genesis: chapter 14... what's in it for me?

And it came to pass... that they made war... (14:1-2)

Abram went to rescue his captured nephew, using his own resources, his own men, at risk of his own life. He was more than victorious, of course. Four things I love about Abram in this story: 1) He was a shrewd master who trained his servants not only to serve him, but to be an army. 2) He was a tactical military commander- by dividing his forces and attacking by night he outwitted the armies of 4 kings. 3) After his victory, he humbly allowed the King/Priest of Salem (Melchizedek) to bless him while blessing God Most High, and gave the Priest a tithe of the goods he had retrieved, showing that he honored God in his victory. 4) He refused to accept a gift of the rest of the goods from the King  of Sodom (which I suspect were rightfully his anyway since he was the commander who retrieved them).

Would I have kept the spoils of war? Would I have accepted compensation for my trouble? When I help a friend in any way, am I hoping (even just a little bit) to be rewarded for my exertion? Am I expecting a thank you note at least, hopefully with a gift card tucked inside? Am I looking for a public display of gratitude maybe on a wall post? Would I accept a repayment in some form- babysitting? A meal? A well-timed decaf americano with soy dropped off in the middle of a dreary afternoon?

I don't want to be like that. I just want to be like Abram. I really don't think Abram was thinking about what he was going to gain from the situation while he was valiantly saving his nephew. I want to be already prepared to help, and more than ready to go at the sound of an alarm, using all of my resources without stopping to count the cost. I want to give glory to God when my help was successful and disaster is avoided, and refuse to accept payment in any form for my efforts. Not expecting, not anticipating, not awaiting, not even wanting anything in return. The only thing I want to expect, the only thing I want to accept, is blessing from the Lord.  

genesis: chapter 13... give it up

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. (13:1)

The problem was Abram and Lot had too much stuff. So they had to separate. Nice problem to have. This is one of my favorite stories about this man, Abram: that he gave Lot the first choice in which way to go. Abram was Lot's Uncle, obviously blessed by God and a patriarch among men, but he was humble and faith-filled enough to allow Lot to make the first choice in what land he wanted. He could have said "Go South for 50 days and that is where you may dwell, for the Lord gave me this land" or "I will take this you take that" or "Go over there, fool".  But Abram trusted that no matter what land Lot chose, God's promise would prevail- He would still bless Abram and make him great nation.

Abram showed true generosity here. His magnanimous heart gave his God-given right and privilege over to someone else. That's pretty difficult for me to do if you want to know the truth. Sometimes, I admit, I can be a little bit selfish, a little bit greedy, a little bit of a hoarder. I hate it. I hate being that way because it does me no good at all. It just makes me small and guilty and alone with whatever I thought I couldn't live without. For years I've been trying, with supernatural power behind me, to give. Generously. Pressed down overflowing generosity. Whatever I have that someone might want, or time, or effort, I am learning to be a giver. Do you think when I do that I get what Lot got (living near exceeding wickedness?). No way. I get what the Lord gave Abram- blessing. Every time.

genesis: chapter 12... move it or lose it

Now the Lord said to Abram: 

"Get out of your country, 
From your family, 
And from your father's house, 
To a land that I will show you. 
I will make you a great nation; 
I will bless you
And make your name great; 
And you shall be a blessing, 
I will bless those who bless you, 
And I will curse him who curses you; 
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
(12:1)

Abram was 75 when the Lord made him pick up all his belongings and lumber to a new place he had never seen before. He grabbed his wife and his nephew and all the people of his household and caravaned to Canaan. Sounds so easy on paper. We read a few lines in black and white and Abram's whole life changes. Man, He must have had his ears wide open to be able to hear the Lord so clearly about this. His willingness to concede, to pack it all in, and to travel shows how completely he trusted that the Lord would do what He said He would do: bless Abram. Believing a promise like that, how could Abram resist?

It wasn't an easy journey, either. They were forced to slide over to Egypt because there was famine in the land they were traveling through. So they must have been hungry, or thirsty if the famine was due to drought. Then there was the whole sister/ wife Pharaoh thing. That can't have been easy for anyone (especially Sarai). But the Lord worked it all out and not only got those kids out of a tough spot, but he blessed them with bounty as a result of it. Nice.

