| "The Keystone Of Decision Making" Sermon Preached By Rev. Richard E. Stetler - November 17, 2002 Psalm 78:1-7; Joshua 24:1-4, 14-18
For example, some of us build
our Sunday observance around whether or not one of our children has
a soccer match. There is a genuine tear in the spiritual fabric of
many of us when we have to choose between supporting our children or
nourishing our spirits. In many cases there is no contest; soccer
wins. There could be a collegiate scholarship down the road if our
child has the necessary athletic ingredients and develops them. Another example was
mentioned the other evening by one of the news commentators who was
discussing how various terrorist organizations are wielding enormous
power because of their ability to prey on the fear-prone instincts
of people. He said that they can immobilize regional and national
economies with little or no skill at all. When the snipers were on the
loose, a number of mothers could be seen running with their children
as they were delivering them each morning to our Early Education
Center. Everything from restaurants to shopping centers were
feeling pressure from the reduced clientele. People were cautious
and not venturing out unless there was a necessity.
He estimated that the car
bombings in Bali that took so many lives several weeks ago will cost
the tourist industry there an estimated one billion dollars. That
is a lot of leverage for a couple hundred dollars worth of
explosives in the hands of a few people committed to performing hate
crimes against people they do not know. Fear is one of the elements
of life that silently determines how we make our choices. If we are
not careful, it will probably gain increased dominance over us as we
move into the New Year. In a more benign arena,
department and grocery stores have many Americans spoiled. We base
our decision to go shopping on Hechts' sales' coupons that allow us
to take an additional 15 percent off their existing sale prices. We
are more likely to buy Tropicana orange juice or Land O Lakes butter
when we see the asking price of "two for four dollars." Savings and
zero interest rates motivate us to act now rather than later. While we may claim that we are only exercising our common sense options, the truth is that every area of life is filled with what molds our opinions, shapes our attitudes and pressures us to decide. We have developed specialized routines and commuting routes if we drive into the District. Some of us build our evening social schedules around certain television programs. We consider this normal behavior. The list of such "hidden
motivators" is quite extensive while we conclude that people are simply
busier today than at any other time in history. Without realizing it we
have become a driven people. We may not be aware of how much our energy
is siphoned off by such stimulants. We often come home from work
emotionally drained as a result of competing choices. Ever so slowly
our spiritual identities begin to buckle under the stress from all the
demands. Again, we consider this normal; we will take a couple of
aspirin and feel better in the morning. There is a marvelous passage in
our Scripture lesson for today. Joshua raised the bar on decision
making among those who were listening to him. This is what he said:
Honor the Lord and serve him sincerely and
faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your ancestors used to worship in
Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord. If you are not willing to
serve God who has done so much for us, decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your ancestors worshiped, or the Lord. As for my family and
me, we will serve the Lord. What we try to do is fit
matters of faith into the matrix of what drives us all over the
landscape of our lives. We think we are in charge and in control of
our spiritual health until we observe the number of symptoms that are
outcropping in many of us. People turn to fast foods
because of busy schedules. Suddenly our concerns about gaining weight
insert yet another variable into our lives. High blood pressure and
cholesterol levels are heading off the charts of normalcy for many of
us. Do we change our lifestyles? No indeed, we compensate by taking
beta blockers and any number of products from the family of Statin
drugs. Some scientists are speculating
that our declining rational capacities has more to do with our passion
for watching television, our lack of exercise and our reliance on
computer software that thinks for us. Ease and convenience contributes
to our decision making yet there will come a time when we will have to
pay the piper. What we do not use, we lose. We need to give serious thought
to what Joshua was telling his people. "Decide today," he said, "who
you are going to serve." Joshua was talking about the gods of the
Egyptians and the Amorites. Of course, we can dismiss this appeal as
not applying to us. We all know that we have one God but where does God
fit into our schedules, our tithing, our consciousness and
life-patterns? Do we come to worship services in an attempt to convince
ourselves that God has a place in our lives? If so, that will not work! The cornerstone for all
decision making begins by moving our relationship with God to the front
of each day. For some of us it will mean shattering time honored
behaviors that helped bring us to where we are right now. What would
happen if we started each morning with a new frame of reference?
Suppose we entered the world centered and prepared for what will come?
