Showing posts with label Joseph. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joseph. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2022
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Learning How to Recede with One Little Talent
When I was a kid I had grandiose hopes and dreams for the future, way beyond my years, and as it turned out way beyond my ability…probably beyond reality;-)
So long ago and far back then, I had Lamborghini-like expectations—a Lamborghini Aventador Convertible costs nearly 1/2 a million dollars—
but I was born only with an affordable self,
(a “Ford” brain and body) and only one talent:-)
Now that the rising sun of youth is far gone, and the mid-day glory of marriage, children, and career,
and I am fast receding into old age—
and experiencing the tragedy of the untimely deaths of my loved ones and their dementia,
and the twisting by false Christian leaders of all that is of worth and value...
yes, now that I am diminishing, part of the outgoing tide of Life and history,
a parable by Jesus comes back to me with new force—
the one which compares the Realm of God
and us humans with a story about talents.
[The Realm of God] “…will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.
Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’
23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’”
Matthew 25: 14-25 ESV
Thank God, I didn't behave like the man who got only 1 talent, even though I only did get 1 fairly average talent. But why couldn't life have been all different or even mildly so?
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be the guy who was got 5 talents.
However as I grew to adulthood, I soon realized after struggling with algebra,
physics, and Spanish, passing, not failing, but flailing because so disappointed.
So I determined, at least, not to be like the guy given only 1 talent who wasted the gift by hiding it. But even here, after much learning, diligence, and long hours of work, I discovered that even my 1 talent was rather average in comparison to my hopes, dreams, and goals.
Such is life for many of us.
You see, I had dreamed of and wanted to be like Joseph in Genesis, who after many years of trial and labor, eventually became the prince of talent.
But Life didn’t turn out that way. No matter how much and hard I worked.
Not that I don’t love my penchant and ability with words, images, ideas and concepts that God created me with. I love language, literature, art, and poetry, history, and philosophy.
Yes, I suppose some would call my incessant philosophizing and study of history—a second talent, but often that ability seems more like a liability, even at times a curse.
Why did I have to be born with “why” as my first word;-)?
Why was I at 11 trying to figure out theology and biblical interpretation and ethics while most kids were preoccupied with their bicycles and Little League?
For instance, consider all the false worldviews from Calvinism to Atheism, the ones which twist our lives, destroying and wrecking havoc for millions, the ones which I think about and work against.
I feel the incessant need (and choose to) study tome after tome and figure out valid reasons why those leaders of specious worldviews are wrong, and then I write thousands of pages explaining so in great depth. And lastly, I seek to point all people to the truth of Jesus the Chosen One, the Image of the Invisible God.
...while in contrast all my relatives and friends wonder why I bother so much over what others think.
Why couldn’t I have been born a physicist instead of a philosopher, a plumber instead of a poet?
At least then I could have easily paid the bills, dealt more with the hard data of reality rather than the imaginative and the speculative and the incomprehensible.
But I trust in God who is love that God can bring good out of my only 1 little talent, far beyond what I perceive.
We are to be branches, or twigs;-)through which Life and Truth and Love can move...
To be continued
In the Light,
Daniel Wilcox
So long ago and far back then, I had Lamborghini-like expectations—a Lamborghini Aventador Convertible costs nearly 1/2 a million dollars—
but I was born only with an affordable self,
(a “Ford” brain and body) and only one talent:-)
Now that the rising sun of youth is far gone, and the mid-day glory of marriage, children, and career,
and I am fast receding into old age—
and experiencing the tragedy of the untimely deaths of my loved ones and their dementia,
and the twisting by false Christian leaders of all that is of worth and value...
yes, now that I am diminishing, part of the outgoing tide of Life and history,
a parable by Jesus comes back to me with new force—
the one which compares the Realm of God
and us humans with a story about talents.
[The Realm of God] “…will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.
Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’
23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’”
Matthew 25: 14-25 ESV
Thank God, I didn't behave like the man who got only 1 talent, even though I only did get 1 fairly average talent. But why couldn't life have been all different or even mildly so?
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be the guy who was got 5 talents.
However as I grew to adulthood, I soon realized after struggling with algebra,
physics, and Spanish, passing, not failing, but flailing because so disappointed.
So I determined, at least, not to be like the guy given only 1 talent who wasted the gift by hiding it. But even here, after much learning, diligence, and long hours of work, I discovered that even my 1 talent was rather average in comparison to my hopes, dreams, and goals.
Such is life for many of us.
You see, I had dreamed of and wanted to be like Joseph in Genesis, who after many years of trial and labor, eventually became the prince of talent.
But Life didn’t turn out that way. No matter how much and hard I worked.
Not that I don’t love my penchant and ability with words, images, ideas and concepts that God created me with. I love language, literature, art, and poetry, history, and philosophy.
Yes, I suppose some would call my incessant philosophizing and study of history—a second talent, but often that ability seems more like a liability, even at times a curse.
Why did I have to be born with “why” as my first word;-)?
Why was I at 11 trying to figure out theology and biblical interpretation and ethics while most kids were preoccupied with their bicycles and Little League?
