Flight Paths

When I was a child I would often hang my head off the edge of the bed and look at the room upside down.  Suddenly the ceiling was the floor and the floor was the ceiling.  I imagined what it would be like to walk on that new “floor,” high-stepping through doorways and making my way around light fixtures.  The windows would come nearly to the new “floor” instead of being three feet above it.  And it certainly would be easier to clean the cobwebs out of the corners.  I would lie like that for nearly half an hour as my mind suddenly saw things from a new perspective.

            As I have grown older, dealt with people who had many different problems, and had far too many “exciting” experiences myself, my perspective on life has shifted as well.  In fact, if a person finds himself with no new insights on life, especially after the age of forty, he has probably not grown a spiritual inch.  And as you grow, your thoughts should begin to shift.  Things that look plain and simple when you have never experienced them have facets you never saw before.  Suddenly you notice the light fixtures, the exhaust fans, and the part of the doorway that hangs nearly a foot from the ceiling.  They were always there but because you never hung your head upside down you never saw them.

            As a Christian my perspective must be spiritual, not carnal.  It must be with a view toward Eternal Life, not life here on earth, something that could easily be described as looking at things upside down.  As Paul tells us in Romans 8, we must have the mind of the spirit, not the mind of the flesh. 

            The correct perspective is a powerful tool in defeating Satan.  In Hebrews 10:32-34, those Christians looked ahead toward a “better” and “abiding” possession.  With that thought firmly locked in their minds, and from that perspective, they could endure imprisonment, ridicule and scorn, loss of their earthly possessions, and physical persecution.  With the same perspective Christians could face hungry lions while singing hymns and praying.

            On the other hand, a person whose perspective is only on earthly things will not be tough enough to give up the praise of men.  He will not be strong enough to apologize.  He will be intimidated by the thought of losing acceptance in his community.  Living “the good life” will have a stranglehold on him and any trial of life will defeat him.  A wrong perspective can turn us into weaklings.

            Perspective affects every part of one’s life.  Think about Jesus’ perspective on wealth  (Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth...but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust corrupt…), insults (who when he was reviled, reviled not again), status (he counted not being on equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself), his own desires (And Christ pleased not himself but [others]), and death (the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many). 

            No one understood Him because from their perspective he looked strange.  He was walking on the ceiling upside down.  We must be striving to get up there with Him, and when we finally make it, things that look so difficult from down on the floor will suddenly be much easier.

            A correct perspective may be one of the most important things a Christian can have because it changes everything—every opinion, every moral, every purpose in life.  It will determine the state of one’s heart, and therefore, the state of one’s soul. 
           
…They dragged Jason and some of the brethren before the rulers of the city and cried, These who have turned the world upside down have come here also, Acts 17:6.
 
Dene Ward
 

​​​​​​​The LORD says, ​​​​​​“The women of Zion are proud. ​​​​​​They walk with their heads high ​​​​​​and flirt with their eyes. ​​​​​​They skip along ​​​​​​and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ​​​​​​​So the sovereign master will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women with skin diseases, ​​​​​​the LORD will make the front of their heads bald.” At that time the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, amulets, rings, nose rings, festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns. ​​​​​​​A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ​​​​​​a rope will replace a belt, ​​​​​​baldness will replace braided locks of hair, ​​​​​​a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe, ​​​​​​and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty. ​​​​​​​Your men will fall by the sword, ​​​​​​your strong men will die in battle. ​​​​​​​Her gates will mourn and lament; ​​​​​​deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground.  ​​​​​​​Seven women will grab hold of ​​​​​​one man at that time. ​​​​​​They will say, “We will provide our own food, ​​​​​​we will provide our own clothes; ​​​​​​but let us belong to you – ​​​​​​take away our shame!”  Isa 3:16-4:1.
 
           God’s people had simply become too wealthy and they were proud of it.  They felt they had earned it.  The women’s obsession with expensive clothing and jewelry, with the self-centered cultivation of their beauty, showed in their facial expressions, in their strutting and flirtatious walks and looks, and were products of an upper class that had never known hard times and hard work.  Somehow, they simply “deserved” it all.

God promised them punishment suitable to their attitude—diseases that would rob their good looks, the indignity of baldness and stink, and horror of horrors!—not a thing to wear!  Their craving to be noticed would not be satisfied, even if they begged men to take them in, promising to see to their own needs instead of expecting support from him.  Do you see what really mattered to them?  The attention of man instead of God; the carnal pleasures of life rather than the spiritual blessings of being a child of God. High maintenance women indeed—a man could work himself to death and not satisfy a one of them.

