Christianito and other thoughts

I had several thoughts this morning that I felt are worth writing down...

This morning I woke up in a sleepy haze - my cousin and I played WoW last night. In a previous life as teenagers, tweens and below we would play computer games for hours upon end. At times we would go all night conquering the monsters or saving the universe. WoW has been a refreshing journey back to those days, allowing for us to reconnect - to talk, to play, and be spontaneous. Anyways as I woke up this morning, I sat on the side of the bed to collect my thoughts and make sure I didn't fall over when I stood (I'm a little slow for the first hour or so normally). Sitting on the side of the bed, I noticed my protruding belly and thought to myself "I am fat in all areas of my life." My discipline for prayer, studying the word, exercise, and more are all but non-existent. As I read "My Utmost For His Highest" I was reminded of sanctification and our purpose.

In American culture, we are very goal oriented. Job performance, church growth, etc are all measured with various metrics. We seek to quantify everything, reducing our pursuit of relationships, identity, career, etc. into "To Do" lists. It's only natural that this would spill over into the "spiritual component" of our lives. I believe this very idea to be a fallacy - compartmentalizing our spirituality into another area which is either partially or fully separate from our work or home "life".

My Utmost said this today:

The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being.

We must seek to be holy, not act holy. We must be righteous, not act righteous or simply do righteous things. When our actions supersede our motive (which should be to glorify God and draw closer to him) we become like the Pharisees.

My challenge to you and me today is this: What are the pursuits, the passions of your life? Are you striving to be a good worker, husband, gamer, mother, etc but not striving to be righteous? If so any one of those pursuits has become an idol!

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
--Matthew 6:33 (NASB)

The title of the post is "Christianito" because I was called that by two wonderful elderly Dominicans today. Tobias stands at our gate during the day. He is in his 70s but walks up the hill to our campus every day. He always opens the door with a smile, friendly wave and "a su orden" (at your service). Maria (who called me Christianito first) is also in her 70s. She comes to the school several days a week to clean the campus, but each time I see her I am inspired. Maria is, without a doubt, the strongest woman and hardest worker I have ever met. It amazes me to watch her go above and beyond her duties to keep our campus clean. Though it is not part of her responsibilities, she will scrub the sidewalks to get rid of mold. I see her carrying large carpets, moving logs, and smiling with a strength that is not found in most people. You would never know it by looking at her, but she suffers from brain tumors. There are times they give her terrible headaches that bring tears to her eyes. But her lips and heart smile.

These two people are my little glimpses of Christ each day. They work with a humble spirit, cheerful heart, and dedication to their task. Unassuming, they would never call attention to the difficulty of their job. Maria and Tobias smile, they have joy in their circumstances, and they share that joy with others. I was honored to be called "Christianito" (little Christian, or inferred as being called Christian in an affectionate way) by them this morning.