For instance, consider all the false worldviews from Calvinism to Atheism, the ones which twist our lives, destroying and wrecking havoc for millions, the ones which I think about and work against.
I feel the incessant need (and choose to) study tome after tome and figure out valid reasons why those leaders of specious worldviews are wrong, and then I write thousands of pages explaining so in great depth. And lastly, I seek to point all people to the truth of Jesus the Chosen One, the Image of the Invisible God.
...while in contrast all my relatives and friends wonder why I bother so much over what others think.
Why couldn’t I have been born a physicist instead of a philosopher, a plumber instead of a poet?
At least then I could have easily paid the bills, dealt more with the hard data of reality rather than the imaginative and the speculative and the incomprehensible.
But I trust in God who is love that God can bring good out of my only 1 little talent, far beyond what I perceive.
We are to be branches, or twigs;-)through which Life and Truth and Love can move...
To be continued
In the Light,
Daniel Wilcox
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Truth versus the Joseph Story
When I was a kid, one of my favorite stories was the narrative of Joseph
in the book of Genesis.
Not only was it an exciting tale--much better than the Begats, Leviticus, or the doctrinal epistles of Paul--
the Joseph story filled me with deep hope and faith in God.
I read with wonder how Joseph by faith overcame betrayal, terrible experiences, false accusations,
insurmountable odds, and eventually became Prince of Egypt--healthy, wealthy, powerful and wise.
Then as I grew up, and, myself, encountered terrible times (like most of us do),
and came to face to face with insurmountable odds, I would remember the rags-to-riches story or re-read it for more details.
Keep the faith and you will win, no matter how bad things get.
What I didn't realize until much later--into middle age when I continued to have worse and worse life experiences--
is only one person can be prince of Egypt, and it wasn't me;-)
Somehow I had modeled my central hopes and expectations according to a very few winning stories--
Joseph, Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego,
the Apostle Peter, George Fox, John Woolman,
Menno Simons, Levi Coffin, etc.--the great heroes of the faith who suffered greatly but overcame and eventually succeeded.
What I had somehow missed is that most hopeful people down through the many thousands of years of human history, and at present,
not only never reach a high place, they seldom overcome their tragic lives,
don't get out of the "pit" others or bad circumstances have thrown them in;
they live lives more like Jeremiah
than Joseph--
life only gets worse and worse as they age.
Millions never get to even age.
Their lives are cut short by debilitating illnesses, false accusations, abuses, wars, tortures, and destruction.
They die in prison like Francis Howgill, mistreated to death,
get drowned like Felix Manz,
executed like Quaker Tom Fox in Iraq,
or are tortured, sawn into, beheaded,
or burnt at the stake like Michael Sattler.
On an on the suffering goes. The injustice and very bad news seem endless.
This doesn't even deal with the millions of people who die in vast plagues, in hurricanes and tidal waves, who starve to death, get cancer or are abused.
No wonder so many despair and feel the hopelessness of Hezekiah in the book of Isaiah:
"For Sheol cannot thank you, Death cannot praise you,
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness."
Indeed, I now see that the Joseph story as I envisioned it is a harmful delusion of the worst sort.
Contrary to the claims of hundreds of thousands of success sermons and endless prosperity books, most people don't win by the world's standards. They don't even get to come in last, 5 hours late like
one runner who refused to give up.
They are born blind, or get leukemia at 4 years of age, or die of cancer at 33, leaving behind their 3 little preschoolers.
So where does that leave us, those who seek and hope in God, despite the worst Life heaves our way?
Those who think Dawkins, Harris, and other non-theists are wrong in their claim that existence is meaningless and hope is a delusion.
It's all about perspective.
Paul spoke of it in Corinthians when he spoke of the scandal of the cross:
"We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness."
No doubt many Jews were hoping for a Joseph-like figure, a messianic leaders who would thrash the Romans and become an overcoming prince.
They didn't want a Jewish laborer who told them to love their national enemies and sinners, one who was then arrested for treason,
tortured, and nailed to a Roman cross.
And the Gentiles (all those not Jewish) were interested in power, wealth, and success as well. Who would want to follow some Jewish peasant that didn't
have an abstract philosophical system and who ridiculously told his followers to resist evil with love?
Obviously he didn't understand the real world.
Not much has changed in over 2,000 years. Many of us still want--at least I so often do--
a successful Christ, one who will help us live a healthy, happy life, with a successful career, etc.
But Truth doesn't come our way very often with Joseph-like health, power, wealth, wisdom.
Besides, how wise was Joseph really when he turned millions of Egyptians into paupers dependent on the national ruler?
George Fox and the early Quakers learned that early. They had hoped that Oliver Cromwell and English government would bring in justice, goodness, and truth.
On the contrary, only more destruction, slaughter, and oppression!
Many innocent individuals spent years in prison, lost all their material possessions;
thousands died as have many other people of truth have in the past. And in Europe,
hundreds of thousands died because of the 30 Years War--a battle between Roman Catholics versus Reformed to see who would get to be "Joseph"!
