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Jen Hatmaker

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In Faith in Real Life

Being ‘More’ Together

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connectedLet’s just call something out.  You are incredibly privileged.  Based upon the fact that you were able to push a button and connect to the information super highway you are among the world’s wealthiest.  The simple fact that you are connected online to so many hundreds of other people through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram mean that you have privilege and means.  I know that I do.  There are times when I wonder am I using my privilege and my means enough to support and take care of those who do not have as much.

It’s funny, the more connected we are digitally, it seems like the more disconnected we are physically.

When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment in the law is, He responds in Matthew 22:37-40 by saying,

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend the whole law and the Prophets.

When Jesus uttered those words I don’t think that He meant that we should just click ‘like’ on someone’s Facebook rant about the injustices in the world.

I don’t think that Jesus meant that we should stir our hearts to the point of passion, but not enough passion to actually do anything about it.

It’s funny… We are able to explain away so easily what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves.  It amazes me how simple it is for me to ignore my neighbors and not give a rip about what is happening in their world.  We live in the most connected world ever.  What will it take for us to reorient ourselves and look to the needs of all of those people on your news feeds, and timelines.

I love how Jen Hatmaker puts it,

Love your neighbor as yourself.  In other words, what standard is acceptable for my own life?  My own family?  This is the benchmark for everyone else.

What if we applied the same benchmark that we have for ourselves towards others?  I imagine that we would give more, listen more, hug more, laugh more, pray more, help more, be more, and see more.

Here’s to being ‘more’.   Let’s be ‘more’ together.

~Peter

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In Faith in Real Life

My Struggle With Pride

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peter goweskyHonest moment: Pride can sneak in my life so fast and so furious.  Recently I had the opportunity to share with our church what God has been teaching me through the loss of my dad.  I was able to share how God has been growing my trust in Him and how much we need to rely on Him.  It felt good.  I loved doing it.  It was exciting to know that my story and my pain was not wasted.  Believe me, It felt good to hear from people that it made a difference.

Recently someone came to Liquid Nutley and on the way out she shook my hand and said, “I feel like you are so famous!  I watched you online.  I loved your sermon.”  For a split second it felt good.  I’ll even admit that for a few seconds I allowed that to sink in and I enjoyed it.  Then quickly I brought her back to reality by saying, “NO, NO, I am anything but famous.  Seriously, I am just like you.  I have a story to tell about how God has redeemed me.”

WHOAH, close call.

Pride encourages you to believe your tweeted quotes, your retweets, Instagram notifications, and all the Facebook posts that sing your praises.  Humility encourages you to ruthlessly deflect those poisonous arrows.  They are meant for good, but man they can do a number on your ego.  When pricked by an arrow laced with pride, your head tends to swell up like a pimple that needs a good popping.

Jen Hatmaker has said in her book 7,

“When the jars of clay remember they are jars of clay, the treasure within gets all the glory, which seems somehow more fitting.”

Pride tempts me to believe that I am something really important, when in reality, the work that God is doing in me is what is important.  In order to keep this in check, I ask myself two questions.

  1. How can I cause others to see God’s goodness, love, and grace through my life?

  2. How can I honor God with my actions?

This is one area that I desperately work hard on.  Because if not kept in check, I can easily believe that God is who He is because I somehow allowed Him to be.  Pride is a killer.  Don’t forget what Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”

~Peter

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In Faith in Real Life

Hunger: a nagging reminder

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When was the last time that your stomach truly hurt from being hungry?  I’m not talking about the kind of hungry that we typically talk about… You know, the I’m starving, it’s-been-two-hours-since-I-had-a-cup-of-coffee-and-nibbled-on-a-donut kind of hungry.  I’m also not talking about the I’m bored so I’m going to eat something hunger.  I mean, how long has it been since you have really and truly been hungry?

HungryRight now, as I write this I am actively trying to stave off the desire to go downstairs, head to my pantry and pull out any number of different snack assortments.  Secretly I would surrender to my stomachs call for more if only I knew that I could chow down on some chips and salsa.  What can I say, I’m a sucker for some good Tex Mex with my favorite being Chuy’s.  UGH SO GOOD.  I mean look at that salsa!  So, what’s the deal with not eating?  No.  I don’t have an eating disorder.  Rest at ease.  This big boy is going to be just fine.

I’ve been reading Jen Hatmaker’s book 7 and I came across this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’  But the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’

Do you see the difference there?

Often we think of ourselves first and foremost and others only when we have excess.

What if for once we flipped that on it’s head and thought of others first and worried about the excess later?  I wonder what kind of a difference that would make in the world around me.  And no, I don’t mean the whole, “Eat everything on your plate.  Don’t you know that there are starving kids in India” schtick.  I mean, what if instead of pampering myself I actually tended to the needs of others around me.  What would it look like for me to take care of my elderly neighbors?  What would it look like to serve the community that I live in?

What would it look like for me to experience discomfort so that others can experience comfort?

Do you remember the story of the lawyer who came to Jesus to try and stump him?  Moron… But anyway.  Here’s how it went down

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40

Crazy right?  Have you ever thought about what Jesus meant by love your neighbor as yourself?  There is no one in this world that I love more than me.  For real.  Just ask my wife!  When my body says it needs sleep, I tend to that.  When my body says I need food, I go get it.  I do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it.  What would it look like if I loved my neighbor in that same way.  What if I put their needs on the same level as my own?

I love what Jen Hatmaker says in her book.  She says,

I’m going to bed tonight grateful for warmth, an advantage so expected it barely registers.  May my privileges continue to drive me downward to my brothers and sisters without.  Greater yet, I’m tired of calling the suffering “brothers and sisters” when I’d never allow my biological siblings to suffer likewise.  That’s just hypocrisy veiled in altruism.  I won’t defile my blessings by imagining that I deserve them.  Until every human receives the dignity I casually enjoy, I pray my heart aches with tension an my belly rumbles for injustice.

So tonight I go to bed with my stomach asking for more.  It’s a good reminder for me to ask my Heavenly Father to show me the ways that I can truly love my neighbors as myself.  I am praying for eyes to see the Samaritan that needs help and to have the courage to be the one that embraces them.  Time to see the excess in my life as not a means to increase my comfort but a way to care for others.

~Peter

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