Stating the Obvious

By Dawn Wilson –

I’m inclined to make obvious points. As a young wife, complaining about my body image one day, I told my husband, “I’d be a lot taller if my legs were longer.”

“You think?” he said, grinning.

I get a kick out of obvious statements like this one in a survey report: “Three out of four people make up 75 percent of the world’s population.”

No kidding.

Or how about this exchange in the crime novel Red Harvest:

“‘Who shot him?’ I asked.

“The grey man scratched the back of his neck and said, ‘Somebody with a gun.’” LOL!

This quirky malady—which I call status obviousitis—shows up in advertising a lot. A package of airline peanuts reads: “Eat after opening.” An umbrella stroller comes with these directions: “Remove baby before folding.”

Wordsmiths aren’t exempt either. One journalist’s headline declared, “Death Is Nation’s Top Killer!”

But stating the obvious can be useful; sometimes it’s part of a message God may want us to hear. I recall a pastor who said, “You can’t read your Bible unless you open it.” The congregation snickered, but got his point.

My husband says something similar. “You can’t put your Bible under your pillow at night,” Bob jokes, “and expect to learn God’s Word by osmosis.”

So I wondered whether Jesus ever stated the obvious, and I discovered He did.

In Luke 8:16, Jesus said, “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed”—an obvious conclusion. A listener would say, “That makes sense.”

Jesus continued, explaining how a person puts the lamp on a stand, “that those who enter may see the light” (Luke 8:16 NKJV). It was a lesson about how we can light up our world.

Sometimes Jesus asked an obvious question.

Remember the man by the pool of Bethesda in John 5? Many of the Jews believed an angel stirred up the waters of that pool to bring healing to people. But when a man saw Jesus, he cried out for help from the Healer Himself. Jesus responded in verse 6: “Do you want to be made well?” (NKJV).

Why did Jesus ask that? Wasn’t it obvious? Maybe Jesus just wanted the man to express the cry in his heart. Or maybe He wanted the man to become part of the healing event—a willing participant; and Jesus did heal him (5:8-9).

Sometimes, drawing attention to the obvious can open the door for us to help others hear a deeper truth. For example: “When you stop breathing, you die; and then what?” or “God created this world and He best understands how it works.”

Keep in mind, obvious statements may not be welcome, especially with one who rejects the existence or intervention of God. But for most people, we can start with simple, well-reasoned-but-obvious statements to create a climate for them to consider biblical truth.

Christianity is based on faith, but it requires us to think.

We can invite people to consider the world’s design, simple moral and ethical principles that people seem to instinctively understand and other “first” thoughts—thoughts that should be obvious.

In this crazy, mixed-up culture, we need to be brave and speak up, especially when declaring the obvious might help the world understand more about the God who loves us.

Relative Thinking

By Dawn Wilson –

No matter how bad our economy gets, I’m still wealthy at my local dollar store. I can buy everything I need: food and spices, dishes, personal and home care items, cleaners, school supplies, greeting cards, socks and underwear, toys and even holiday decorations. OK, maybe I need a few more things—I can’t live without coconut milk. Or my organic almond shampoo. Or a little bling. The truth is, I’m wealthy compared to most people in the world.

This is called “relative thinking.” It’s considering one thing in relation or proportion to something else. We are experts at relative thinking when it comes to our income.

A brain scan study by Professor Christian Elger and Professor Armin Falk at the University of Bonn in 2007 showed that no matter a person’s wealth, money is “most rewarding” when the person has poor friends, peers or colleagues. In other words, the region of the brain where the “reward system” is located responded when people felt they had more than others. This “keeping up with the Joneses” (and passing them) in order to stay happy and content traps us on a “hedonic treadmill,” one sociologist says. We become the ultimate consumers.

You’ve no doubt heard “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Most of the hungry, needy people in the world would love to sift through our trash or what we ditch in garage sales. Wealth is relative because of our attitudes.

We’re also experts at relative thinking in regard to our time. Think about it. Five minutes of a preschooler’s tantrum feels like infinity compared to the 10 minutes of peace that follows in “time out”. When we’re children, we can’t wait to be driving, married or in a career. Then, when we’re hobbling on a cane, we wish we could run with our grandkids. Watch the clock’s minute hand crawl by as you wait in a doctor’s office. But go to an amusement park and you’ll wonder where the hours flew. Time is relative because of our attitudes toward it. And so is our appearance. Fat is beautiful in Africa, but in Europe, trim is in.

