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Dirty Diapers and Problem Solving- Hebrews 6:10-12

This morning as I was sitting in my recliner I got a waft of something nasty.  It didn’t take me long to figure out that the little trash can beside my chair had a dirty diaper in it.  I was faced with a dilemma.  I figured out that I had four main options:

1.       I could stay where I am sitting and just get use to the smell.

2.       I could move away from the smell and sit somewhere else.

3.       I could move the trash can away from me and make it smell somewhere else.

4.       I could take out the trash and get rid of the smell.

I’ll be honest, this isn’t the first time this has happened.  There have been many dirty diapers in this little trash can and I have played out each one of the above scenarios.  The only one that has ever had lasting results is number four.

Brad, now where are you going with this?  I don’t have any kids who have diapers, this doesn’t relate to me. Not to mention that what you have said is just common sense.

Maybe that is what you are thinking.

This brings me to a few (well four) points.

Point #1

When something needs done in the Church or in our personal life and we don’t want to do it, we have a tendency as people to just ignore the problem. As time goes on the problem becomes to us less of a problem and more of a small nuisance.   If we continue down this process sooner or later we start to believe there really isn’t a problem at all. Now this may seem like a good thing. After all you can’t see the problem anymore so what does it matter.  Well, it matters because there is still a problem and although you are now unaware, it is evident to everyone else and the effects of that problem are still active and are probably growing worse.  The fact of the matter is: Ignoring a problem rarely makes a problem go away.

Point #2

At other times we decide the solution to the problem is for us to just move away from the problem.  We don’t like what is going on here or we don’t like how it ‘smells’ so we’ll just go somewhere else where this problem doesn’t exist.  We love this solution. If we get frustrated with our Church we just go find another Church.  If we get fed up with our spouse, we just get rid of the one we have and look for another spouse.  We avoid problems instead of trying to solve them.  Somewhere along the way we started believing that God wants us to be happy and that means that we should abandon everything and seek after personal fulfillment.  That’s not the Gospel!  That isn’t even a part of the Gospel! The Gospel tells us to abandon ourselves (that means our goals, dreams, aspirations, oh yeah and even our happiness) to Jesus Christ.  That doesn’t mean that we won’t have these things, it means that we are no longer in control of them.  Better yet, they are no longer in control of us.   Abandoning the problem doesn’t solve the problem.

Point #3

A long time back we came up with another solution to our problems; make them someone else’s problems.  We even have a term for the recipient: A scapegoat.  If we don’t want to solve the problem we’ll make sure that it is someone else’s responsibility.  We love to point out how someone else has this problem or how they have not taken care of the problem.   We can easily go on our way happy if we can focus our energy on what everyone else is or isn’t doing.  If we would take a closer look maybe we would realize that we are the problem, or at least that we could help in solving the problem.  But Brad, it isn’t my duty or my responsibility it is theirs.  Brad they will never learn if I don’t let them do it.   Aren’t you glad that Jesus doesn’t think like we do? After all it wasn’t His sin that was keeping us from being holy before God.   It wasn’t His responsibility to pay the debt we owed.  It wasn’t His problem.   Now Brad that is different!  Is it?  Is it really that different?  God can give us grace, and we are more than happy to keep it to ourselves.  Making a Scapegoat or blaming someone else for the problem won’t solve the problem.

Point #4

Now this is where the rubber meets the road.  This is where the gears start grinding and the work gets started.  When we decide that this problem is my problem, even if I didn’t cause or fuel it.  That I am going to do everything with heaps of Grace, Mercy, and Love so I can help.  (Let me note that I am not encouraging you to go dive into the lives of others and pull out their problems, I promise you have enough to fool with on your own without putting others under the microscope. I am talking more about corporate problems.)   We need to stop being stagnant and apathetic.  We need to stop hopping around looking for a place without problems because it doesn’t exist on this side.  We need to stop blaming and scapegoating others.  It is time for us to be proactive and take out the trash. Now let me stop and elaborate on something, the trash I’m talking about is not a person or a group.  I’m not saying you need to stand up in a meeting and spout your opinion. I’m not saying you need to take over the leadership because you can do it better.  And I am not saying you should run someone off.  If you think that is what I’m getting at then you need to go back and re-read point #3.   When I say get rid of the trash I mean. Stop being apathetic and uncaring. Stop blaming others and pointing fingers.  Stop acting like everything is as good as it should be.  I’m talking about inward trash, trash that you need to get out of your life so you can step up and do what you should have already been doing.  I know someone will read this and think, “You tell them Brad, that is what they need to do!”  Here is your wakeup call, if you are thinking that, you are the number one person I’m talking to!  I’m seeking God’s guidance to get the trash out of my life; will you do the same in yours?  Only when we decide to become part of the solution, will we no longer be part of the problem.

A Closer Look- Philippians 3:7-21

I’m going to be straight with you, that is just who I am. God is stirring something inside my heart and I’m not sure what it means or how far it goes. We just recently passed the one year mark for our ministry here at FBC Perrysburg and I have had to step back and try and take a critical look at the past year. My desire is to see this ministry grow not just in number but in relationships with Christ. To make disciples! Have we been successful in our mission?

Looking at my life I have to ask, am I being the best husband, father, youth pastor, friend, servant of Christ that I can be? These are some of the many questions I have been asking. As I go to the Lord in prayer I have thrown these questions out on the table. Trembling I have asked, “Is there something I am doing/not doing that is hindering this ministry?” God is good, and He is gracious. He has placed us here because this is where we are supposed to be, this much I know for sure.

I know that we can always do better, that is a part of constantly becoming more like Christ, but that is not the main point of my questions. Am I being a stumbling block or a building block? Am I leading others closer to Christ, or keeping them from Him? I know me, inherently I am selfish, and I am a sinner. Even though Christ has changed me and I am a new creature, I still wrestle with this temporary suit of flesh. Why do I pay so much attention to the groans and whims of it? My heart seeks with everything in me to diligently and closely follow Christ, forget self and be used by God in whatever form or fashion that He sees fit. But I am weak, my flesh is weak. This is no excuse.

As I am reading over the past few paragraphs it dawns on me that someone may think I am about to reveal some big secret or some major change; I am not. I just want to say that I am hungry, hungry for His righteousness. Hungry to be more like Christ! I do not want to waste my life with things of this world that have no lasting value, no eternal significance. Yet as I look at the energy and time I devote to these things and their acquisition, I get a little sick. I wonder if I am building up castles of sand in this life, only to see them quickly vanish with the tides.


So what is important now? I’m not saying that you or I should radically abandon everything, and move to India. I’m not even saying that we should radically stop buying a $4 coffee or playing video games. All I’m saying is that we ought to radically abandon our lives to Jesus Christ; every square inch, every crevice, everything that we hold dear. And if you are like me, we should re-do this often. I encourage you to do a self-inventory, and to go before the Lord for an evaluation. So that we can see through His eyes, love through His heart, and touch the nations with His grace.