Sometimes Faith’s a bomb shelter. Sometimes it’s a surfboard.
“I was laid off”
Oh God…
My son Ryan had sent a text asking if his dad or I would be home for lunch. He claimed he had an announcement. Ernie was pulling a double shift, and I wouldn’t be home until after 8 pm, so no. Neither of us would be available.
“So what’s the announcement?” I texted back. “Are you engaged?” Not likely. Ryan didn’t even date.
“I was laid off.”
No. I stared at the screen, not wanting to believe the words. Not Ryan. Anyone but Ryan.
“All of us designers were laid off because there wasn’t enough work to keep us busy.” He explained.
I took a little comfort in that. It wasn’t because he had Asperger’s.
When God made Ryan, he’d taken special care with my son. He was smart, loving, compassionate and gifted in math and music. He was also awkward, socially backward. That was the nature of Asperger’s: often “Aspies” were intellectually brilliant but social aliens: understanding the language, but not the cultural rules and norms. Add to that the fact that Ryan had oral coordination issues that make eating and talking a labored effort.
But God had also given Ryan a heart of gold.
“Do you know what Ryan does on Fridays?” My son Joe once asked me.
“Yeah, he buys pizza.”
“Not just for me and him, though.” Joe clarified. “He also pays for the guy in line behind us. He tells them God blessed him with a good job and he wants to bless others.”
That was awesome, but not surprising. We had gone to Disneyworld the week Ryan turned 12. The park presented him with a substantial gift card for the occasion. Ryan immediately picked out a Lego set for his little brother Joe and built a lightsaber for our oldest son, Chris. Then he went looking for a present for himself.
Because, that’s the way Ryan is.
But now, my 22-year-old son was unemployed.
Why, God. Why? Of all people, why Ryan?
It was his first job and a God sent. The company had called his computer tech instructor asking for a recommendation. Mr. Ripley immediately thought of Ryan. He was perfect for the position. He’d loved the job, was good at it and it paid well. But, none of that mattered now. The job was no longer his.
Why did bad things happen to good people? Is it a test of faith?
Ernie and I have both lost jobs and lived on faith until the next opportunity came. At times faith seemed to be a bomb shelter we hid under as one door after another closed. Other times it was riding a surfboard as God sent wave after wave of blessing our way, carrying us through the hard times. Was it now Ryan’s turn? Was his faith now to be tested? Or was God still testing Ernie and I?
Ephesians 6:16 states “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Unemployment may not be a flaming dart of the evil one, but the depression and feelings of worthlessness that come with it are. Ryan would be facing those darts. Come what may, we would face them with him.
As soon as I got home, I found Ryan and hugged him.
“God gave you that job.” I reminded him. “There’s another one out there for you. God wouldn’t be taking you through this if He didn’t have a plan in mind. He’s taking you out of your comfort zone, to build and strengthen you. This is a time of trust. You’re going to get through this, Ryan.”
He nodded and sniffled. “I know.” Tears started welling up. “I don’t know what to do, Mom.”
I had no response, but to hug him tighter and cry with him.
The next day, Ernie and Ryan went through the papers his former employer had given him. My husband then gave Ryan a crash course on online job searching.
It’s been two weeks. Ryan’s time of trust continues. He and Ernie still browse the web together looking for possible jobs.
Lord, we trust You. We know You only have the best plans for Your Followers. Even so, You can send that wave of blessing at any time.
Can’t I Wing This “Sandal of Peace” at Him Just Once?
Did Jesus ever have to deal with bullies when he was growing up? As an urban gypsy, hopping from town to town, I know I had my share of them. Some of them still stand out vividly in my mind:
Second grade: Elsinore California. it was “Eddie Spaghetti” who like to tease girls but specialized in tormenting me.
Fourth grade: Fullerton, California. We transferred in mid-year. My teacher delighted in calling out my shortcomings in front of the whole class.
Fifth grade: Yermo, California. A whole pack of girls cornered me once with devious intentions. Luckily, I was a fast runner.
Sixth grade: Puhrump, Nevada. Eric S. and his cronies terrorized our whole class, even punching kids in sight of the teacher. My friend Martha and I were his special targets.
Seventh grade. Still in Puhrump. Eric was doing time in juvie, but his cronies patrolled the halls of the junior high school doling out punishment. I also had to deal with a gym teacher who openly mocked me because I was fat, clumsy and had no athletic skills.
Eighth grade: Las Vegas, Nevada. Kay-Kay threw me up against a locker because she felt I looked at her wrong during drama class.
