I Ain't Never Scared, I Think?

Far too often, individuals give lead way to the mantra "I ain't scared" but forget to inform their listeners of the whole story. Yes, you may feel invincible at a moment-in-time, however, those feelings could dissipate in the blink of an eye. Allow a loaded gun to be placed in your face, from someone with mean intentions, and then what? Where's your bold stance? What about your mantra? Even if you give a facade of toughness, the real you inside may be cringing like a little coward. But that's not what you want others to see, right? So you put up an enormous front, even for the gunman. C'mon man just admit it, you're scared. Sweetheart, it's perfectly okay to be honest with yourself. Fear is fear, no bones about it.

Actually, much of what we consider bravery and confidence is filled with fear, loads of it. Matter of fact, most systems and attitudes within the world thrive on fear. Let's take the systems first--The business and advertising industry: If you don't buy this product, you'll be in fear of missing out on some special purchase. The political arena: If you vote for this person they can supposedly take away many of your problems, and you won't have to be afraid of experiencing those issues apart from their assistance. The police force: If you allow us to take much of your state tax money, we'll protect you from harm (even tough all we really want to do is ride around in free cars, eat doughnuts and give you lots of tickets). As one can see, this list can become endless.

Now let's look at some of the attitudes. The bully, thug and gangsta: If I push others around or beat them up, I won't have to fear being picked on myself. The boss and workaholic: If I excel above the glass ceiling, I won't have to fear losing my job or never receiving respect. The controller and worry wart: If I fill my mind with anxiety on how I can control every single situation in my life, then I won't have to fear my life ever going awry. The insecure and jealous person: If I always hate on you for being better and more accomplished than me; then I won't have to ever fear you truly accepting that realization of betterment, and can keep you at my level of mediocrity or unfulfillment. The greedy person or thief: If I continue to take everything you have, I won't have to fear you ever catching up to me financially or being without something. The loveless, abused and lonely person: If I give my body away sexually and focus all of my attention on physical beauty, then I won't have to fear someone never loving or wanting me, never telling me I'm beautiful, or refusing to be with me. Again, this list can become endless.    

This could also apply to institutions such as the educational structure, marriage and family; and could even be an exposing realization of the church.Yes, that's right I said it, the church.

Even the church can be based in fear. It could be in keeping members to stay, or forcing congregants to tithe. It could be in making sure choirs and praise teams excite, and sermons garner acceptable responses.

Fear is a weapon, ya'll. And we shouldn't live our lives based on it. Hey, let the chips fall where they may. Be honest enough with yourself to admit, "a root for some of your reactions could be you're simply afraid. This is something entirely too new; it's out of your league, or maybe you haven't fully healed from some of the pains and hurts in your childhood." You just got older, with the same hang-ups and insecurities.

One of the first problems we see in Scripture, right after Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, was they were afraid and hid themselves. So fear is a long standing problem for humanity, and many don't know how to function without it. At least in Adam and Eve's case, and after unproductive finger pointing, they fessed up to God that it was fear from their disobedience that was the problem. And after God dealt with them, He didn't remove the fear from the lives. Rather, He covered them up with a sacrifice. Down through thousands of years, He still has us covered; so the only one we need to be fearing is Him.


"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all who follow his precepts have good understanding. 
    To him belongs eternal praise." (Psalm 111:10 NIV)

"And fear not them that kill the body, but are
    not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able
    to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28 KJV)             

The Parable of the Cosby's (revisited)

What do we tell our Black children about their cultural heritage and identity? As a Black, Colored or African-American young adult male, the depiction of cultural placement can become confusing, at times. What should I do? Where should I work? Who should I actually be? Questions of this nature beg  for answers. Only many of these seem fleeting or lacking proper substance. Since I reside in a nation where our history was stripped for European exploitation, much of that history is forgotten. So how can I gain some bearing on my true cultural identity. Oftentimes the answer is, "I can't." Too much of it has been tainted, mixed up and messed around. Instead of wrestling with my heritage, it may be more pressing of a concern to find myself today. Unfortunately, that view is just as confusing as my heritage. As a Christian, I realize most of that identity is hidden in Christ. However, racism is still real, Whites still seem to rule and my cultural heritage is still tainted.

