Moving Beyond Cliche Faith (Inspired by Book of Eli)

"I don't know what God is doing. I don't think God knows what God is doing sometimes. However, I will still trust God."

The above quote is a paraphrase of a statement Howard Thurman said towards the end of his life. To me, it exudes an unrelenting faith in God, even if we do not know what is going on or we are not sure if God knows what is going on. Some may find it shocking for someone to dare say "I don't think God knows what God is doing." Some may say this is borderline blasphemous. However, this speaks to a faith that goes deeper than the typical cliches (God is good all the time and all the time God is good; I'm blessed and highly favored; To blessed to be stressed; etc.) uttered by many (including myself) on a daily basis. What I want to talk about is a faith that goes beyond rhetoric and cliches. I am talking about an unwavering faith even when we have the slightest ideal what is going on.

When thinking about this type of faith, it took me back to the Garden of Gethsemane. The Garden of Gethsemane was not a pretty place for Jesus. It was here that Jesus had to face the reality of his call and purpose in his life. Jesus had to face the reality of the cross at this moment. Jesus did not want to face the cross. The text (Mat. 26:37-38) says that Jesus was grieved and agitated. And he asked for the cup to pass over him (Mat. 26:39). Jesus did not want to go to the cross. But even in this moment of weakness, Jesus was able to say "not what I want but what you want" (Mat. 26:39). Jesus could have chosen not to go to the cross. Jesus could have said no. But Jesus chose to trust in God. I dare say that if it were up to Jesus he would have avoided the cross. However, it was Jesus faith and trust in God that enabled him to say "not MY will but YOUR WILL."

Deep faith is total submission to the will of God even if the will of God takes us down a path that we would not have chosen for ourselves. Deep faith is trusting God even if we cannot rationalize or find the logic in the situation. Deep faith is trusting God when we don't know what is going on and all we have to rely on is God. Deep faith causes us to be vulnerable. Deep faith means we have no control. Deep faith means really trusting God with our lives. Ask yourself "Do I really trust God with my life?" Do I really want to let God control my life or do I want to have a say so? Take time to really meditate on this question.

It is time for all of us to move beyond the cliches of faith. It is time for us to take our walk and relationship with God seriously. We must allow ourselves to explore the depths of God and open ourselves to the possibility of being vulnerable to God. Allowing God to truly use us and allowing God's will to be done in our lives. LET US NOT REDUCE FAITH TO CLICHES. Let us live out our faith in God and let us live out his will for our lives.

God Bless,

Rev

Inspiration

In one of my most recent posts, I referred to an African American theologian by the name of Howard Thurman. Thurman served as one of the many inspirations for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK was believed to have carried a copy of Thurman's book entitled Jesus and the Disinherited (I encourage everyone to read this book).

I am currently taking a course entitled Howard Thurman: Spirituality & Community. Today in class our professor read a letter that Thurman wrote to Mordecai Johnson, former president of Howard University, when he was 17 years old. The portion of the letter that grasped my attention was his work ethic. During his teenage years, Thurman worked 11 hours a day for $.50 and pressed clothes for $.25 all while maintaining As in his classes. This man was a focused and determined individual. Thurman and his family were poor but he did not let his social location determine hinder his drive and motivation.

As I reflect on how this man not valued education and hard work, I can't help but think how can I become better. What things in my life am I allowing to distract that is preventing me from fulfilling the purpose and mission that God has placed before me. I want to encourage us to begin to not allow distractions (whatever that may be) to knock us off the path of purpose. We must make the most of the time that we are allotted on this earth. We must not take for granted this life that God has blessed us with.

I also want us to remember in order to achieve greatness we must be willing to sacrifice some things. The ones we consider great had to sacrifice much. If we are not willing to sacrifice something we don't want to be great.

#thatisall

God Bless,

Rev

Tight Beats, Tight Hooks, Malnourishing Lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2lS283bmKM

Above is a link to one of my favorite songs, "We Are One" by Frankie Beverly and Maze. While riding in the car yesterday afternoon, I was flipping through the radio stations and I stopped on the Michael Baisden show. I don't listen to that show often but they were discussing the current crisis in Haiti and in dedication to our brothers and sisters there he played this song, "We Are One." The song in itself is a beautifully composed song but when I listened to the words and listened to them in light of the crisis in Haiti, I began to get emotional. The words "we are one" that all of us-humanity, nature, and all of creation-are ONE.

This also caused me to think about the power of music and its ability to bringing healing and hope in times of crisis. Music has had an unique ability to speak to the various social ills and calamities of the time. From Marvin Gaye's classic album What's Going On to the reggae freedom songs of Bob Marley ("Redemption Song" & "Exodus") to the revolutionary music of Public Enemy and NWA, music has played an instrumental role in mobilizing the people to create change in this world.

What I am sad to say is that there is not a SUFFICIENT amount of substantive music available in the 21st century. Music has been reduced to a tight beat with a tight hook with malnourishing lyrics. When I think back on Marvin Gaye using a whole album to address the ills of his time or when I think about the spirituals and slave songs that got our people through the ills of slavery and Jim and Jane Crow, it reminds how music was not used solely for financial gain but for communal survival. When I listen to the radio, I hear the same playlist which spout nothing but obscenities and demeaning and destructive words. It's one thing to paint your life story but it's another NOT to use this creative freedom responsibly.

I guess my question is what kind of inspiration is music providing in the 21st century, in particular hip-hop music. Is our music inspiring our children to pursue greatness or just to simply "wake up in the morning 10 o'clock drinking" #imjustsaying. I AM guilty burying myself in tight beats and tight hooks and malnourishing lyrics. However, it is time for me and all of us to Detox (will Dr. Dre ever put out that album lol). I challenge my artists, my rappers, my singers, my producers to pursue greatness in your music and not money. Make timeless music that will have impact and carry influence over ages. Make music that will have meaning 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now.

Don't sell the integrity, soul, and life giving and sustaining power of the music for money. To paraphrase a passage from the biblical text, "What does it profit a man or woman to gain the world and lose his or her soul." Or let me rephrase it this way, what does it profit artists to make a dollar while killing and damaging the souls of their brothers and sisters.

Let our music inspire and uplift instead of damage and degrade.

God Bless,

Rev

Do You Trust God With Your Life?

“I don’t know what God is doing to me and I don’t know if God knows what God is doing to me...no matter what I trust God."

This is a paraphrase from a quote from Howard Thurman. For those that don't know, Howard Thurman is an African-American theologian. Martin Luther King, Jr. carried a copy of his book, Jesus and the Disinherited, with him at all times. The above quote was spoken by Thurman in his latter days. The above quote may be viewed as controversial by some but what I see is an unrelenting trust in God by an individual. Thurman had the audacity to question if God knew what God was doing. However I submit that this is something that all Christians think at times. I don't know if anyone blindly believes in God. Most people have questions with the main one being why things happen the way they happen. With all this being said, let me get to the point...do we trust God with our lives? Many of us believe that God is all powerful and all knowing but do we really trust God with our lives? Do we trust that God will lead us in the right direction? Many of us would say "yes, I trust God," but if that means going in the valley for an extended period of time would we boast about our trust in God? Many of us claim we trust in God after we have experienced a blessing of some sort, but did we have that same trust when it appeared that God was absent? I seriously want us to consider if we REALLY trust God or not. Do we trust God with our lives or are we just providing lip service.

God Bless,

Rev