I’ve been reading a lot of books simultaneously lately, as I’m prone to doing, but in preparation for a Bible study tomorrow I read through the book of Job. I’ve read the book of Job a bunch of times, but this particular time kind of struck me. Since I just preached on the book of Habakkuk, I’ve been in this mindset of trying to see our struggles through the eyes of God. Job is a lot like Habakkuk, in that he struggles. He, too, asks a version of the question, “Why me?”

If you’re human (and I’m sure 99% of you are), you’ve undoubtedly asked the question, “Why me?” You’ve gotten to a point in your life, somewhere along the way, where something just didn’t go your way, and you wanted some justification. After all, we all deserve to know why the things in our lives happen, right?

The answer, I believe, lies beneath our own egos, our own self-righteousness, and our own pride. The simple asking of the question, “Why me?” has certain implications. Probably the most profound implication is that we are too inwardly-focused. We try to think of things in our lives we’ve done wrong and line them up side-by-side with the good things that have happened in an effort to balance everything on the scale. But what happens when things don’t balance? When the bad far outweighs the good, while for those around you the good seems to far outweigh the bad? Where is the fairness in that? So we seek to blame someone. Because, again, we believe that we need justification.

What I believe Scripture reveals to us is that there is no answer to that question, because it’s the wrong question. We see through people like Job and Habakkuk that focusing inwardly, to some extent, is pointless. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t pay attention to the person you are and try to better yourself, but when it comes to the point where you’re building up all your good deeds in hopes that you’re going to receive a bountiful blessing of a perfect life, the effort is done in vain. These prophets continuously wondered, asked questions of God, and essentially focused on the problems they were having.

So what does this mean for us? What should we then do? I think that we should realize that Christ never taught evangelism for your own sake, but for the sake of other people. I think we can get from this that we shouldn’t be asking “Why me?” but instead be asking, “Why is it about me?” Once you realize that it’s not about you, the true essence of Christianity in you can emerge.

Perhaps at this point I should make a disclaimer: The motivation behind this message is two-fold. First, I believe that I succumb to this prideful attitude more times than not, and second, I’ve witnessed a lot of this in our culture, both in churches and out. That being said, this isn’t to say that God doesn’t care for you or comfort you in times of struggle. This means that God uses those struggles to give you a platform to make a decision: is it all about you or is it about something more? Something bigger? Some greater plan?

One of my favorite helpings of “humble pie” in Scripture is Revelation 3:17 -

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

While this is a bit of an extreme reference for what I’m talking about, I keep thinking about this, and it becomes increasingly evident that we as individuals aren’t the only victims of this view. It seems like more and more, the church in America is falling into the trap of being more self-invested than interested in the true calling of all Christians – to go forth and make disciples…

If you find yourself in church in the morning, think to yourself – if we closed our doors and tore down the building, would we still be able to be Christians? If the pastor told you that the church is shutting down, what would you do? Would you stay home on Sundays, feeling sorrowful and abandoned, or would you use it as a jumping-off point for real evangelism?

Once you’ve answered that question, I’d like to pose one more: What is stopping you from “shutting down” your own self-interest, and realizing that God’s amazing, unyielding, awesome plan is at work all around you, and your struggles are a part of that?

Be thankful that God allows you to struggle – because without struggle, without pain, you can never know true joy.

This Fall, I’m teaching our young adult “Bread For The Journey” class on Sunday mornings. I love leading this group. Here are the topics, in case you’d like to be a part!

Here are my topics for the Bread for the Journey class this Fall:

9/20 – Can the Bible be trusted?
9/27 – “All I Want is World Peace”
10/4 – GUEST LEADER
10/11 – God and your health
10/18 – How to handle difficult people
10/25 – Biblical money management
11/1 – Living “outside the box”
11/8 – The new atheism
11/15 – GUEST LEADER
11/22 – GUEST LEADER
11/29 – Are there angels among us?
12/6 – GUEST LEADER
12/13 – Working 9 to 5
12/20 – Are you happy now?

Looks like it’s going to be fun!

So here’s a small list of things that a lot of people don’t know about me. Maybe you’ll learn something new.

• I have a secret love for aviation, and almost became a private pilot.
• I went to UNC on a trumpet performance scholarship, and I wanted to be a band director.
• I can blow your mind with some card tricks.
• I love to do origami.
• I’ve never seen Top Gun, Rambo, Lord of the Rings, any Star Wars movie, any Star Trek anything, Terminator, Rocky, Indiana Jones, and most anything else.
• I’ve won several poker tournaments.
• I used to have long hair.
• I first got glasses in the second grade. I got contacts in the ninth grade.
• My first car was a 1989 Chevrolet Cavalier Z71.
• My second car was a 1993 Mazda MX6.
• My third car was a 2001 Chrysler Sebring Convertible.
• I used to do bubblegum pop music, and had backup dancers. One of those backup dancers introduced me to my wife.
• I have a younger brother and sister.
• I used to be a nationally-ranked racquetball player.
• I can’t swim.
• I taught myself to play the guitar.
• I can build a computer from the ground up.
• I play piano entirely by ear.
• I secretly love to draw and do graphic design.

Anything about you that no one would guess?

I had the unfortunate pleasure of singing at a funeral today for a family friend. When I picked up a bulletin, I saw that one of the chosen Scripture passages was 1 Corinthians 13. This is most commonly known as the “wedding Scripture.” Listening to my pastor’s sermon during the funeral, however, it started to become evident to me that the type of love Paul is talking about here is not only one that should pertain to “marital bliss.” I think that it is even more so a testament to the love between God, through Christ, and His bride (the Church). Once we realize that, it seems perfectly normal that this type of Scripture be included in more than just wedding proceedings.

I’ve come up with a short list of the things I’ve been thinking about pertaining to this, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on these, as I’m making them the topic of my morning studies for the next few days or so:

• What would it take for you to turn a stranger into a friend?
• What kind of love is that? (Going through 1 Corinth. 13)
• Do you think that the recognition of God’s love is more, less, or equally as important when dealing with death as it is with marriage? (In other words, are there times when God’s love should be recognized more intently?)
• What separates abundant love from the love we experience?
• For those who are married, in what ways have you intentionally practiced the type of love found in Scripture?
• For those who are unmarried, what would this love look like for you?

I’d certainly appreciate your thoughts on this!