Honestly, it's hard to move. It's hard to move to a new home, or a new job, or a new place, or a new church. It's hard. When the Lord calls me out, I want to hear His voice so clearly so I know I am doing the right thing- that He is the one doing the calling. I want so badly to trust Him not only at the beginning, but in the middle when it's hard and I'm discouraged and I have to make detours and stops and I'm feeling starved... and I want to trust Him at the end when it's all over.  I want to stop along the way to memorialize what He did and how good God is and how faithful, just like Abram did. I want to continually continually continually believe that He will bless my family for our obedience, for our faith, for our perseverance. For moving when He says to move. Move.

genesis: chapter 11... bad plan

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. (11:1)

They were on God's plan. They were multiplying. They were filling the earth. They were getting it done. Then they happened upon this great place- this nice flat piece of land and decided they would stop and live there. Maybe they decided they had wandered far enough. Maybe one fearless leader had this killer idea and because he was so charismatic it caught on. They all pulled together and decided together to build a city and a tremendous tower.  They were doing it for what seemed to be a good cause- staying together, being famous ("let us make a name for ourselves - 11:4)"), creating a home-base. But really, that was the opposite of what they were supposed to be doing- filling the whole earth. They got seriously sidetracked. But they were building this huge thing, and they were doing it together, and they were doing it for a good cause and they had to work hard for it ("let us make bricks"- 11:3), so how could something so wrong feel so right?

It just was. There they were, easing on down the road to somewhere and before they knew what hit them, they were doing the complete opposite of what God had instructed them to do. I'm sure they were able to justify it to themselves- I mean the tower was so BIG, and they were making progress, and people were involved and excited about it, and the tower was so BIG- so how could they all be wrong?

In every choice I make, every minute of my little life, I could be doing what God wants me to do, or I could be doing something else. Have I ever been on God's plan and then been sidetracked?  Veered off and while it seemed like I was still building on His plan and making it better it was actually totally undermining whatever He wanted to accomplish? Have I followed a leader who was building something really big and it was too exciting to get off the train? Have I justified my actions and denied my God? Have you?

Either way, God will get it done, with or without my obedience. I would, though, rather be traveling to that end with His map in my hand instead of my own. Think of the frustration avoided. The victory claimed. The fulfillment enjoyed. Might as well get off the bad plan it was gonna be a bust all along.

genesis: chapter 10... oh, brother.

Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood. (10:1)

When I was a kid I liked my uncles a lot. A couple of them were on the Olympic cycling team in their day, one was into motorcycles, another lived in Key West, FL. They were just cool. One day I asked my mom how long it had been since we had seen one of them. It had been a year. I couldn't even fathom that. Not seeing your brother for a YEAR. How is that possible when they are so THERE all the time when you are a kid?

Could three brothers be any closer than Noah's sons? They spent a year on a boat together- I'm thinking there wasn't much to hide between them. But as usual, things got mucked up. Ham had his little peep-and-tell with Noah, and then they all had kids and their own separate lives. Did they see each other at weddings and funerals? Births and rite of passage ceremonies?  Family reunions?

It turns out that their kids all settled in what has become the hotspot of the world and have been killing each other ever since. Of course they are. They're family and families fight. Expectations aren't met and people get hurt and lash out and they fight. Cain and Able, Joseph and the lot of them, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Siblings are always fighting. Jealousy and entitlement and annoyance. Then you grow up and realize one day that you actually have a choice as to whether you want to spend your time with a person or not, brother or no brother. In a burst of independence and defiance mixed with a bit of nostalgia, you exercise that choice. And a year goes by. Weird. 

I have no wisdom or insight about any of this. I just realize it's as old as the Bible, this issue with brothers and sisters. When my son can't even sleep he is so frustrated with his sister, or my daughter screams at her brother for the 6th time in an hour, it helps to realize it's been there all along and always will be as long as there are brothers on the earth. I try to help them through it. Come to a satisfactory resolution. I mean, I don't want them to be be at war or anything.