This dynamic probably won't change anytime soon. As long as the damage is done, it's done. I can't stop slavery from happening in the past. I can't make Blacks less subservient to Whites. Neither can I make Black men be placed on a higher priority chart: We're last on the totem pole after White men, Jews, White women, Asians, Latinos, children, other races, Black women, elderly, and then lastly, Black men. I can't stop Africa and Haiti from being the most used up places on the planet, where everything is took, yet nothing is returned. I can't get the police to stop harassing us. But I can at least speak up about it, about it all.

Rapper, activist and magazine contributor Sho Baraka recently wrote an article on KING Internet magazine (not the paper one with the half-naked Blacks chicks). He alluded to this issue in more precise verbiage. Check out his article here.

Your Barometer May be Too High, even for God!

If you are an aspiring "anything" the notion is often "the sky's the limit." So like many people on the planet, you take it and run. Parents push their children to go to college, looking for pursuits in either lawyer, doctor or engineer-related fields. Anything less of degrees in these areas are known as unacceptable and blatant failure. Once children struggle in these fields, maybe due to the fact, they're not very good at science and mathematical formulas, they become frustrated with school and dropout, knowing they can't live up to their parents' expectations. However, regardless of these occurrences, parents still try to shove their kids into these fields or ones similar. Even the country as a whole promote that shoving behavior with implementing standardized test-based curriculum or rigorous standards for simple graduation.

Many children say, "forget all this, I'm going directly into the workforce!" And that's exactly what numerous amounts of them are doing while in their late teens and twenties. Here they're able to grasp some major experience as well as decent cash flow. Over time, they move up to another position or better job, making even more money. Also added into the equation may be a spouse, some kids, a home, a pet, etc. Life seems good for the moment until inflation rises, gas prices sky-rocket and new bills pile up. And you and your parents are again reiterating thoughts of heading back to college for the very thing your decided to leave it for---the lofty pursuits of a high paying position in a field that had curriculum and terminology way over your head. So now what? I guess go through the cycle all over again...

Uh oh, hear comes another aspiring notion, as if the sky's the limit wasn't aspiring enough. Now society wants you to "reach for the stars." So let me get this right! After I've nearly made it to the sky, now I must strain even higher to get to the stars. I guess next, after I'm at the stars; I'll be "jumping to the moon" or "flying with the angels." Now no one is saying, "settle for mediocrity." But in our attempts to excel, sometimes we go overboard and just way too far.

Even as Christians, we allow society to push us and our families into patterns and molds God never created for many of us to fit in. Many of these things, He never even intended. He knows our destiny and plans for us much better than society does. Who said you have to be a doctor, lawyer or even go to college? Who said you have to reach some pinnacle that is so super lofty, that you won't be happy or truly satisfied until you get there? Who said you have to be the next Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Barack Obama, etc?

How about this: why don't you just be yourself, and be the best you that you can possibly be? Why don't you make the most out of every opportunity you're given and let the chips fall where they may? For some apparent reason, we're always looking to get to that 1%. We look at the individuals on the Forbes list, or the oil barons, top CEOs and most influential evangelicals.

"Ladies and gentlemen, these folks aren't our barometer!"

If I could, I would write that 1,000 times within this post. They're the 1% and what we usually fail to realize; we're doing better than much of the other 99%. Better yet, we could actually be exactly where God wants us to be, and not even realize it. Often times when Jesus relayed a parable, He would use the 1, 2, and 5 scenario. Which is, God (or an individual representing Him) gave 3 people something (skills and talents, money, giftings, etc.) and ONLY required each of them to DOUBLE what He gave based on their ability. However, in modern day, we would change Jesus' parables and want for the people who received the 1 and 2 to get just as much as the one who received the 5. Thus, everyone would end up having 10 of whatever they had, instead of double. But God didn't say change things to modern day times. He made it clear that the kingdom of God is based on ability, not measuring up to the so called "elite." But because of peer-pressure, pleasure and pride we want to do things society's way instead God's. My prayer is that we stop trying to measure to society, and only do what God called us to do, nothing more, nothing less.