Unfortunately for many people, spiritual life is also relative. Some chat with a giant in the faith and come away feeling like spiritual wimps. Others swell up with theological arrogance around those who are “new in the faith” and spiritually ignorant. Again, comparison at work.

My personal prescription to cure “relative thinking” is embracing God’s wisdom. It’s His perspective I want, not my own faulty, relative thinking. God says we are unwise to compare (2 Corinthians 10:12). He is more concerned about our hearts than our bank account or new wardrobe. God looks at our choices to see if we are focused on eternity.

Proverbs 4:7 counsels, “wisdom is the principal thing” (NKJV). Wisdom is learning to see life from God’s point of view, and that “life” includes our attitudes, finances, marriage, parenting, spiritual growth—everything!

The next time you pass a dollar store, remember how wealthy you are. Glance at your watch and ask God to help you redeem the time. Look in a mirror and remind yourself that God sees the heart. But most of all, thank God for transforming your thoughts and giving you wisdom’s perspective.

My “Bacon” Blunder

By Dawn Wilson –

Some things just make me go “Huh?”

I mean, I love bacon, but I wouldn’t buy the “Bacon-shaped Christmas ornaments” I saw online, or use a bacon-scented candle, or place a bacon-printed floor mat in front of my sink, or frost my cake with bacon-flavored frosting. I’m a wee bit tempted to create some “bacon roses” for a party, though. They just look so yummy!

My earliest recollection of the word “bacon”—other than the kind my mom fried up in a pan—was hearing Mom say it was Dad’s job to “bring home the bacon.” Years later I heard a commercial for Charles of the Ritz’s Enjoli perfume: “I can bring home the bacon! Fry it up in a pan! And never, never, never let you forget you’re a man. ‘Cause I’m a woman.”

The song was a parody of “I’m a Woman,” one of Peggy Lee’s signature tunes, and I embraced the philosophy. Her original lyrics explained she could scoop up lard “from a drippins can.” Then this awesome “W-O-M-A-N” would take that fat, throw it in the skillet, go out and do her shopping, and be back before it melted in the pan! Wow!

I thought, “Yes! I can do and be everything too. I’m tough. I’ll be a ‘bring home the bacon’ woman. I don’t need anyone. And when I get married, I’ll do my best to make a man feel he’s strong too (hopefully, stronger than me)!”

As I matured into womanhood in the Superwoman culture of the 60s, I felt driven to be all-powerful and self-sufficient. My goal was to read every self-help book I could put my hands on and achieve, achieve, achieve!

It took me years to understand that much of my self-confidence was founded in a proud heart and focused on performance. I was “wise” in my own eyes (Proverbs 3:7) and trusting in empty works (1 Corinthians 3:12-13).

God broke my heart in a revival meeting as I realized my self-confidence was getting in the way of “God-confidence.”

I was living independent of God, functioning like an atheist. I wasn’t seeking Him for advice and wisdom (Isaiah 30:1-3; James 1:5). I was trusting in my “strong flesh,” which was actually weak, limited, temporal and untrustworthy. I sadly realized flesh could only take me so far; ultimately it would fail me. And it was sinful. I was doing what came naturally instead of living supernaturally in Christ.

God wants so much more for us than “bringing home the bacon.” He has a great work for us to do for His kingdom, but He wants us to recognize that He is our Source. The more we seek Him and allow His Spirit to transform us (2 Corinthians 3:18), the more we will fulfill His purposes and find true satisfaction.

God is up to something beautiful, investing in our lives and shaping us for ministry. In His presence, we find peace, protection, provision, power—everything we need. HE is the one bringing home the bacon and so much more!

Maybe I need to buy and wear a bacon necklace I saw, to remind me of this great truth.

When God Used a Rubber Chicken

By Dawn Wilson –

The macho men stared me down. I stared back. They folded their arms, unreachable. I sent up a quick prayer for help.

While at a conference working with teachers and school administrators in Central America, I was introduced as the small group leader for six men and two women, local school administrators. The men in the group were clearly not accepting me and my two young interpreters. I prayed, “Lord, how am I going to share what you’ve brought me here to give?” I felt intimidated, conscious of a wall of … what? Distrust? Pride?

