Which story are you listening to?

Stories are important. We all have a story. We are all part of a story, whether we realise it or not. How we understand that story will shape our lives, the way we view ourselves and others, and the choices we make.

$44 billion is a lot of money. Various reasons have been put forward as to why Elon Musk would spend $44 billion to become the owner of social media platform Twitter. One suggestion is so that he can ‘control the narrative’.

The struggle for ‘control of the narrative’ is something that we discover on the first pages of the Bible story. A talking snake asks the question, ‘Did God really say…?’ Embracing an alternative narrative led Adam and Eve to make choices and decisions that changed the course of history.

Stories are important. The Bible is primarily a story – a narrative. It’s a story where I learn about a God who loves me – and who invites me to be a part of this story. It’s a story with a beginning and an ending – even if the story starts before the beginning and goes on beyond the ending! It’s a story that we can’t get our heads round. And seeing myself as a part of this story will shape my life, the way I view myself and others, and the choices I make.

I use Twitter daily. I follow nearly 300 people/organisations – mostly people I agree with, but not exclusively. I mainly use Twitter to flag up news, stories and resources that I would otherwise miss because it’s impossible to keep across everything that is going on. 

I rarely get involved in commenting on anything on Twitter – because, from that point of view, it is really one of the most horrible places on the internet. There is no room for nuance, and little room for grace or sympathy. Even when someone posts something that is clearly meant for good it can be ripped to shreds and criticised within minutes. I doubt anyone has had their point of view changed by a debate on Twitter.

I expect we have all heard the allegations that foreign powers have been able to use social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, to influence elections and referendums – to shape the way that people think. I probably don’t need to use the word ‘alleged’ to suggest that the wider media, including newspapers and television, influence the results of elections and referendums. Their choice of stories, the language they use, the pictures they choose – this all goes a long way in influencing the way that we think.

But as a Christian I already have a narrative, a story, that helps me to understand and interpret the world in which I live. I already have a narrative that helps me to know how I should treat those who are worse off than me. I already have a narrative that helps me know how I should think about people who look different or sound different to me. I already have a narrative that helps me to know how I should respond to those who use their power and wealth for their own self interests. I already have a narrative that tells me that values such as love and humility and truth and justice are more important than possessions and status and the size of my bank balance.

We live in a world where someone is always trying to gain control of the narrative. To reshape the story. To ask the question, ‘did God really say…?’ We need to ensure that the narrative that is shaping our lives is God’s story.

My attitude to money - Reflection 08

Here is my weekly reflection from last week. If you would like to have these reflections emailed directly to your inbox on a Wednesday just let me know.

At about 11.05am on Sunday morning I settled down with a coffee at a Greggs – somewhere beside the A303 – somewhere between Devon and Cambridgeshire. I clicked the link to the live stream hoping to catch a few minutes of the service. Clearly there were a number of significant technical issues on Sunday morning, and I want to thank our current team, particularly Debbie and Anne, who do such a great job – not only presenting the slides in the room but also making sure that the live stream goes out. Their job has got significantly more challenging since July. Like so many things in life, it goes unnoticed until it goes wrong. But each time something unexpected happens we learn a little more! If you would like to be a part of this team then please do get in touch – training will be provided. Also, thank you so much to Mandy who re-recorded her sermon for us on Monday, as we used to do back in the days of pre-recorded services. This is now available on YouTube if you haven’t seen it already. You’ll find it here. As we have seen already in this series, Jesus is interested in our attitudes, our motives, our desires. And this week the focus was very much on our attitude to money. How much is my happiness, my contentment, my peace, my security wrapped up in what I have. Would I feel any less secure about the future if I didn’t own my own home or have a good pension? Would I feel more secure about the future if I did own my own home or had a good pension? Where does my security actually lie? Mandy quoted from Psalm 62:10b, ‘though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them’ and asked a question about our response to a promotion, a pay rise, an unexpected gift. Do we celebrate that our standard of living can increase? Or do we celebrate that we have more to give?  I was reminded of the story of John Wesley whose attitude towards money can be summed up as ‘Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can’. Whilst working in Oxford (in the 1700s) Wesley earned about £30 a year. His living expenses were £28 and he gave away £2. When his earnings increased to £60 he continued to live off £28 and gave away £32. Wesley continued this practise throughout the course of his life. Eventually his income was to increase to about £1,400 a year – he lived off £30 and gave the rest away. He apparently became well known for his saying, ‘What should rise is not the Christian’s standard of living but their standard of giving’! A challenging testimony. We have heard a lot recently about the cost-of-living crisis and the dramatic rise in energy bills. People forced to make the choice between eating and heating. The continued rise in the use of foodbanks. I was struck by Mandy’s challenge at the end of her sermon which started something like, ‘no matter how difficult it may get…’, and referencing the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego moments before they were thrown into the fiery furnace. Am I going to trust God? Am I going to put my faith in God? Am I going to remain kingdom focused? No matter how difficult it may get?

Doing something for Lent?

Over the years I've posted and re-posted a number of posts on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday with a few thoughts on Lent. 

