Reflection for Wednesday

I was working on my reflection for tonight's communion service. Tonight also begins our confirmation class for 2009-2010. Also I had reflected on Proverbs 8 the last time that we met. With all that has gone on in my life, with the idea of priorities of faith, I was struck with what was the lectionary selection for last Sunday. It came from James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a. There were three questions that were proposed. The first was who is wise and understanding among you? The second is from what do conflicts and disputes arise? The last was what does God want?

I was struck by all that has been happening and the confluence of the above and here is God once again talking to me about what is important. Wise people are those who are gentle, humble, peaceable, willing to yield, full of mercy, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. They are not people who insist always on having their own way at the expense of others or ego-driven. Disputes seem to arise most from coveting something that someone else has (prestige, status, power, wealth, popularity, etc.). We become enamored by brand-name clothes, latest tech toys, greatest house, car being the best provider, show spouse. We use these to determine our self-worth and it is empty. So what does God want? I am quoting from a section of "Feasting on the Word" the pastoral perspective pg 88 by Kathy Dawson. She points out that a church that lives by God's wisdom might have the following:
"Church officers are chosen on the criteria of godly wisdom, rather than how much money or status they have in the community
Worship leadership is not just handled by the paid staff, but is shared among the church membership of all ages and stations
Disputes are handled with mercy and love, seeking peace above selfish ambition
Stewardship becomes not just a season of pledge collection, but a yearlong spiritual disciple taught and lived by the community
Prayer is not selfish, asking for what will feed individual desires, but seeks the good fruits that will meet the needs of all
Peacemaking and social-justice ministries become ways of addressing earthly wisdom that surrounds us
Our primary identity is measured by our closeness to God rather than the possessions we accumulate.
The way that this last expression of Christian identity is enacted at the church I attend comes in the words used at every baptism. As the minister performs the baptism, he or she tells the congregation that the world will give us many messages about who we are to be, but our primary calling is as children of God, and we are to remind each other of this wisdom (90)."

I would totally agree with her statements. Too often we spend more time pleasing the world rather than pleasing God.