Ephesians 6 and a Simple Prayer

I finished reading Ephesians today. The Armor of God is probably the most famous part of Ephesians chapter 6, but the message about the slave and the master was most striking to me today.

God tells slaves to respect their masters and to work hard and enthusiastically for them. As you can imagine, I'm almost certain that this was difficult. God tells slaves to work for their master as if they were working for Christ. Can you imagine being a slave and wanting to do that? I can't. A lot of times these verses are applied to the employee-employer relationship. That is what got to me today.

I am FAAAAAAAAAAAAR from enthusiastic about school. I certainly do not work as if Christ was my boss. I'm a bit of a rabble-rouser; always have been. I'm not vitriolic in these actions. I just can't stand inefficiency and bureaucracy. When you are working on a Ph.D. at a state university, you are burdened with both of these. As you might could imagine, I voice my opinion when things don't go like they should. Here, things rarely go as they should and everyone knows it, so it isn't like I am the outcast.

Anyways, I really have to work on this. I often pray that I will enter school with a good attitude. It is difficult. Not only am I one of two professing Christians in the program, but the stress levels are high amongst students and faculty, and many of the problems are endemic. How does one survive in such an environment without becoming bitter?

Getting over this bitterness is probably one of the best ways to show people that a relationship with Christ changes people. If I can show students and faculty that I am always joyful, then perhaps they will wonder what makes me different. That is the kind of message I need to be sending. Ephesians 4:31 tells us to "Get rid of all bitterness." Please pray that I can do this.

Battle in the Basement

School has officially started. I can already tell it is going to be a battle. I want to be less irritable this year. That can be difficult in such a high-stress environment. I really want to be positive and loving to my students, classmates, and professors, but the mundaneness of some of the classes, the high level of bureaucracy and the general desire by some to cause and proliferate trouble makes it difficult for me to walk a straight line. This is going to be a trying year, but I am determined not to let it get to me. If I can muster up the courage, I even hope to mend a fence or two. Help me Lord!

Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 26:14
"As a door turns back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed."

Daniel 6 and the Line between Loving God and Respecting the State

Daniel and the lion's den is one of the more well-known stories of the Bible. I do not plan to go into depth about it here. It is in Daniel 6 if you want more info on it.

The story did make me wonder about when it is appropriate to shun the state's laws. The Bible tells us that God puts into power the person He wants in power for that particular moment. We are also suppose to obey the state unless they ask us to do things that are against God.

Undoubtedly, Daniel continued to pray to God instead of Darius because the law that forbid praying to anyone but Darius was counter to God's law. That is an easy one. However, what about more difficult questions? What about school prayer? What about being a man or woman of faith while at work? Where is the line between being faithful to God like Daniel was and being respectful of the state and/or employers?

Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 22:2
"The rich and the poor have this in common: They Lord made them both."