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." (Romans 12:3 NIV)                              

Judge, Jury & Executioner

I know some generation Xers like myself, the recent oldies, are familiar with Pee-Wee Herman. His most reflective statement, "I know you are, but what am I?" was a beckoning call for effectively dealing with wrongful judgments and harsh criticisms. Even if the person called him a jerk, dummy, stupid or some other derogatory term; he would bounce it off of him with that statement.

But this post is not really about past and present adventures of Pee-Wee Herman, it's about you and I. First off, we shouldn't be spewing out wrongful judgments about others. As Christians too often that's our badge of honor---judging. For individuals who are suppose to be Christlike, biblical and Godly; we usually come off as anti-Christ, unbiblical and worldly. We go around worrying about things that weren't priorities for Jesus, but is somehow made to be our ultimate priorities in life for relating to one another.

Thus, we judge. We condemn. We criticize. And we continue to forcefully kick others while they're still down. The crazy thing, we condone it all with the ridiculous belief that we're doing the service of God in a more convincing manner. Again, these weren't a priority for Jesus and many of them He adamantly opposed.

In our willful pursuit of self-righteousness coupled with distasteful arrogance, we wrongly represent Christ. Secondly, we shouldn't be losing our perspective this badly. According to Scripture, we're called to love, serve and reconcile others to God, not nitpick and constantly judge them.  

Thirdly, Miles McPherson, pastor of the Rock Church - San Diego spells all of this out more precisely than I have through his current sermon series - EXPOSED. Check the Exposed series out here.

The Purpose-Given Life

Many aspects of life are uncertain: Where should I live? Who will I marry? Should I take this job or that one? How long will I live? What's my real purpose in life? These questions are abundant, to say the least. And as we age, they increase. Some have even sought to give us solace for our concerns in this area. Much of that solace has alluded to us discovering our own purpose in God.

Most are familiar with the renowned pastor of Southern California's Saddleback Church---Rick Warren. As a pastoral leader, millions highly respect him and associate much of his international acclaim with his book, The Purpose Driven Life.

In the book selling over 30 million copies to date, Warren focuses on the blueprint for Christian living in the 21st Century. The book's 40 chapters highlight 6 major categories for living out one's purpose (focusing more heavily on the last 5):

1.) What on Earth Am I Here For? (Identity)


2.) You Were Planned for God's Pleasure (Worship)


3.) You Were Formed for God's Family (Fellowship)


4.) You Were Created to Become Like Christ (Discipleship)


5.) You Were Shaped for Serving God (Ministry)


6.) You Were Made for a Mission (Mission)

As noted earlier, his following is abundant and many have adopted his Purpose-Driven philosophy, even a large group of notable church leaders. So it's pretty clear to see that he's on to something here. Anything uniting the Body of Christ in a positive manner is extremely beneficial. John 17:20-26 validates this as a primary focus of Jesus, in comparison to the connection between Him & His Father (God) being united.

The church I presently attend and have attended for the past 6 years are huge fans of Warren's ministry paradigm.

"Unsurprisingly, Warren's concepts are impactful, life-transforming and relational."

But they're incomplete. What? Incomplete! How? Now, before you all panic, hear me out! Don't get me wrong, I like Rick Warren. But there are some aspects he could have added, even he admits that in some of His small group video series. Thus, he promoted connecting studies on Life's Healing Choices by John Baker, The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay & a series on 40 Days of Love. And it wouldn't surprise me if many more studies are to come, all of which will aid the original Purpose-Driven one.  

Actually, these aren't the main things he left out. Believe it or not, the overall focus is what's basically incomplete. No, it's not necessarily wrong but it is incomplete. What am I getting at? Well, it's simply this: This life is not primarily about you or I and our individual purpose. What? That's right, it's not! The main thing will always remain the main thing, and that's clearly God.

"It's about God's purpose for us, not our own individual one."

God is not so focused on us living out The American Dream, or any other dream for that matter. He never promised that we will all be married to the love-of-our-life, enjoy a budding career, have a palatial home with a 2-car garage, perfect health, 3 beautiful kids, and an obedient dog. But many of us believe that is what He promised, and we have replaced God's purpose for our ideal purpose. Some have not, and have went immediately into the opposite direction. They feel their individual purpose must be poor, miserable and filled with preaching, in order to honor God. How so? Simply put, God has purposed you for what He's purposed you for. You don't fully control it. Even before you were born, it was already set-in-stone. See, God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). You just need to live life (with its ups and downs, bumps and bruises) and be obedience unto Him.

