Defining Greatness

Who doesn’t want to be great? Whether in sports, business, art, or whatever, humans seem to have an internal drive for greatness. We see it played out globally every couple years in the Olympics, World Cup, Super Bowl, multi-billion dollar business mergers, and military displays of power. This got me thinking, what exactly is “greatness”? Someone can be a great athlete but a horrible father. You might see an outstanding, shrewd businessman who is emotionally absent and verbally abusive to his wife at home. And, as we see playing out currently around the world, great military power being abused for selfish gain, oppression, and genocide. Therefore greatness as a quality is more nuanced and needs a bit more definition.

Who has been “great” in your life? Most people have either a parent or grandparent, teacher, coach, or friend who has been great for them. Perhaps they have modeled kindness to you, going out of their way to show you love and patience. Maybe they have spoken words of encouragement and affirmation into your life when you needed it the most. If nothing else, they’ve just been there for you, listening and supporting you in the struggles that life sends your way. Whatever it is, think about who has really been “great” in your life. Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, his words ring true about what defines greatness. When he was asked about what makes a man great, his answer likely resonates in your own heart as well. He explained greatness using terms like humility, being concerned with others first, showing kindness, and not abusing your power or “rights” to oppress others but lifting them up. Is this what we see in the world today? Are these the defining qualities being lifted up to make America great?

I want to be one who loves in humility and kindness. I want my life to be a refuge for my family where they feel safe, seen, and loved. I want my greatness to be defined by what truly feels great to my soul, not by wealth, status, success, or any other superficial measure. How about you? When we talk of being great as a nation, we have to start as individuals. If Americans strive to be great by loving our neighbors, welcoming and caring for the oppressed, choosing kindness over hatred and generosity over greed, that is what will make America great, and the same goes for every other nation as well. We’re no better or worse just because we live in America. This is a common thread of humanity that weaves it’s way across the globe. So yes, let’s make America great. Let’s make Mexico and Canada great. Let’s make Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and every other nation great, and it starts individually. Love your neighbor. Choose kindness. Be generous. Extend welcome. Make peace. These will create a great life for you, bring greatness to others, and lead to greatness in our nation and throughout the world.

Peacemakers

I settle into my seat with noise canceling headphones pumping lyrical inspiration into my brain and a quad-shot latte at my side. I’m ready to write….but what do I say? How do I say this? My usual method of writing is pretty free-flowing. I don’t plan it out ahead of time and I don’t typically edit it after it comes out. It flows from my soul and just puts words to what is currently boiling under the surface of my mind and spills out onto the page. But today….today is different. I’m struggling for words. I don’t want to offend or overstep. I’m a Type 9 on the Enneagram, a Peacemaker, but I find myself preserving a false peace by keeping silent. Images haunt me this morning of a 1 month old infant pulled from the rubble in Gaza after her parents and brother were killed by Israeli airstrikes. Hundreds of civilians killed in resumed military conflict, with an estimated 40% of casualties being women and children. In Ukraine and Russia, fighting and drone attacks from both sides continue to plague the land with fear and hatred. Throughout the world and right here at home as well, where millions of humans, created in the image of the Divine, live in fear and oppression labeled as “illegal”, “criminals”, or worse simply for crossing the border without proper documentation which is nearly impossible to obtain. Do people deserve death because they are Palestinian? Do they deserve to be imprisoned and labeled as a terrorist because they are Venezuelan? If our response to any of these issues is, “they deserve it”, we need to take a moment to look in the mirror and have a right perspective of ourselves.

America, created by invading the land of indigenous tribes, built on the backs of enslaved human beings, “civilized” millions through colonization and oppression, and has a strategy of enforcing peace through superior firepower, which is really just a false sense of peace. In fact, these words from Jack Johnson seem like a pretty good motto for American foreign (and domestic) policy, “Who needs peace when we’ve got guns?” I’m asking you, and asking myself, honestly, is this the world we want to live in? Is this the way Jesus lived and taught us to live? In the gospel of Matthew, we have a record of Jesus’ words in his greatest sermon ever given, his Magnum Opus. If it’s been a while since you’ve read it, I’d recommend reading through it and see if His words line up with the image of Christianity being portrayed to the world today. Here is a Cliff’s Notes version:

Blessed are the poor in spirit...
Blessed are those who mourn...
Blessed are the meek...
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...
Blessed are the merciful...
Blessed are the pure in heart...
Blessed are the peacemakers...etc etc

Peacemakers. This is the one that jumps off the page for me right now. Are we making peace? Are we fighting for peace to reign in our homes, in our churches, in our communities, our nation, our world? As a follower of Jesus, this isn’t really just a suggestion but a mandate. Love thy neighbor isn’t just a good idea or something to consider only when it’s comfortable or fits in with our personal biases and it’s not really possible to love your neighbor without being a peace with them. Unfortunately there is evil in the world and I’m not ignorant to that fact, but honestly aren’t we all just a little bit monster? Our highest elected officials lie, cheat, steal, wage war, and sow discord, and why wouldn’t they? After all, we elected them and that’s what we do as well. We need to be wise, yes, but our greatest and highest calling and command is not to be wise, but to love. If loving our neighbor gets sacrificed on the altar of being wise, we may as well be driving the stakes into the heart of the gospel itself. Jesus’ stated purpose in life is this: Love God and Love thy neighbor. Anything else that gets in the way of that is contrary to Christ. No government, no war, no philosophy, no policy, or personal preference.