If our lives are not working, we need to greet each day with a different
set of tools than the ones we are currently using. Recently a daughter called her
Dad at 6:30 a.m. She was given new responsibilities in her company, a
fresh staff of people with whom to work and an enormous hike in salary.
She was thrilled and was telling him what this promotion means to her.
He was trying to listen so he could share in her enthusiasm but he could
not. One of his "gods" was calling him to make a decision. He had to
stop her. He said, "Honey I am so happy for you but if I don't leave
the house right now the traffic will be a mess. I'll be late for work.
I'll call you, okay? I love you! Bye."
After telling me this, he said,
"I devastated her. I felt terrible. I was given this glorious moment
with my daughter and I blew it because of my self-imposed pressure for
beating the traffic patterns. It bothered me all day. I called her
repeatedly but she was in meetings. I never got to apologize until that
evening. I was miserable all day." Such things are not the gods of
the Egyptians and the Amorites, but we bow to them nevertheless, and
when we are not careful, they can seemingly make choices for us even
among those we love. At the same time we gloss over what we used to
reverence. The centerpiece for many families in our country used to be
God and the Church. Today such priorities no longer carry the same
importance. What we do, however, communicates what we hold as
sacred. When God is the cornerstone of
each morning, we become more sensitized to our role among people. The
competition on the highway becomes less important. When we begin our
day with God as the frame of reference, our perceptions change. We learn
to remember that it is our kind that is needed on this planet right now.
People need to see courtesy, generosity and kindness. If we do not
match rudeness, callousness and frustration with a different recipe for
living, who will? Think of what is possible if we
ended each day with some "down time" with God, instead of with the
litany of horror that frequently accompanies the evening news. How many
of us retire for the evening with images in our mind of parking garages
that have collapsed or the senseless results from ruthless, renegade
human beings who claim to be honoring our Creator with their murderous
rampages? Some of my best evenings are
when there are no meetings and I sit in our living room with a great
book and devour what is within the author's mind. One of the greatest
laments we hear from each other is that we do not have the time to read
anymore. The truth is that we always find time to do exactly what we
want to do. When God becomes the cornerstone of our thinking we
learn how to decide differently. Just as it has taken a
collection of small decisions to bring each of us to where we are today,
so more creative choices can redirect us toward what will bring our
spirits into greater harmony with God. Habits, beliefs and attitudes
that are not healthy began as innocent decisions that we made without
God as our reference point. If it is time to create for
ourselves a different path, begin with the cornerstone that will enable
us to bear bushels of magnificent fruit that will help heal others in
our world. Every day this opportunity offers itself to us. All we have
to do is begin. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first
step." Do not hesitate; take it. Take it now. THE CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER Loving God, as we
gather for worship, we are aware how often our public claims do not
reflect the way we think. There are times when we remain blind to the
consequences of what we do. We confess that often our best judgments
can be tilted in favor of self-interest. Our tongues speak of our trust
in you while our deeds reflect our need to look out for ourselves. Help
us learn, O God, that the poverty in our understanding comes from
clinging to the ghettos in our minds. We ask today that you lead us
toward what will heal the areas that separate us from you. Amen. THE PASTORAL PRAYER
Loving and always merciful God, our hearts
and minds remain the dwelling place where we will find you every
moment. Often we tend to believe that you are elsewhere. We believe
you are more easily accessible in church, or while we walk in nature, or
while being inspired as we read your Word. We often look to the sky and
assume that you are away from us in some distant place that we call
"Heaven." Awaken our spirits to discern where you have remained since
the day we were born.
Comfort us during these days when we hear
rumors of war and witness eye for an eye posturing in so many places
around the world. Why is it, O God, that we appear to celebrate with
our news and film footage the barbaric behavior of people while ignoring
the 94 percent of us who are working, raising our families and making
our contributions.
We find ourselves on the eve of another
Thanksgiving. And as we approach this valuable signpost in our culture,
may we truly remember everything that will inspire gratitude when we
allow it. Help us cleanse our minds of the clutter so that we can
appreciate what we take for granted. We are grateful, O God, and
we trust that in spite of the numerous distractions that call us to be
otherwise, we will always find you within us. We pray these thoughts
through the spirit of Jesus, who taught us to say when we pray . . .
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