It's His purpose for you, not your purpose for Him. So let's be more about living out The Purpose-Given Life, as well as the Driven one.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) NKJV  

Continual Mimicking

mimicking - present participle of mim·ic (Verb)Verb:

1. Imitate (someone or their actions or words), typically in order to entertain or ridicule.

2. (of an animal or plant) Resemble or imitate (another animal or plant), esp. to deter predators or for camouflage.

Merriman- Webster has defined mimicking by the definitions above. And it's often been said, "Mimicking isn't nice!" When a child makes fun of another child; we won't them to stop, stop immediately! Cruel jokes do absolutely nothing but hurt individuals and seemingly reveal just how cold children can be. The old adage is "Hurting people hurt people." It's just that simple. "And healed people usually heal people." Not to mention the fact, there are a lot of angry and hurting children in this world.

While observing some of these dynamics in the classroom, while enrolled in a Practicum program. I began to notice how the ridicule changed the student's entire day. What's more, it even distorted their attitude and perspective on life.

I child interested in behaving politely and eagerly participating in class, all of a sudden was no longer interested. They went from model student one hour, to joining in with the class clown the next hour. They went from excited about learning one moment, to silence and depression moments later. All of this was simply started from mimicking behavior.

Well, this is not just a problem with children in grade school. This is also an issue with adults in the school of life. They want to be accepted and achieve great things, not made fun of. Even Christian adults take it a step further. They want to serve God faithfully, love Him passionately and represent Him rightly.

But here comes the the devil with his continual mimicking: "Who do you think you are, trying to live for God? What nerve of you seeking to walk in love all day long, having a good attitude... Here, look at these bills, your weight and all the other individuals doing better than you. You should look pitiful and be depressed, instead of happy! You should just check out mentally from your loved ones, focusing on your selfish wants and desires. Life's a party, drink it up. Again, why are you following Jesus, He's not really helping you with your problems? Christianity is nothing but a waste of time."

Instead of listening to his continual mimicking words, try operating in your own version of continual mimicking and mimic Jesus. Copy His attributes for living, attitude for dealing with problems and resolve in choosing to tune out the enemy's voice. Live life for God's purpose, regardless of anything telling you not to. Change your perspective and follow Jesus' influence, not the devil's. The video above is a scene from the hit film Real Steel. It'll give a much better depiction of what I'm implying.  

Finding Yourself...?

Exactly, "What in the world is being human?" Brandy has a new album out called HUMAN. Also, her album is about her ups and downs in life throughout her relationships, music career, and family. What's more, she is at a stage in life where I guess she's finding herself. So, my question is this, "Exactly, Who are you?" "Really, What is it that makes you you?" "Are you a Christian or borderline worldly? Are you courageous in faith or religiously fearful? Are you insecure in life or secure in Jesus?" We may have to go throughout our entire lifespan to address many of these types of questions. I have lived on this earth for 33 years and have truly found that you can't find yourself without truly knowing you. And, you can't know yourself without truly knowing your family history and past generations back. And, you really can't know your family history without knowing the first family (Adam & Eve) and where they came from. And, you can't seem to know the first family without fully knowing God. So, bottom line, we ALL need to know God in order to find ourselves. Notice, I didn't say that, "We need to know a god." But, rather, "We need to know---GOD!"

See, many Christians know about God and struggle with personally knowing God. We have people who are more willing to know the intricacies about their pet than they are in knowing God. Christians have to become more intentional on spending time with God---not just on Sundays or at a low point in one's life. Have you took out any time to know God on Monday through Saturday? Why or Why not? The Bible indicates that we should, "Search after God while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near!" Slow down and stop for planned moments within your week to do that very thing. Believe me; it'll make a world of a difference in your life and maybe (just maybe) you'll truly start to FIND YOURSELF.