Ninth grade: South Sioux City, Nebraska. Once again, transferring in mid-year. The harassment was started by a kid named Tristan with one leg shorter than the other. For retaliation, my sister suggested I call him “Pegleg”. Wrong thing to do to a kid with friends when you have none.
Tenth grade: Still in South Sioux. Riding the school bus. There was a senior on our route. He was big enough to make the football defensive line, but too stupid to make the required grade point to stay there. He delighted in poking me in the back with a pencil and pulling my hair the whole trip. Once, he rapped me on the head with his class ring as he went by. Those things hurt!
I’m not sure if it was the ring incident or something else, but at some point that bully caught me on a bad day and I lashed back. I don’t even remember if I actually hit him or not, but there I was all 5’6″ of me swinging madly at this 6’+ colossus. He and his buddies smirked at my pathetic attempts, but he didn’t poke me the rest of the trip.
The next day he got on the bus and met my icy glare. The look said “don’t even think of trying something, jerk!” He walked right on by and sat at the back of the bus, far away from me.
That was the last time I was ever bullied.
Tristan and I were actually semi-friends in high school, saying hi to each other in passing in the hallway. He played a drunk in the school musical and I gave him tips on how to create the illusion of a 5 o’clock shadow.
But my childhood experiences left me wondering if the adolescent Jesus was ever bullied. Growing up, I was taught to “turn the other cheek”, “blessed are the meek” and “a gentle word turns away wrath”. Does that apply to bullies too?
Well, the Bible has very little to say about the Jesus’ life before his ministry, but it says a lot about how Jesus dealt with the bullies of his adulthood. He stood up to the Pharisees, overturned the tables of the crooked money changers and he called sin what it was.
Too many Christians picture Jesus as this anemic, timid being and hold him as an example to us asking “What would Jesus do?” It’s believing we must be mum so we don’t offend others, and don’t fight back because that’s not the Christian thing to do. Keep the peace at all cost. But does Jesus call us to keep our bodies inactive and our mouths shut in the face of injustice? In our attempts to be peace makers are we called to be peace fakers?
No.
Because that is what being a true peace maker is: standing up to those who take advantage of the weak, calling out injustice, telling others “no, that’s not OK”.
This isn’t picking fights – it’s standing up for yourself and your beliefs. And at times, that means you have to defend yourself. Sometimes with scripture, sometimes with reason and sometimes – possibly – with your fists.
Ephesians 6 tells us “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
Truth and righteousness stand there with peace, not timidity and political correctness.
So stand firm, ready to defend who you are and the Christ living within you. Your peace comes not from bully tactics of the world but through knowing Christ and standing strong with him.
So, as a Christian, have you ever had a time you had to “fight back?”
Can’t I Wing This “Sandal of Peace” at Him Just Once?
Did Jesus ever have to deal with bullies when he was growing up? As an urban gypsy, hopping from town to town, I know I had my share of them. Some of them still stand out vividly in my mind:
Second grade: Elsinore California. it was “Eddie Spaghetti” who like to tease girls but specialized in tormenting me.
Fourth grade: Fullerton, California. We transferred in mid-year. My teacher delighted in calling out my shortcomings in front of the whole class.
Fifth grade: Yermo, California. A whole pack of girls cornered me once with devious intentions. Luckily, I was a fast runner.
Sixth grade: Puhrump, Nevada. Eric S. and his cronies terrorized our whole class, even punching kids in sight of the teacher. My friend Martha and I were his special targets.
Seventh grade. Still in Puhrump. Eric was doing time in juvie, but his cronies patrolled the halls of the junior high school doling out punishment. I also had to deal with a gym teacher who openly mocked me because I was fat, clumsy and had no athletic skills.
Eighth grade: Las Vegas, Nevada. Kay-Kay threw me up against a locker because she felt I looked at her wrong during drama class.
Ninth grade: South Sioux City, Nebraska. Once again, transferring in mid-year. The harassment was started by a kid named Tristan with one leg shorter than the other. For retaliation, my sister suggested I call him “Pegleg”. Wrong thing to do to a kid with friends when you have none.
Tenth grade: Still in South Sioux. Riding the school bus. There was a senior on our route. He was big enough to make the football defensive line, but too stupid to make the required grade point to stay there. He delighted in poking me in the back with a pencil and pulling my hair the whole trip. Once, he rapped me on the head with his class ring as he went by. Those things hurt!