In case you can’t tell, this is weighing heavy on me right now. I apologize for strong words that may be offensive or even feel unfair to certain people, but I ask that you would hear my heart in this. Regardless of your nationality, religious belief, political affiliation, or any other potentially divisive factor, please know that true peace is my goal in writing. I don’t want to sow division, except to “rightly divide the word of truth”, and the truth is this: God said to love him, love our neighbors, and be at peace. Exactly what that looks like in your life may be different than mine, and that’s where we all have freedom to wrestle through these issues with God on our own. But let’s learn to love each other better. Let’s live in a way that brings good news to the poor, freedom to the captive, and liberty to the oppressed. Let’s fight to be peacemakers.

In Peace and Love, Paz y Amor, Paix et Amour, in every language to all people

Building bridges

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t understand the reasoning behind the name change to “Gulf of America”. Doesn’t make sense to me, but perhaps Shakespeare is correct, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” What is more striking to me beyond just changing a name, is to consider what has happened and is happening in our great nation. Vast divides between social and economic classes, political ideologies, race, gender, and every other factor imaginable are a plague that infects us with ever-widening gulfs of separation. Deep distrust and disdain have become embedded in our differences and seem to be rapidly tearing us apart. There is indeed a gulf in America today, and I’m convinced that each of us is a brick that can be used for one of two different things: Building bridges or building walls.

Bridges and walls. The same raw materials can be used to build both. Steel, wood, bricks, cement, etc., but the purposes they serve are like oil and water. They’re not only different, they just don’t mix no matter how hard you try. Bridges bring people together; walls separate. Bridges connect; walls divide. Bridges provide freedom and inclusion, while walls exclude and oppress. I wrote recently in another post The wall about the anniversary of the Berlin wall coming down and how we build our own walls in life that keep others out and protect us from being honest and vulnerable with people. I think in both cases, whether it be a physical wall of separation or emotional walls of isolation the driving factor (not always, but often) is fear. Fear hijacks our primal instinct for self-preservation, and lays a foundation brick by brick, to keep “them” out and hide myself away in safety. It’s the fear of the unknown. Propaganda (http://www.prophiphop.com) says in his song Cynical, “we fear what we’re blind to”. I think that’s very true.

Whether you’re talking about gaps between nations or neighbors, if we take the time to truly get to know each other we will find that there is a common thread of humanity that runs through us all. The “us vs. them” mentality goes away when we view one another through a lens of loving our neighbor, and I think when it all boils down, that is where we find the answer to so much that is wrong in the world today. When asked what is the greatest commandment of all, Jesus said there were two that are equal…..Love God and love your neighbor. To me, these seem to be mutually dependent. Meaning, you can’t truly have one without the other. As a matter of fact, John, one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers said, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” That seems pretty straightforward to me. Loving God and loving others are inseparably bound together making one impossible without the other.

When we consider the issues of the day, whether it be global, national, local, or in our own homes, remember that on the other side of the issue stand human beings, made in the Imago Dei (image of God), worthy of love and respect. The way that we love (or don’t love) them is direct evidence of our love for God. It doesn’t matter which side of the political aisle feels more comfortable to you or which injustice happens to stir up your own anger. The choice is whether we bring division, building walls of separation, exclusion, and isolation, or we build bridges to work toward peace and unity. I’ll be the first to admit this is sometimes a huge internal struggle for me, but when I look at the life of Christ I’m convinced this is the way he showed us to live. Here are a few questions to consider:

-Who is someone that you have been viewing as a problem to fix rather than a person to love?

-How can you proactively reach out to get to know someone “different” than you rather than making generalized assumptions about them?

-What is an area in your life where you’ve been building walls and you can start building bridges instead?

Drop a comment and let me know your thoughts on this post or any of the specific questions. I’d love to hear any feedback on this, whether you agree with me or not. Honest and respectful conversation is one way we can build bridges and learn to see things from another person’s perspective.