Valuables

You know, a lot of people feel that they rarely have anything to offer. They're not the brightest, most famous, or even remotely famous. But, just because someone hasn't reached some idealistic pinnacle of worthiness doesn't necessarily mean they're not valuable. See, value is an intrinsic characteristic that's not truly defined by superficial preferences. So, What! You're not the head honcho, smartest, or most popular. So, What! You're not the wealthiest or most attractive. So, What! You're not the funniest or carry the most engaging personality. So, What! So, What! So, What! In-spite of all this YOU'RE STILL VALUABLE. God sees immense value from each and every person. Did you know that you can do whatever you set your mind to. Did you know that you were created just the way God desired. Did you even know that NO one can do what you can do the very way you can do it---with your personality, with your compassion, with your heart, with your focus, with your resiliency, etc.

God has made us all so valuable...He saw so much value in us that He was willing to die for it! Our potential, to Him, is on a grandiose scale. So, the next time you start to compare yourself to someone else at your job, on television, or elsewhere; STOP! Just remain being THE BEST YOU that you can possibly be and don't become distraught because you're not just like someone else. Stop saying things like, "I feel like a failure; I'll never be like ____________; I wish I had what ____________ has." Realize that you are completely who you are and be grateful for that! I can guarantee that someone else somewhere in the world would LOVE to be you. Please, understand how valuable you are on a daily basis and keep seeing the value in all others (not just the famous people), especially the one's you encounter everyday. It just may be the very thing your life as well as their lives were missing!

True Beauty...

I'm not an avid television viewer, when the programming isn't sports (i.e. ESPN). But, I'm starting to try to come around in being a bit more informed to what's going on in the world via television and additional media outlets. Now, I'm not saying become a television junkie, but I'm just referring to my personal position, at the moment. Anyway, there is a fairly new television show on local T.V. by the name of 'True Beauty'.
True Beauty is a television series in which contestants are competing to see who is the most beautiful. However, they think they are only being tested on outer beauty. The show is hosted by three judges, who judge the contestants on their inner beauty. The contestants are competing for $100,000 and to be "featured in People Magazine's 100 most beautiful people issue." The series is produced by Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher. premiered on ABC on January 5, 2009. The second season premiered May 31, 2010.^[1]
What's more, as Christians, we need to be more cognizant of inner beauty, as well. We should not be so caught up in mostly viewing people based on a pretty face or a banging body. See, both of those things can drastically change based on time, diet, pregnancy, or a danger.
Time - Over time one ages and not everybody ages gracefully. Yes, wrinkles start to become much more apparent. Flab starts to hang from your flesh and you could even end up with a double chin. Yikes! Even your hair can start to flee from your head or decide to take on a complexion of gray.

Diet - All the ding dongs, hot dogs, home cooked meals, and restaurant outings can start to take their toll. In your earlier years you could've probably got away with eating anything, but not as you age. As you age your fat intake usually increases and your kinetic activities usually decrease. You just want to eat and afterwards sit on the couch or go to bed. In your younger years it's a good guess to say, "you were probably a bit more active than that." I do realize that there are some exceptions to this rule, but this is the plight of the majority of people who may be reading this and they're pretty much not that exception.

Pregnancy - Wow, women, you have just allowed a bundle of joy to be birthed through you, entering into the world. You are so proud to have had a baby, but what about your figure? Nine months have earlier passed where you was constantly putting on weight, for two people. What's more, one of those persons is now out of you, but that excess weight is still there. Oh no, your perfect little figure now seems to be in peril and you begin to identify more with the group above.

Danger - In this stage, it doesn't matter how young you are, how well you diet, or if you're not pregnant. You can still fall prey to this area. This area is usually out of your control! A freak car accident, a slip and fall, an image affecting disease, etc. All of the sudden, your esteemed beauty goes out of the window.

Bottom line, we should never base our worth or anyone else's worth on false beauty, one's physical stature & makeup, their facial structure, or something else. Your beauty and my beauty should ALWAYS be based on God's image of us on the inside, the real you! Many people who look extremely beautiful can act awfully ugly. Let's not have that as our testimony...!

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30) NIV


1. Leach, Robin (2009), "Vanessa Minnillo’s Face of Vegas a Ruse for True Beauty", Vegas Deluxe, October 13, 2009