Christ Jesus is our master… of this I am supremely confident. He was the master of word pictures while on earth. The imagery He used when calling out the Pharisees in Matthew 23 is priceless! And how about all the word pictures He painted in the listeners’ minds (and ours too) during the Sermon on the Mount. However, there is one idea based on His imagery that I have been obsessing over to a while now. It has both inspired and stalled my writing of late.
Inspired… because this word picture puts Christianity and life in perspective with immaculate clarity.
Stalled… because I’d think I had the idea nailed down and then another variable would demand attention before I could start writing.
The Word of God is silly like that: there is sooooooooooooooooo much content available, and there is so much depth to God’s Word. So, between the amount of words and the depth of God’s Word, new levels of knowledge, understanding, insight, and wisdom emerge as we continuously read and consume God’s Word. Sorry for getting side tracked… back to Christ’s word pictures!!!
The picture that has stuck to my heart and mind has to do with trees and vines and plants and other vegetation. Christ built parables around such word pictures to put our relationship with God, Christ, ourselves, and other people in perspective. Some other New Testament writers equally drew similar landscapes in our hearts and minds for the same reasons.
Digging into this has been a great source of excitement, motivation, and joy for me; and I am very eager to share it with those who are willing to continue reading.
There is a lot to see when we look at trees. However, the most overlooked part of a tree is the most important part for us who profess Christ Jesus as Lord: Our Roots
People do not see our roots. They see what we do, hear what we say, and feel the emotions we share with them. But, people do not know who we are and why we do what we do. Sadly, there are more than enough believers in Christ that do not know themselves or why they do the things they do. This is a root issue, not a tree issue. Let’s look at our roots and ask the following questions:
- Are our roots deep or shallow… more accurately, are our roots at the right depth and width to support our continuing growth?
- Are our roots growing?
- Do our roots feed the tree?
Each type of tree has a unique root system that supports its growth. Roots of a Redwood are relatively shallow when compared to the tree’s height. Interestingly though, the roots of each Redwood interconnect with nearby companions, thus forming a root network that binds them together. There may be five or six trees that enable each tree to stand when the high winds come sweeping through the forest. And that one tree equally supports each of the other five or six trees surrounding it.
We usually do not look at the roots until we see there is something wrong with the branches, leaves, and or fruit. People see the problems too, but they rarely look at our roots… the things below the surface that are feeding the problem. Eventually, we gaze in the mirror… searching for who we are more so than gazing at the face in the mirror. We know there is a disconnect between the roots and the rest of the tree. That is us inspecting our roots. Such moments of introspection are brought on by some humiliating, embarrassing, or catastrophic event in life.
The ground around our roots provides the general care and feeding that we need to grow, mature, and bring forth good fruit.
- Are our roots getting the right amount of water?
- Does oxygen find its way down to our roots?
- Does the ground around our roots provide the right food?
We surround ourselves with people. Spiritually speaking, human interaction is the fruit our roots consume. This includes the ideas, content, and interactions we sink our roots into through computers, smart phones, TV, radio, books, and any other form of media; as everything we access is the product of human thought, feeling and creativity.
- Does the content inspire, motivate, and encourage?
- Does the content ooze and drip with hate and ill-will?
The extremes of the dichotomy are easy to pick out. However, our roots feast on what people do more far more than on what people say! The unspoken message of action we received in our formative years from parents, siblings, friends, teachers, pastors and preachers, or coaches continue to influence us today. Unfortunately, such well-intentioned people (by their actions) may have put the wrong fertilizer on top of our roots. Here is one example of this scenario… let’s call it the Reverse Golden Rule.
A lot of people understand the concept of the “Golden Rule:” do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We talk this concept up all the time. We say it to our kids, students, and players; and even bring up this “rule” when reprimanding them for the way they treated another kid.