            You see them in the church all the time—high maintenance members—and, in my experience, most of them are women.         

            Every need is an urgent need to this drama queen.  She demands more visits, more phone calls, more cards, more mention from the pulpit, in the announcements, in the bulletin, on the webmail, than any ten other people combined.  And what she gets seldom satisfies her.  Instead of telling you how many have visited or called, she will greet you with a list of all who have not.  In fact, she will always call attention to herself when others are mentioned, even if their need is obviously and by far more than hers.

            She is never content, and will carry a list of wrongs against her that goes as far back as her childhood, and mention them whenever the opportunity arises.  Forgive and forget, or simply letting something go, as in “love covers a multitude of sins,” is not in her repertoire. 

            She is especially conscious of status—all of “those people” have it and she doesn’t.  And because “they” look down on her, everyone is against her or “has an agenda.” 

            She resents authority, particularly when it tries to correct her, and is highly critical of others.  She will judge your motives as surely as if she dwelt inside your heart, and dare you to question her conclusions about them.  She will even tell you what you would have done in any given situation—whether you know what you would have done or not.

            If you want her to remain a Christian you have to hold her hand in every situation, comfort, console, pray for, talk to, and serve her every minute or she simply won’t make it—and it will be all your fault!  And by the way, don’t you ever expect any of the same help from her.  It isn’t her “talent.”

            No, you don’t have to be a luxury lover to be high maintenance.  All you have to be is self-centered and shallow, with all the wrong priorities and a sense of entitlement.

            These people, men and women, think they are unique and that only God can really understand them.  They think one of these days He will come and show everyone else who is really in the right.  He didn’t do it for those proud women of long ago.  Why should He start now?

            What these high maintenance people really need is a good dose of Philippians 2:  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

            Be careful, ladies. It is far too easy to fall into this bad habit, especially as wealthy and luxury-conscious as we have become in this culture.  And we are oh, so good at it.
           
Dene Ward

When I was a child, my piano teacher was a member of an organization, the benefits of which allowed her students to participate in several events, competitions, and joint recitals.  Fast forward twenty years and, as a piano and voice teacher myself, I rediscovered that organization and joined for the sake of my own students—and they ate it up.
 
           The stated purpose of the organization is “furthering music education and fostering a musical environment in our communities through the sponsorship of musical events and by providing performing opportunities for our talented and deserving young people.”  In other words, it is a service organization in the area of music.  It’s all about the cultural welfare of the community and the patronage of young artists.

            But as wonderful as that sounds, not every member “got it.”  As I became more and more involved at higher (district) and higher (state) levels, politics and self-aggrandizement reared their ugly heads.  Let me give you an example. 

            In their goal to spread music in the communities, local groups were encouraged to present programs open to the public in several areas, opera, dance, American composers, women composers among them.  And as motivation a plaque was awarded to the group who had done the best in each category based upon written reports sent to State Chairmen, complete with printed programs, photographs, and news items.

            One year I was one of those chairmen.  I received a dozen reports of outstanding programs all across the state in the opera category.  Truly every group deserved recognition for their efforts.  In fact, I could have easily made a case for the smallest group, and a rural one at that, because for their lack of resources both monetary and talent, their creativity in making opera palatable to a less cultured area of the state had been astounding.  But of course, it was not quite up to the big city group who had staged a full opera nor the other urban organization who had managed to coax nationally acclaimed Met stars to appear.

            At the weekend of the awards I could not make the trip five hours south.  My husband had been shot in the line of duty and besides caring for him, I was also fending off the media and arranging appointments with doctors and lawyers and counselors.  So I sent my choice of winner and a letter of explanation for my absence.

            At nearly ten o’clock that evening I received a phone call from a member of one of the big city groups.  At first I thought, “How sweet.  Yes, it’s late, but she has just heard about our ordeal and is calling to check on us.”  But no, that was the last thing on her mind, if it was at all.  These were the first words out of her mouth:

            “I called to ask why we didn’t win the plaque this year.”

            Clearly this woman did not share the same goals as this organization.  To her it was about acclaim, about winning prizes, about being number one among her brothers and sisters.  And just as clearly, other people’s problems, no matter how dire, did not matter to her one bit.

