Posts Tagged: Serenity Prayer
“LOVING GOD, MYSELF, AND OTHERS IN AN AS-IS WORLD”
Today, my twelve-step affirmation is as follows:
“Today, by God’s grace, I will do one good thing, do it as well as it deserves to be done, and then move on to the next good thing. Good things fall under three broad categories:
- Good things that express my love and respect for God directly to God.
- Good things that express my love and respect toward other people and all of creation.
- Good things that express my love and respect toward myself.”
The first and third category are the hardest to understand. What does God really need? God seems pretty self-sufficient to me.
However, God might not need anything from me, but he might enjoy some things from me. It is a beautiful dawning to what promises to be a hot summers day. I feel that God would enjoy it if I took a walk with God. So, I will!
But for me, the second category is the easiest to understand, and the most difficult to do. I like people, as long as they do precisely what I want. (They almost never do.) I like creation and reality, as long as creation and reality conform to my fantasies. (They almost never do.)
Have you ever been to a used car lot, and seen a sticker on a car that read AS IS”? That means that the car has no warranty. As the old saying goes, “Ya pays your money, and ya takes your chances!”
All of life, every day and every relationship is “AS IS.”
And God is as God is. God is abundant and complex, but God is not a smorgasbord.
The serenity prayer is well-known, even beyond twelve-step programs. However, there is a longer version that is beautifully true, though less well known. Here it is. Pray this prayer today, and I’ll try to do the same!
”
God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change…
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.“
“Toward a More Civil Approach to One Another”
I have not been very civil here of late. That is putting it mildly! The other night, I went off verbally on one of my coworkers at the restaurant, and even threw a soggy, dirty cleaning cloth at him.
That is not civil discourse!
Do you ever find it difficult to remain courteous toward those with whom you disagree, or those whom you think are being unkind? I believe that I detect a spike in a lack of civility in our society as a whole. Perhaps I’m mistaken, though. Perhaps it’s just me.
I’m not sure if all the election news in the past year or so has caused, exacerbated, or merely reflected this lack of civility. Perhaps election news (and the election itself) has done all three.
I do know this for sure: I can’t directly affect the civility of other people or the nation , but I can get my own lack of civility under God’s control—and my control.
How do I plan to do that? I’m not sure that I have a plan, but I do have some random thoughts.
First, I need to remember that my worth is not measured by what people say to me or about me. I find that most of my lack of civility is triggered by people who speak rudely to me. The truth is that I am thin-skinned. Perhaps the reason one particular political figure irritates me so much is that I see myself in him—and I don’t like what I see! I say that my worth comes from God. Perhaps I should begin to believe that, and act on that belief.
Second, when I have feelings of being under attack, I need to stop and think. What is the proper response here? Nuclear reactors can be dangerous. So can human reactors. A thoughtful (and gentle) response is always better than a quick come-back.
Third, I can pray the serenity prayer. I have a tendency to pray that prayer when I’m already pretty serene. It is more important to pray the serenity prayer when I’m not in a serene situation.
Well, there it is: my blog for today. I greatly fear that it is more a confessional than a blog post.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- “Even a Sliver of Light” April 9, 2024“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, English Standard Version) I missed the total eclipse yesterday. There were a number of good reasons for this, but […]
- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
- “Endurance” March 10, 2024“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, English Standard Version) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us […]
- “The Limits of Non-Judgmentalism” February 24, 2024“Matt. 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Matt. 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2, English Standard Version) This morning, in my virtual 12-step meeting, we discussed the topic of judgmentalism. There were many wise […]
- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
- “Character is the Real Lesson” January 19, 2024I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning. For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet […]
- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
- “That Don’t Impress God Much” December 14, 2023DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain) Micah 6:8 (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be […]
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