Why Do You Do What You Do?
A veneer is something that is put over something else, largely to make it look different, to make it look better. In carpentry, a veneer is put over wood to make a cabinet or some other piece of furniture look good. In dentistry, a veneer is sometimes put over a tooth to improve its appearance.
A facade is sometimes put on the front of a building to make it look newer or bigger than it really is. When I first toured a Hollywood "back lot" as a teenager, I was amazed how filmmakers build big facades with nothing behind them so that, on screen, the buildings appear to be real. In reality, it's all just a facade.
Those two words came to mind when I was thinking about the question that titles this blog: why do you do what you do? I'm not talking about why you do the job that you do. Those answers would vary from "I'm called to this" to "It pays the bills." I'm talking about all the other things that you do. Why do you do the things you do...in your relationships, your marriage, in the way you interact with others? Why do you do the things you do? And, maybe more to the point, do you do what Jesus would do?
You see, I hear Christians throw around that phrase "WWJD" a lot. What would Jesus do? And the implication is, at least when it's thrown out in the midst of disagreements, is that Jesus would be kind, he would show love, he would ignore the wrong. Actually, usually the implication is that Jesus would do whatever the person saying the phrase thinks ought to be done!
But have you ever really stopped to think what Jesus would do? What do the Gospels tell us he did?
Jesus came and loved others. He was kind to children and welcomed those whom no one else would welcome. He offered healing and forgiveness. But that same Jesus took a whip of cords and cleared out of the Temple everyone who was using religion for their own gain. He refused the disciples' request to bring down fire on the Samaritans, but confronted a Samaritan woman about her lifestyle. He taught that the peacemakers are blessed and then repeatedly confronted those who used religion as a way to control others...the Pharisees—who, by the way, were not clergy but laypersons who had self-appointed themselves to monitor everyone else's holiness.
So...what would Jesus do? It's not as clear cut as "love, forgive, just be happy," is it? Jesus is often not who we think he is or who we have created him to be in our own minds. Jesus responds differently to different situations...all with the goal of calling others to his Heavenly Father.
One of his teachings calls us to treat others the way we want to be treated. We call it the "golden rule," though Jesus did not call it that. It was simply one of the ways he directed us in living God's way. Jesus lived that way. He treated each person as he wanted to be treated. Do we? Do we treat each person as someone of sacred worth, someone for whom Christ died?
Why do we do what we do? Or, even better...how do we do what we do?
Take off the veneer, do away with the facade and live honestly, openly, being who God called you to be. Stop hiding behind the religious language, the holy attitude and simply allow Jesus to work and live in you. Others will see, without the veneer, who you really are. And, most importantly, so will Jesus.
A facade is sometimes put on the front of a building to make it look newer or bigger than it really is. When I first toured a Hollywood "back lot" as a teenager, I was amazed how filmmakers build big facades with nothing behind them so that, on screen, the buildings appear to be real. In reality, it's all just a facade.
Those two words came to mind when I was thinking about the question that titles this blog: why do you do what you do? I'm not talking about why you do the job that you do. Those answers would vary from "I'm called to this" to "It pays the bills." I'm talking about all the other things that you do. Why do you do the things you do...in your relationships, your marriage, in the way you interact with others? Why do you do the things you do? And, maybe more to the point, do you do what Jesus would do?
You see, I hear Christians throw around that phrase "WWJD" a lot. What would Jesus do? And the implication is, at least when it's thrown out in the midst of disagreements, is that Jesus would be kind, he would show love, he would ignore the wrong. Actually, usually the implication is that Jesus would do whatever the person saying the phrase thinks ought to be done!
But have you ever really stopped to think what Jesus would do? What do the Gospels tell us he did?
Jesus came and loved others. He was kind to children and welcomed those whom no one else would welcome. He offered healing and forgiveness. But that same Jesus took a whip of cords and cleared out of the Temple everyone who was using religion for their own gain. He refused the disciples' request to bring down fire on the Samaritans, but confronted a Samaritan woman about her lifestyle. He taught that the peacemakers are blessed and then repeatedly confronted those who used religion as a way to control others...the Pharisees—who, by the way, were not clergy but laypersons who had self-appointed themselves to monitor everyone else's holiness.
So...what would Jesus do? It's not as clear cut as "love, forgive, just be happy," is it? Jesus is often not who we think he is or who we have created him to be in our own minds. Jesus responds differently to different situations...all with the goal of calling others to his Heavenly Father.
One of his teachings calls us to treat others the way we want to be treated. We call it the "golden rule," though Jesus did not call it that. It was simply one of the ways he directed us in living God's way. Jesus lived that way. He treated each person as he wanted to be treated. Do we? Do we treat each person as someone of sacred worth, someone for whom Christ died?
Why do we do what we do? Or, even better...how do we do what we do?
Take off the veneer, do away with the facade and live honestly, openly, being who God called you to be. Stop hiding behind the religious language, the holy attitude and simply allow Jesus to work and live in you. Others will see, without the veneer, who you really are. And, most importantly, so will Jesus.
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