            I hope that little story makes you shake your head in disgust, and after you have done that, ask yourself these questions:

            Why am I a Christian?

            Do I serve others?

            Do I do things for the church I assemble with, serving in whatever
capacity is needed?

            And more to the point:

Have I ever been miffed because MY name wasn’t mentioned?

            Have I ever stopped speaking to someone who did not thank me as I thought I deserved?

            Have I ever stopped visiting or calling or helping someone who didn’t return the favor?

            Maybe we all need to remember the example the Lord set, not just that one night in the upper room washing even Judas’s feet, or even those hours on the cross, but every morning he opened his eyes on this earth among people who hated him, ridiculed him, assaulted him, tried to kill him, and eventually did.  And we need to remember why he did it.  It certainly wasn’t for a plaque!

            This organization he set up, the one he called “mine” (Matt 16:18) has a purpose that has nothing to do with my glory.  It is the greatest purpose of any group anywhere—the salvation of mankind, no matter what it takes from me in terms of service or sacrifice. 

            Yes, if we are faithful we will receive a prize.  But if the prize is the only reason we are doing it, then the prize is the very thing we will not receive.
 
So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God, that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory. 2Tim 2:10
 
Dene Ward

 
And He said to them, let us go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for to this end came I forth, Mark 1:38.
           
            Jesus was a worker.  He got up early (Mark 1:35), and sometimes even missed a meal because He was so busy working, (John 4:31-34.)  He was always ready to move on to the next place, the next group of people.  His philosophy seemed to be, “There’s not much time so let’s keep working.”  Why?  Because He understood His mission:  this is why I came.
 
           That is not today’s philosophy.  Instead I hear, “There’s plenty of time to work, so let’s go play,” or “Life is short, so have fun.”  Maybe we don’t work like we ought to because we don’t know our mission like He did. 

            In our culture everything is about me--whether I am happy, whether I get to do the things I want to do, whether I feel fulfilled--and the things that we find fulfilling are usually money, fame, and pleasure. 

            We are simply too rich.  Ask a Christian in a third world country what his mission in life is and you are far more likely to get the right answer.  He scarcely has a roof over his head, much less one over a couple of thousand square feet of luxury home, and his leaks!  His existence is day to day, hand to mouth, and he works longer hours for a miniscule fraction of your pay—if indeed he has a job—than you think is humane.  Yet all his spare time is used studying his Bible, attending Bible classes, and speaking to his neighbors.  We can hardly find the time to simply sit in the pews, even though we probably work more than a dozen hours less a week than that man.

            We seem to be teaching our children the same mindless egocentrism.  They “deserve” to have fun.  They are so busy with earthly pursuits every minute of the day that they don’t even spend thirty minutes a week filling out a Bible lesson—and their parents are too busy to check to see if they did, or sigh with regret and say, “But they needed a little down time.”  Can’t their down time involve something spiritual?  Can’t we teach them how satisfying it is to take meals to the poor, to visit the elderly and the sick, to do their yard work and run errands for them?  If they are not learning it now, when will they?  If they are not learning it from you, then who will teach them?

            Four times the Hebrew writer says Jesus “sat down,” 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2.  Jesus did not sit down because He was tired and needed to rest, or because he needed some time to Himself.  He sat down because He had accomplished His task.  He told His disciples, We must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day; the night comes when no man can work, John 9:4.

            My mission is not about me.  My mission is about Jesus and His family—serving Him by serving them; serving Him by serving my friends and neighbors.  When you know what your mission is, you are more likely to keep working at it, and less likely to worry about whether you are having enough fun.  Those things become your “fun;” they become your fulfilling moments; they become your treasure stored in Heaven.          

            Accomplishing those things will finally give you the opportunity to sit down and rest.
 
He who overcomes, I will give to Him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father in His throne, Rev 3:21.
 