I come from a church tradition where Lent is not a thing. 

I'm now part of church tradition where Lent is still not officially a thing - but the church family is made up of people from all kinds of backgrounds who draw on all kinds of resources and influences. The idea of pausing and reflecting and preparing for the season of Easter seems like a good idea. It's certainly not a bad idea.

It's always good to have those points in the year where we stop and reflect. An opportunity to maybe reflect on what we're doing or not doing. What direction we're headed in. What our priorities are. An opportunity for a fresh start or a time of recommitment. And if nothing else, Lent provides us with one of those points in the year.

I mentioned on Sunday that I would flag up some resources for anyone who is wanting to do something a bit different from their normal pattern of spiritual disciplines over the next few weeks. So, here are a few ideas.

Lectio 365 from 24-7 Prayer

I know that many of you make use of the Lectio365 app. The app uses the model of PRAY - Pausing, Rejoicing and Reflecting, Asking and Yielding - each day to help us encounter God.
They will be starting their Lent series of readings, reflections and prayers tomorrow. If you've not used the app before you can find out more here - or head to the place where you normally get your apps and look for Lectio 365. They also have an app Lection 365 for Familes when is especially designed for ... families. Both these resources are from the 24-7 Prayer team.

The Lent Encounter from The Bible Society

Those of you who enjoyed Andrew Ollerton's 'The Bible Course' might be interested to take a look at 'The Lent Encounter' by the Bible Society. It promises:

• Andrew Ollerton takes us on a tour of the Holy Land with videos of places from some of the most significant points of Jesus' life. 
• Bible Society staff share personal reflections on themes such as love, rejection, hope and peace. 
• Prayers and conversation starters for you to reflect on and share with others.
• Weekly ‘Wonder Walks’ with a guide to explore God’s word and meditate as you walk.
• Go deeper in to God's word and consider some big life questions along the way

You can sign up at the link above.

Lent Devotional from Tearfund

Again, if daily emails are your thing then Tearfund provide a Lent devotional that promises bite-sized daily reflections, prayers and poems to help you draw nearer to God as we approach Easter.

If none of those ideas grabs you - there's plenty more out there.

Why do I do what I do? - Reflection 07

I'm a few weeks behind posting my weekly reflections - if you'd like to get these by email every Wednesday then please get in touch and let me have your email address.

According to Shakespeare, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”  If Shakespeare had been writing in the Greek of the New Testament the final word in this sentence would have been ‘hypocrite’. Our word hypocrite comes directly from the Greek word for an actor. So when Jesus tells his disciples not to be like the hypocrites he is telling them to make sure that they’re not living some kind of lie – where the inside and the outside of their lives don’t match up. On Sunday we were looking at Jesus’ teaching on giving to the needy, prayer and fasting from Matthew 6:1-18. If you’ve not listened yet then you’ll find it here. Jesus’ assumption was that giving to the needy, prayer and fasting were all things that his disciples would do. His disciples were Jewish, his audience was Jewish and these were all aspects of Jewish life. And so Jesus is not trying to convince his disciples that if they want to become more like him they need to start caring for those in need, spending time in prayer and fasting.  His assumption was that they would be doing these things. But he wanted them to make sure that their motives were right. That they were wanting to do these things out of their love for God and their desire to be more like Jesus. The hypocrites on the other hand were doing these things to be seen by others and to win their applause.  Within our culture there is a very high probability that people will need to be taught biblical principles for giving, praying and fasting – and we’re going to be looking at these topics again next week, and on the 13th and 6th March respectively. But our motives for why we do what we do can be very complex. On Sunday I used the example of running. I’ve not run for several months because of a niggling injury that won’t go away – but when I was running there was never just one motive that got me out of the door. Sometimes if it was a really nice day I might just decide to go for a run because it is something that I enjoy. I enjoy the freedom, the countryside and I know that when I get back I will feel better than when I left. But if it’s dark, and I can hear the rain on the window, and the wind is blowing, then getting out of a comfy, warm bed sometimes just didn’t happen. Things that would help in that situation would be the knowledge that I was training for a specific event that people knew about. Or being involved in some online competition or challenge that meant I needed to log a run that morning. When it comes to our spiritual life I expect it is as equally challenging to try and untangle our motives for why we do what we do. Whilst we might agree that love for God, love for others and a desire to follow Jesus are the right motives for what we do there’s probably a lot more in the mix. Whilst we agree that it is only God’s opinion that matters I’m sure we are all effected by what others think and say. Doing my Bible reading because I’ve committed to reading the Bible in a year and I need to tick the box isn’t a right motive for reading the Bible – but reading the Bible is preferable to not reading the Bible. At least I am putting myself in a place where God can talk to me. I could go on – but I won’t. Keeping the commandments outwardly is one thing. Making sure our heart is right at the same time is something else altogether. Something that is only possible with the work of the Holy Spirit. Thankfully God is gracious and merciful and forgiving. And patient. Our loving heavenly Father. Within that context let’s examine our hearts to see why we do what we do. And invite the Holy Spirit to challenge and change us where necessary.