All you’ve got

I hesitate to write about the devastation of the fires that currently rage in Southern California. Lives have been lost and dreams have literally gone up in smoke, but it’s not my story to tell. I haven’t been personally touched by the flames that have destroyed so much and yet, here I am, heartbroken and at a loss for words as I grieve with those who grieve. When we talk about loving our neighbors, it’s not a matter of geography. Our call isn’t just to love the ones who live in our neighborhood, who look like us or believe all the same things we believe. Love your neighbor in a concept that goes deeper than proximity. It is a mandate for us love one another without any fine print.

I have to confess, as I was reading news about the fires on BBC, for a split second I was offended to see articles of people celebrating a sports victory or a multi-million dollar business deal. I briefly thought to myself, “how can they be going on with life while thousands of people are suffering in the trauma of wildfires?” Quickly I realized….I am doing that all the time. Wars rage throughout the world. Famine and genocide and disease plague humanity. Fires, floods, death, and divorce are happening daily and yet all-to-often I go about my day without a thought for the neighbors I can’t see, let alone the ones right in front of me.

Again, this particular tragedy is not my story to tell. The stories of people losing lives, homes, treasures, and dreams are unique and sacred. My story, and probably yours as well is, how are we loving our neighbor? None of us can love perfectly, but we can choose to love; to show compassion. To weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We can be generous to those in need, comfort the brokenhearted, and give kindness to the weary. I don’t really know how that looks practically for you, or myself for that matter. That’s the great thing about humanity is that we’re all different, with various gifts and resources. I would simply encourage you (as I’m encouraging and challenging myself): Love with all you’ve got. Whatever talents you have, use them to bless others. With your resources, be generous to those in need. Be gentle and compassionate with your words to people and believe the best about them. Most people are just doing the best they can with the knowledge, abilities, and resources available to them. And if they’re not, what is that to me? The moment I judge someone else is the very moment I condemn myself as well. So, give grace and kindness and mercy. Whether I’m experiencing tragedy or riding on the wings of prosperity, let’s be people who are actively loving our neighbor with all we’ve got. I believe that’s the way we’ll all experience a more beautiful world.

Now what?

Every year we experience this no-man’s land in time between Christmas and the New Year. We have months of build up to the holidays with shopping, parties, lights, and family time, and in one glorious day the wrapping paper gets shredded, Christmas dinner gets devoured, and when it’s all over we look around and think….now what? It’s how I often feel coming home from a vacation. Reality starts to set back in as all the excitement fades from anticipation into memory, and we can often feel a bit disillusioned like, “Is that it? Is it all over?” This used to be a big struggle for me (I’d be lying if I said I don’t still struggle with this sometimes), but I’ve started to reshape my thinking a bit to find the things I love in these epic moments of life that I can carry forward with me. They aren’t just good memories, but they are formative moments that will help me create the life I want to live, and for me that has been a monumental shift.

A couple years ago we bought a camper van to do some traveling and we had a blast! We drove through several national parks, camped on the beach, laughed a lot and made some great memories. However, I would often find myself sliding into depression when we would get home, always dreading the return to normal, everyday life. The joy of the trip was overshadowed by the darkness of discontentment and always looking for some next adventure to fill the void. This constant ebb and flow left me unable to fully appreciate the past or embrace my future. Being stuck in the middle between memories and dreams robbed me of the joy of here and now. We have since sold the van, but the life lesson from that season has stuck with me and will continue to help me navigate the ups and downs of life.

So, in this season of looking back and looking ahead, back over the last year and forward to the next, we have a beautifully divine opportunity to blend our past and our future into our present reality. We reflect on all the lessons learned, the highs and lows and all the in-betweens, and allow them all to mold us a little bit more into the image we were created in. We carry them like scars on our hearts, as both memories of pain and miracles of healing. Perhaps 2024 didn’t quite go as you hoped it would. Life seems to throw us curveballs sometimes, and quite honestly can knock us on our butts now and then. Or maybe for you the past year was awesome and you wouldn’t change a thing. Either way, we have 365 days worth of experiences to learn from; the good times and bad, the births and deaths, marriages and divorces. We don’t just leave those things in the past, but we learn from them and grow through the experiences to shape a better future. We learn to love more, to be a better friend, and strive for peace. We build a life of patience and kindness and let go of the hatred that divides and tears down.

As you reflect on this past year and look forward to the next, allow yourself to be filled with a mix of gratitude for the past and hope for the future, blended together to live a life full of love, joy, and peace in your present moment. There’s more I want to say regarding new beginnings, but I think I’ll save that for another time. For now, I wish you an amazing 2025. May you discover the beauty of your true identity as one who is loved by your divine creator. May you find healing for the wounds of your heart and discover the depths of love and joy that life has to offer. May you be slow to anger and quick to forgive. May you show kindness and patience to yourself and to others. And next December, may you look back over 2025 and be proud of yourself for not giving up. Peace, love, and all the best to you.