Dene Ward

I live in the country, and while I may be one of the only people in the state to actually use her cell phone for emergencies only, when I need to use it, I really need to use it.  Then it becomes more than a little aggravating to get only one or two bars or worse, the big red X—no service.  Wherever that tower is, it is to the southwest, and I have spent a lot of time wandering around in my southern field trying to turn that red X into at least three bars so I will get more than static and less likely be dropped. 
Once I was meandering with such rapt attention on that tiny little screen that when I finally got my three bars and stood stock still so I wouldn’t lose them, I found myself jumping around a moment later, covered in fire ants.  The only place I could get reception was in an ant bed!
            But cell towers do not matter when you need the Lord.  Whenever His children need Him, he is just a word or a thought away.  You don’t even have to dial, and you certainly don’t have to wander around outside in the heat or cold or rain trying to get a signal.  “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” James tells us (4:8).  Indeed when I looked up the word in a concordance I discovered that the only reason God is ever “far” from us is because we have gone far from Him (Isa 29:13; 33:13;  46:12; etc.).
            The next time you pull out that little monstrosity, remind yourself how blessed you really are.  You have a Father in Heaven who will answer your call no matter how many bars your spirit has left within you.  He will hear you, even if you only have strength left to whisper.
 
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need, Heb 4:16.
 
Dene Ward

Work heartily, as unto the Lord, Col 3:23.  Paul assumed that the Colossian brethren were giving their best efforts to the Lord and that he needed to remind them that, for the Lord’s sake, they should give the same effort to their employers here on earth. 
            After a minute or two of consideration I suddenly wondered what would happen if we all worked for our bosses the way we work for the Lord.  I think Paul might need to change his admonition a bit for our culture in our time.  Why?  Because I have seen elders and deacons need to flatter, cajole, and coerce Christians into doing things as simple and comfortable as getting into an air-conditioned car to ride to an air-conditioned building and sit on a padded pew for a couple of hours.  I have seen them beg people to help with the teaching program.  I have seen them squirm uncomfortably when they need to remind people over and over of the things they promised to do a week ago, a month ago, even a year ago. 
            If we all worked for our bosses the same way we do the Lord’s work, would we ever receive a promotion?  Would we ever get a raise?  Or would we be fired for cause?  It looks like we care far more about a monetary paycheck than we do about eternal life.  I see too many people giving as little effort as possible, refusing to go the extra mile in terms of study and service, and working only when they are forced into it instead of actively looking for things that need doing, whether they are asked to do them or not, to believe otherwise.
            If the sick and needy are left uncared for, if the classes seem boring, if the church is shrinking and the next generation is falling by the wayside, we are not working heartily for the Lord.  That passage was written to us all, not preachers and elders.  What makes us think we will receive any sort of reward if an earthly boss would fire us for the same quality of work?
 
But beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak; for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which you showed toward his name, in that you ministered unto the saints, and still do minister.  And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end, that you be not sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises, Heb 6: 9-12.
 
Dene Ward

“And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies. “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD,” Ezek 13:17-23.

            This oracle has caused a lot of consternation among scholars.  Many of its details are unfathomable beyond educated guesses, and some of them not so educated.  Suffice it to say, these false prophetesses use pagan methods of some sort to deceive people into believing them.  And by their devious methods they “hunt souls.”  Souls who “should not die” die, and souls who “should not live” live.  They are as “prey” in the hands of these women.  In short, these women are master manipulators, and women are oh, so good at it.

            If you haven’t seen that in your lifetime, you are either unobservant or very young.  Even while claiming submission, women can get exactly what they want with the crook of a finger.  I’ve seen “Mama’s boys” tied to their mothers’ apron strings, husbands actually afraid of their wives, and preachers taken down a peg by a loud woman right on the church house steps.  Sometimes there isn’t even a half-baked reason for it; it’s simply women who enjoy exercising their power over others, while at the same time batting their eyelashes and saying, “What?  Little ol’ me?”

            No one should be walking on eggshells around me.  No one should live in fear of my reaction to something they do or say.  Yet I have seen young brides give in to things they did not want on their wedding days just to avoid “hurting” someone—someone who should have asked a bride what SHE wanted instead of just up and doing and expecting it to be accepted gratefully, or someone who simply insisted that she knew best.  Sometimes, often in fact, it is even a member of the family.

I have seen daughters-in-law practically groveling for a little acceptance from mothers-in-law who were disappointed in their sons’ choices and made it obvious.

I have seen grandmothers pitting grandchildren against one another for her affection. 

And all this is as old as the women in the Bible who did the same—Delilah, Jezebel, Athaliah, and Herodias, among others.  Clearly we have a problem with this, ladies, and it’s time we faced up to it and cleaned up our acts.