I’m not sure if it was the ring incident or something else, but at some point that bully caught me on a bad day and I lashed back. I don’t even remember if I actually hit him or not, but there I was all 5’6″ of me swinging madly at this 6’+ colossus. He and his buddies smirked at my pathetic attempts, but he didn’t poke me the rest of the trip.
The next day he got on the bus and met my icy glare. The look said “don’t even think of trying something, jerk!” He walked right on by and sat at the back of the bus, far away from me.
That was the last time I was ever bullied.
Tristan and I were actually semi-friends in high school, saying hi to each other in passing in the hallway. He played a drunk in the school musical and I gave him tips on how to create the illusion of a 5 o’clock shadow.
But my childhood experiences left me wondering if the adolescent Jesus was ever bullied. Growing up, I was taught to “turn the other cheek”, “blessed are the meek” and “a gentle word turns away wrath”. Does that apply to bullies too?
Well, the Bible has very little to say about the Jesus’ life before his ministry, but it says a lot about how Jesus dealt with the bullies of his adulthood. He stood up to the Pharisees, overturned the tables of the crooked money changers and he called sin what it was.
Too many Christians picture Jesus as this anemic, timid being and hold him as an example to us asking “What would Jesus do?” It’s believing we must be mum so we don’t offend others, and don’t fight back because that’s not the Christian thing to do. Keep the peace at all cost. But does Jesus call us to keep our bodies inactive and our mouths shut in the face of injustice? In our attempts to be peace makers are we called to be peace fakers?
No.
Because that is what being a true peace maker is: standing up to those who take advantage of the weak, calling out injustice, telling others “no, that’s not OK”.
This isn’t picking fights – it’s standing up for yourself and your beliefs. And at times, that means you have to defend yourself. Sometimes with scripture, sometimes with reason and sometimes – possibly – with your fists.
Ephesians 6 tells us “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
Truth and righteousness stand there with peace, not timidity and political correctness.
So stand firm, ready to defend who you are and the Christ living within you. Your peace comes not from bully tactics of the world but through knowing Christ and standing strong with him.
So, as a Christian, have you ever had a time you had to “fight back?”
Blessed are the Meek, For They shall Have the Power of Thor
When I hear the word “meek” I can’t help but think of the Avenger’s movie Ragnarok.
Ragnarok features Thor, the god of thunder, who flies around beating up bad guys with the help of his mighty magic hammer. But, alas, Thor’s evil sister shatters the hammer, leaving poor Thor flightless and weakened.
The movie’s climax is when Sis has Thor in a death grip, strangling the life out of her brother. Thor lapses into a trance and sees his deceased father Odin. “If I only had my hammer!” Thor laments. Odin then chastises his son. “You are not called the god of hammers. You are called the god of thunder. The hammer was only to help you control your power.”
It’s an epiphany moment for our hero. He awakens, calls up the power living within, and saves the day.
So, you’re probably asking “how in the world does this movie remind me of the word meek?”
Because, while most people think of meekness as submission and weakness, in reality it’s power that is under control.
The best example I can give you is this: Think of a man. A strong man. An able-to-bench-press-200-pounds kind of strong man. Now, place in that man’s hands a newborn baby. He holds it delicately and with great care. That, my friends, is power under control. It’s setting aside all that potential force to focus on the needs of others.
That’s what God did for us. He set aside all his power and wrapped himself in flesh to focus on our needs and show us the way to him.
In return, we are called upon to be meek also. God asks us to control our need to be in power so we can focus on others.
It’s seen in the father who walks the floors at 2 am with a crying baby. That is power under control.
It’s the mother who, even though she’s running late, lets her 3-year-old do the zipper himself to show he can.
It’s the sister who lets her younger sibling be the teacher when they play school.
Its when (I saw this one this week!) a mother asks her 10-year-old to teach his little brother how to rinse off his plate and put it in the dishwasher. That’s controlled power squared! The mother relinquishes her power to the 10-year-old, who in turn gives it to the younger brother! That’s meekness in action!
The controlled power of meekness lifts others up and empowers them. It teaches, encourages, comforts and protects.
It’s never “Ha! I beat you!“
It’s not “I told you I was right!“
And it isn’t found in “If you’d just done it my way this wouldn’t have happened.”
But to those who can learn to control their power, God has promised to smile down and say “My child, you have shown your strength in helping others. To you I give the world. I know it’s in good hands.”
I would love to say I’ve got this down. Sadly, I don’t. It’s still a work in process.
“Blessed be the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5