KristyWes

On Sleeping & Screaming
1) Sleeping: If you have 5 minutes, I highly recommend you check out this article by one of my favorite (non-fiction) writers, Lauren Winner. Entitled "Sleep Therapy," the article explores sleep as a counter-cultural discipline, and theorizes what a lack of sleep means for society, in general, and the Christian, in particular.

Those of you who know me know of my perennial struggle with the Snooze button - the temptation of which magically decreases in proportion to the amount of sleep I get. The more I sleep at night, the less I need to snooze in the morning. I know this, but I don't live it. And thus I am late to work, less productive, and on and on. So 2006: hear me now! I am resolving to sleep through you. Because as Lauren writes, "to sleep, long and soundly, is to place our trust not in our own strength and hard work, but in Him without whom we labor in vain."

2) Screaming: Speaking of trusting in our own strength, I wanted to share a point from the sermon this morning at the Village Church. Rev. Sam spoke on chapter 8 of the Gospel of Mark. I often quote Mark 8:33 ("Get behind me, Satan!") in semi-jest, such as when certain nay-sayers belittle my professional figure-skating aspirations. But taken in context, Jesus' words to his disciple, Simon Peter, are rather harsh and shocking. What was so upsetting to Jesus that it caused him to liken his friend to "Satan"?

Jesus had just revealed to his disciples that the "Son of Man must suffer....be killed and...rise again." And hearing this, Peter began to rebuke Jesus. His words aren't recorded in Mark, but the Gospel of Matthew tells us that what Peter said was essentially, "No way, man! That's not going to happen to you!" (free translation :)

Why was Peter's attitude so troubling to Jesus? Maybe because he was trusting in chariots and horses (Psalm 20:7), trusting in his own strength. This is the same Peter who will pull a sword to try to prevent Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. Did he think that by might, he could prevent the inevitable Passion? In Mark 8, Jesus accuses him of not having "in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

This idea of human sufficiency and self-reliance must certainly be a very bad, no good thing, to warrant such harsh words from Jesus. Why? Because those who are self-reliant have a hard time recognizing their need for a savior. Thus human self-sufficiency is a useful tool for Satan, because it can keep us from Jesus like nothing else.

"And yet," Rev. Sam asked, "Wasn't self-sufficiency and 'believing in yourself' the message of the last heart-warming Disney movie you saw?" Aren't these ideas valued by our society? Aren't they the stuff of the American dream?

Like getting enough sleep, the decision to not rely on your own strength is indeed counter-cultural. If we're watching a movie that encourages us to believe in ourselves, because the key to success lies within each and every one of us, well, Rev. Sam said, "We ought to be running from the theater, screaming in terror." (that's a funny mental image, eh?) The trap of self-reliance should terrify us, because it keeps us from daily declaring our need for Jesus.

Personally, I rely on my own strength at work every day. I have trouble admitting weaknesses, and I don't ask for God's wisdom and strength as often or as urgently as I should. I try to do it all on my own. So tomorrow, when I start to feel myself fall into the trap, I'm going to run screaming from my office. Or......maybe I'll just go to the bathroom and pray. :)