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of how unearned suffering is redemptive in the midst of a life of sacrifice.
For a while it even appeared that King might become a modern day Joseph as he went from being a minor Black minister in the South
to becoming a national hero and society-changer.
But in the end, he was executed by a lone gunman, and he, himself, had turned from the ethical way, even committing adultery repeatedly.
So tragic.
May we in each moment of now abandon our Joseph delusions.
Let us not give up, or give into unethical actions.
Instead, let us live in the hope that good, truth, and justice will eventually win, even if we don't.
To be continued--
Daniel Wilcox
in the book of Genesis.
Not only was it an exciting tale--much better than the Begats, Leviticus, or the doctrinal epistles of Paul--
the Joseph story filled me with deep hope and faith in God.
I read with wonder how Joseph by faith overcame betrayal, terrible experiences, false accusations,
insurmountable odds, and eventually became Prince of Egypt--healthy, wealthy, powerful and wise.
Then as I grew up, and, myself, encountered terrible times (like most of us do),
and came to face to face with insurmountable odds, I would remember the rags-to-riches story or re-read it for more details.
Keep the faith and you will win, no matter how bad things get.
What I didn't realize until much later--into middle age when I continued to have worse and worse life experiences--
is only one person can be prince of Egypt, and it wasn't me;-)
Somehow I had modeled my central hopes and expectations according to a very few winning stories--
Joseph, Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego,
the Apostle Peter, George Fox, John Woolman,
Menno Simons, Levi Coffin, etc.--the great heroes of the faith who suffered greatly but overcame and eventually succeeded.
What I had somehow missed is that most hopeful people down through the many thousands of years of human history, and at present,
not only never reach a high place, they seldom overcome their tragic lives,
don't get out of the "pit" others or bad circumstances have thrown them in;
they live lives more like Jeremiah
than Joseph--
life only gets worse and worse as they age.
Millions never get to even age.
Their lives are cut short by debilitating illnesses, false accusations, abuses, wars, tortures, and destruction.
They die in prison like Francis Howgill, mistreated to death,
get drowned like Felix Manz,
or are tortured, sawn into, beheaded,
or burnt at the stake like Michael Sattler.
On an on the suffering goes. The injustice and very bad news seem endless.
This doesn't even deal with the millions of people who die in vast plagues, in hurricanes and tidal waves, who starve to death, get cancer or are abused.
No wonder so many despair and feel the hopelessness of Hezekiah in the book of Isaiah:
"For Sheol cannot thank you, Death cannot praise you,
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness."
Indeed, I now see that the Joseph story as I envisioned it is a harmful delusion of the worst sort.
Contrary to the claims of hundreds of thousands of success sermons and endless prosperity books, most people don't win by the world's standards. They don't even get to come in last, 5 hours late like
one runner who refused to give up.
They are born blind, or get leukemia at 4 years of age, or die of cancer at 33, leaving behind their 3 little preschoolers.
So where does that leave us, those who seek and hope in God, despite the worst Life heaves our way?
Those who think Dawkins, Harris, and other non-theists are wrong in their claim that existence is meaningless and hope is a delusion.
It's all about perspective.
Paul spoke of it in Corinthians when he spoke of the scandal of the cross:
"We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness."
No doubt many Jews were hoping for a Joseph-like figure, a messianic leaders who would thrash the Romans and become an overcoming prince.
They didn't want a Jewish laborer who told them to love their national enemies and sinners, one who was then arrested for treason,
tortured, and nailed to a Roman cross.
And the Gentiles (all those not Jewish) were interested in power, wealth, and success as well. Who would want to follow some Jewish peasant that didn't
have an abstract philosophical system and who ridiculously told his followers to resist evil with love?
Obviously he didn't understand the real world.
Not much has changed in over 2,000 years. Many of us still want--at least I so often do--
a successful Christ, one who will help us live a healthy, happy life, with a successful career, etc.
But Truth doesn't come our way very often with Joseph-like health, power, wealth, wisdom.
Besides, how wise was Joseph really when he turned millions of Egyptians into paupers dependent on the national ruler?
George Fox and the early Quakers learned that early. They had hoped that Oliver Cromwell and English government would bring in justice, goodness, and truth.
On the contrary, only more destruction, slaughter, and oppression!
Many innocent individuals spent years in prison, lost all their material possessions;
thousands died as have many other people of truth have in the past. And in Europe,
hundreds of thousands died because of the 30 Years War--a battle between Roman Catholics versus Reformed to see who would get to be "Joseph"!
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of how unearned suffering is redemptive in the midst of a life of sacrifice.
For a while it even appeared that King might become a modern day Joseph as he went from being a minor Black minister in the South
to becoming a national hero and society-changer.
But in the end, he was executed by a lone gunman, and he, himself, had turned from the ethical way, even committing adultery repeatedly.
So tragic.
May we in each moment of now abandon our Joseph delusions.
Let us not give up, or give into unethical actions.
Instead, let us live in the hope that good, truth, and justice will eventually win, even if we don't.
To be continued--
Daniel Wilcox
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