The words “rubber chicken” popped into my mind. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard God say, “rubber chicken,” so I prayed again. “Father, I need for you to overcome the cultural differences and help these macho men listen to a simple woman like me. I don’t know what to do.”

Again, “rubber chicken.”

I suddenly remembered the silly rubber chicken I’d packed in my computer bag—a travel “mascot.” When I pulled it out, and made my chicken “nod” his hello, one man laughed and pointed at the squishy fowl.

“I want you to introduce yourselves to the group and tell us what city and school you are from,” I said, “and when you finish, pass my friendly rubber chicken to someone else in the group.” As one of my interpreters repeated my instructions, two of the men sat up, intrigued.

One man practically begged me to give him the chicken first. He squished it a bit and made the chicken “talk” to the group.

I watched as they introduced themselves, laughing the whole time. They didn’t just pass the chicken, they threw it! (Later, one administrator told me he might need to get each of his teachers a rubber chicken to encourage shy children to get involved in their classrooms.)

At the end of the week-long outreach, my new friends wanted a group photo. My chicken, which they named “PioPio,” had a starring role.

As I later considered the week-long outreach, I was struck by two things.

I wondered how many instructions I’ve received from God that I did not hear because I was either too proud to ask Him for help, or too busy to listen.

Also, I was reminded that God often uses simple things and people to accomplish His will and work.  The apostle Paul wrote, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26 NKJV).

God often uses the foolish, weak and base—what the world might describe as “nobodies,” sometimes even the “vile” or “unworthy” in the world’s eyes. And why? Verses 29 and 31 of 1 Corinthians 1 tell us: “that no flesh should glory in His presence… He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (NKJV).

God used a really old man (Abraham), a stutterer (Moses), a frightened judge (Gideon), a prostitute (Rahab), a widow (Naomi), a worrier (Martha), a young guy (Timothy), and so many others—the foolish, the weak and the base.

This gives me hope. If God can use them, He can use me too. From God’s perspective, it’s not a matter of our worth, but our availability and a heart surrendered to Him. As the old song says, “Little is much, when God is in it.” Even a wiggly rubber chicken.

A Mega-Complainer Repents

By Dawn Wilson –

The scenery surrounding Temecula, California, is gorgeous. My friend Judy told her daughter, Jennifer, about the time she took a drive through the wine country. Jennifer’s son, Connor, seven-years-old at the time, was sitting nearby, listening to their conversation.

Suddenly he piped up, “Wine country … is that where people go to complain?”

Although everyone laughed at his innocent question, complaining is not all that funny. Complaining – also known as grumbling, whining, murmuring, griping or belly-aching – only makes circumstances worse.

Christians tend to place complaining in a “lesser category” of sin, but God dealt with Israel’s complaints severely: “And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp” (Numbers 11:1 ESV).

The Israelites’ attitudes displeased the Lord, not just because they were ungrateful for His provisions, but, at the root, they refused to trust His care, playing into the enemy’s hands. Complaining always opens the door to Satan’s destructive influence (1 Corinthians 10:10).

Complaining is simply one proof of an unbelieving heart. If we truly believe that God is in charge, our complaints about others or our circumstances are actually an accusation against Him (Exodus 16:8; Psalm 106:24-26). A godly perspective believes that God works for our good and can redeem any circumstance (Romans 8:28).

One of Jesus’ disciples, Jude, equated grumbling and complaining with ungodly deeds (1:15-16). Because complaining should never be part of believer’s conversations, the Apostle Paul instructed Christians to do “all things without complaining” (Philippians 2:14 NKJV).

Complaining arises not only from a heart of unbelief, but also from a heart of discontent. The Christian is called to find contentment in Christ (Philippians 4:11; Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:8).

I was a mega-complainer as a young college student. I grumbled about the food, teachers, the weather – you name it! But a godly suite-mate cornered me one day while I complained about one of my classes.

“Dawn,” Janie said with love, “I’m concerned for you, because all of your complaints are idle words, and the Bible says you’re going to have to give an account for each one.” She pointed to Matthew 12:36-37. Under great conviction, I joined her in prayer, repenting of this sin God so clearly hates.

Janie then suggested I turn my complaints into trust and my murmuring into praises. It was a lesson I took to heart. I realized I had a choice. I might not be able to choose my circumstances, but I could always watch my tongue and express faith and joy.

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