherwise dignified award recipients implode onstage because
the audience didn’t give a standing ovation.
And preachers----- a preacher who needs “Amens” and doesn’t get them can
go from a spiritual leader to a bitter tantrum-throwing baby without changing
his suit.
None
of those people would’ve been able to stand Jesus.
You
see, Jesus wasn’t a big giver of applause.
In
addition to the 12 apostles, Jesus had a hand-picked group of 70 other
disciples whom He ordained and sent out to preach, minister, and perform
miracles in His name. One day, they all
checked in and gave their report.
Then the seventy returned
with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” (Luke 10: 17)
Now
here’s where you expect Jesus to say, “Well done, good and faithful
servants. I applaud your success.” But nope.
Jesus replied with a story about the time He threw Satan out of
Heaven. And then He said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample
on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10: 18-19)
Instead
of scheduling an awards ceremony and issuing commendations, Jesus reminded them
of their purpose in ministry and told them, basically, “Get over
yourselves. Just be glad that you’re
saved.”
Nevertheless do not rejoice
in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your
names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10: 20)
Now,
Jesus wasn’t against positive reinforcement.
In Luke 7:28, He called John the Baptist was the greatest of all the prophets.In John 3, Jesus rejoiced at Nicodemus’
conversion.A Roman centurion (Matthew
8:10) and a Gentile woman (Matthew 14:28) were among the people who received
glowing public accolades from Jesus Himself.
But
Jesus didn’t clap all the time, particularly not when what you did was the job
God had called you to do.
Jesus
rebuked the disciples because likewise
you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are
unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ (Luke 17: 10)
In
other words, do your job and stop expecting applause for doing it.
It’s
true that we all need encouragement. But
maybe that truth is less a description of innate human nature and more description of cultured human weakness.
If
the value of your service is determined by the recognition you get for doing it
there will be irresistible pressure to modify your work to generate more
recognition rather than to fulfill your mission. You might stop telling the truth because
untruths get more likes and retweets.
You might say what gets the congregation hyped even if it’s not exactly
what the Holy Spirit wanted you to say.
So,
it’s good for all of us (including me) who serve God in public to check in with
our Master and hear Him not clap but say:
Nevertheless do not rejoice
in this, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven!
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield,
Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO); and director of
rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