BUUUUUUUUT… our Modus Operandi is contrary to our words. When the message of our actions is contrary to our mouth’s words, Darren Hardy says, in his book “The Compound Effect”, which message we always adhere to…
“If you tell me you want to be healthy,
but you’ve got Dorito dust on your fingers,
I’m believing the Doritos.”
He summarizes his point in the paragraph by saying, “…your behavior rats you out every time.”
Darren is not breaking new ground here. Christ shared the same idea when He said,
Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. Luke 6*44
Our true message is found in what we do, more than what we say!!!
We talk “the Golden Rule” and we talk about “the Golden Rule”, but we teach, do, and pass along the “Reverse Golden Rule” to generations that follow ours.
The Reverse Golden Rule is based on the Rule of Reciprocity: I will respond in kind, treating you the way you treated me. Our Modus Operandi is completely dependent on reciprocity…
- I will respect you because you respected me
- I will love you because you loved me
- I will hate you because you hated me
This Reverse Golden Rule (the soil our roots are deeply embedded in) is based on a condition or contingency we maintain within ourselves:
“your conduct and behavior influences and determines the way I act and behave towards you.”
This is our Modus Operandi, handed down from our parents and grandparents generations.
Christ did not teach this, and this Modus Operandi was not part of His Daily Do! He taught us, in Matthew 5, to…
- … Turn the other cheek v 39
- … Give your cloak too v 40
- … Go the extra mile v 41
In context, He calls us to be like this and to do such things WHILE we’re being shit on.
- If (after) someone strikes you on the right cheek… turn to him the other also
- If (after) someone wants to sue you and take your tunic… let him have your cloak as well
- If (after) someone forces you to go one mile… go with him two miles
Each scenario demands that we go against the Reverse Golden Rule and toward the “Golden Rule.” Christ’s teaching (the better soil our roots need to be embedded in) removes the contingency and conditions of reciprocity, the principal element of the Reverse Golden Rule, as a factor that determines the way we treat other people.
What does “the Golden Rule” say?
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7*12
The King James Version sequences the over all thought very effectively. It states first to set our minds on what we wish men should do to us. Make sure our hearts and minds are clear on the way we want to be treated by others… first!!! Then, with such ideas in heart and mind, treat others in such ways regardless of how they treat us (refer back to Matthew 5).
Our desire for the way we want to be treated is what determines the way we are to treat others.
Another person’s attitude, behavior, and conduct towards us is not even mentioned in what we now call “The Golden Rule.”
We expect reciprocity. We may even demand it of other people.
But Christ was anti reciprocity. Christ taught to treat others the way we desire to be treated… REGARDLESS of the way they treat us.
- The way we treat others IS NOT contingent on the way they treat us.
- There is no relationship between the two.
- There is NO promise [not even an implication] that we will receive a reciprocal action
We who expect reciprocity are always disappointed and pissed off when what goes around does not come back around to us. Thus it shall continue until we understand and fully accept that adding reciprocity to the golden rule becomes the chief ingredient in the recipe for disaster.
The long rant about Rules and Reciprocity is just one example of some fruit our roots may feast upon that is not good for us as trees in Christ Jesus. The fruit we produce is immensely affected by what our roots consume.
The next post will dig into (get it?!?!?!?!?) some things we can do for our roots.
Our roots are not seen by most people. People see the tree we’ve become without ever seeing the roots that feed us. It is common for us to ignore our roots until we realize there is something wrong with the rest of the tree. The ground around our roots provides the general care and feeding that we need to grow, mature, and bring forth fruit of Christ. It is easy to distinguish between bad ground and good ground. Ground that has a mixture of bad and good, like the Reverse Golden Rule, may affect our fruit in ways we do not fully appreciate.
Is there something about Christianity that baffles you? Leave a comment, or DM me through Facebook or Instagram
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Here is to us spending time in God’s Word each day. It is the best ground we can sink our roots into each and every day. Life gets interesting when we view the world through the filter of God’s Word.
Tootles!