We may not be false prophetesses out there to “hunt souls,” but we are certainly false wives, mothers, and grandmothers when we have ulterior motives to our actions.  If I “dishearten” my husband with nagging, with catty responses, with complaints, I am not the wife “who does him good and not evil all the days of his life.”  If I push my children with guilt trips and innuendo, I am not the mother who “opens her mouth with wisdom.”  If I am the woman in the church who is so quick to tell everyone what they need to be doing for her, and in exactly what way or I’ll leave, I am not the servant of the church the apostles so often commend.  If I have to stoop to manipulation in order to be content with who I am, I am not the woman for whom “strength and dignity are her clothing.”

Submission does not act this way.  Respect does not.  Certainly, love doesn’t. 
 
The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but he [or she] who is devious in his/her ways despises him, Prov 14:1-2.
 
Dene Ward

Today’s post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
We all know that Abraham sacrificed Isaac. The angel staying his hand and the ram snared in the bushes and the connection between, “God will provide the sacrifice” and the cross are all familiar stories. It is less obvious that the 3 patriarchs all sacrificed their sons.
 
Isaac loved Esau. He favored Esau so strongly that Jacob became a “Mama’s boy.” He loved Esau so strongly that he ignored his faults and was prepared to pass the blessing to him, the grace to be the one to carry the line of the promise. But Jacob deceived Isaac and received that blessing. Isaac may have been blind, but God was not, and Esau realized that the correct son had received the blessing. Despite his great love for Esau, “no place was found for repentance,” and Isaac “sacrificed” him to the purposes of God.
 
Every father has a special place for his firstborn.  Jacob refused to ignore Reuben’s faults and rejected him from the genealogy of the promise (Gen 49:1-4).  However, the great sacrifice came earlier. Jacob loved Joseph above his brothers and when he thought Joseph was dead, he lavished all that love on Benjamin. We’ve all seen the baby of the family spoiled and Jacob did so. But when it came to the point that the family of promise was about to be extinguished in the famine, he sent him with Judah, “And if I am bereaved, I am bereaved” (Gen 43:14). It is clear from Jacob’s language that he put Benjamin in a separate category above the brothers, but to save them all he “sacrificed” Benjamin.
 
In different ways, these all sacrificed the sons of their love in pursuit of the promise of God that had been passed down since Gen 3:15.
 
Jesus said, “Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”  We probably will never be called upon to give our child to death.  We may have to reject one we love to choose God.  But, the real question is what things do we allow to interfere with our wholehearted pursuit of God?
 
Keith Ward

We often talk about avoiding distractions when we discuss our lives as Christians.  Usually the things we list are jobs, families, material goods, and other physical items.  Feelings can be distracting as well.  When I let myself become angry, when I feel outrage at injustice done me or mine, when I “get my feelings hurt,” all these emotions can distract me from my mission as a Christian by switching my focus from others to myself.
            For me hurt is more distracting than anger.  I have come to realize with age that most things are not worth becoming angry over, especially for what anger can do to our minds and our bodies.  But hurt is something we seem to want to hang onto.  Being a victim is good--it lets us off the hook for any wrong we might have done and puts everyone on our side whether we deserve it or not.  But while we are busy nursing our hurt like some sort of wound sustained in heroic conflict, we are not completing our mission as disciples; in fact, we are helping Satan complete his.
            Jesus shows us one way to avoid the distraction of “hurt feelings.”  Everywhere he went he was received as an important new rabbi, a teacher worth listening to, even when people might disagree.  Everywhere, that is, except home.  Matthew 13 tells us the story of his preaching at Nazareth, his home town.  Did they listen?  Did they accord him any respect at all?  No, they were too busy wondering among themselves what had happened to the little boy raised by the carpenter, the one who used to run and play with a whole brood of brothers and sisters.  Wasn’t he cute?  How could that little guy have anything of importance to say?  And that was probably what the nicest of those folks thought.  In fact, the first few verses of Mark 6 make it plain that their unbelief was palpable.  Jesus was totally amazed.
            So what did he do?  Did he leave with hurt feelings?  Did he go mope in the wilderness?  Did he sit around the fire with his apostles recounting all the wrong done him?  The very people he had known all his life, whom he might have expected to produce the most followers, rejected him.  No, he avoided the distraction of hurt feelings by refusing to take it personally.  Instead he made note of a trait of human nature:  a prophet is not without honor except in his own country.  None of the commentators I checked think this was an old proverb, but it was certainly true.  Jesus must have seen it before.  I have certainly seen it since.  Jesus told himself, “This isn’t about me; it is just the way people are.  They would have treated anyone else in my position the same way,” and then he moved on to complete his mission.
            I was woefully ill-prepared to be a preacher’s wife.  I thought everyone loved preachers and their families because my family did.  When I was growing up, they were in our home often, and remained friends through the years.  At the age of 20, a brand new preacher’s wife, I was shocked to the core to find out that not everyone was like that.  By 26 I had finally come to grips with the fact that some people just don’t like preachers and their families on general principle.  That was especially obvious when we had lived in a place less than a week before one of the women there called to bawl me out about something she thought I should have done the one time I was ever in her presence.  It wasn’t about me, it was about what I was, so I just shook it off and went on about my job, standing beside a man who took far more abuse than I did just because of what he was, a preacher.
            And since then, I have talked with many young women, not necessarily preachers’ wives, who are shocked at the behavior of others, who are hurt over misunderstandings and the resulting mistreatment.  How did this happen, they wonder?  Sometimes it is just human nature trumping the new nature a Christian is supposed to have because not everyone fights the battle, they just wear the name.  It happens because of who they are, not because of how they feel about you personally, and you need to learn the lesson and move on.  While expecting better of your brothers and sisters, even of the world in general, you must also learn not to become discouraged when you are disappointed.
            Jesus knew the secret—it isn’t about me, it’s about what I represent and how that affects their lives.  Don’t be distracted by feelings of hurt or anger or bitterness.  Get on with it!  Don’t let the devil win one by moping around when you could be out there showing others how to handle slights and insults.  A soul I lose because I sit down and cry over my own hurt feelings, pitying myself for how mean “they” were to me, is my fault and no one else’s.
 
Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you, Matt 5:11,12.
 
Dene Ward

I started jogging and working out when I was 29.  By the time I was 30 I jogged 30 miles a week.  Oh, to have all that energy again!  I still work out, but several surgeries, medications, and bad vision make it impossible to do what I used to—not to mention age, which will tell on even the healthiest of us.
            Some days, usually Mondays when I have had a couple days off the elliptical machine, I do well, finishing my chosen program two or three minutes ahead of schedule.  Other days I just plod on through until the programmed timer goes off and I notice that I was a quarter mile short of my programmed distance.  But I got it done.  I sweated and I panted and my muscles burned for the allotted amount of time.  Mission accomplished.  Maybe I will live an extra day because of it.
            Some Sundays I have no trouble at all keeping my mind on the worship. I am full of spiritual pep and vitality.  I sing with gusto and listen attentively to the classes, prayers and sermons, even making connections I never had before and priming myself for more study when I get home.  Other Sundays It’s all I can do to just be there.  My mind is as lethargic as my body.  I hear, but I don’t really comprehend.  When I leave I wonder if it did me any good at all.  Surely God is upset with my poor showing that day.
            Is He?  If the day was difficult, but I made it anyway; if it was a struggle to worship “with the spirit and the understanding;” if the “all” I had to give was very little, was my service to God a failure?  I don’t think so.  We have no trouble understanding the concept of the widow’s mite in a literal way.  She gave all she had that day, and Jesus praised her for it.  Some days the spiritual mite is smaller than others.  If I give it all, why isn’t that what God expects of me?  Won’t God be pleased that I still tried as hard as I could with far less available than usual?  If God goes by effort, I worked harder that day than on any day when it was easy, didn’t it?
            And if this sort of thing worries you, if you find yourself thinking you have failed because you weren’t at your spiritual peak, then you have certainly shown the heart of flesh that God told His people He wanted from them.  You didn’t feel like it, but you still obeyed God’s instructions in your service.  And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, Ezek 11:19-2.  Obedience—that’s the heart of flesh.  A hard heart can shout amen and sing the rafters off the roof in the middle of blatant disobedience.  God made it clear which He prefers.
            By the end of an exercise week I am really dragging.  My legs feel like lead and my lungs seem starved of oxygen.  But I still go at it and get it done.  It still does my body the good I intended.  If you are dragging at the end of some spiritual interval, a time that might have started out with all the vitality you could have wanted but gradually wore down, just keep on plugging.  The energy will return and you will be back where you want to be.  That does not mean that you are not where God wants you to be.
 
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint, Isa 40:28-31.
 
Dene Ward