God Doesn't Work for Burger King

A couple of weeks ago as we prepped to launch "Promise Island" VBS, I helped prep our church by taking on the text for the for the first day's theme: "I Am With You."  I preached the famous Shadrach, Meshach, and A Billy Goat (at least that is what I thought as a kid) story from Daniel 3.

The story continues to build the author's case for God (Yahweh) as the cosmic sovereign. In my message I built upon the books' theme by stressing: Your level of obedience and boldness is directly tied to the depth of your trust in God's sovereignty. You can hear the message here, but as with all sermons I had to nip and tuck as I pursued a fluid and cohesive piece, which means I was forced to leave out thoughts, ideas, and ramblings. This post is a rambling that failed to make the team.

Before Burger King hired the creepy big-headed King who kept popping up in people's beds, backyards, and children's bikes (Isn't that illegal?), the chain sold their product with the motto: "Have it Your Way!" I like that. Days would be sheer bliss if everyone's motto for me was, "Have it Your Way!" If my kids woke up and said, "Have it your way, Dad!" Or if my boss said, "Charlton, have it your way!" If the cop who pulled me over, "Sir, you were going 95 in a 45, but have it your way." If all church members said, "A 45-minute sermon? Have it your way!" If the U.S. Olympic committee said, "Although you have never run fast enough to compete in the mile at the high school level, we would like for you to represent the U.S. in London for the 1500 meters. Have it your way!"

We like it our way, and our consumeristic culture and natural inclination toward self-centeredness blend into a deadly concoction of self-absorption and entitlement. We begin to function as if God stands behind the BK counter sporting his hat, taking our prayers, and responding with a "Have it your way!" The entitlement mentality limits God's sovereignty. It makes God's sovereignty dependent upon his answering my prayers according to my specific requirements. The moment he doesn't, "I guess God isn't that powerful after all. I guess he doesn't care about my family or me. Maybe he doesn't exist."

I'm not minimizing the problem of evil. It's clear things are not right in the world. Brokenness screams from all corners of the globe. Scripture gives us room to question God, to be angry, to shout and yell, and even throw a temper tantrum. There is dissonance between a sovereign and good God and the state of the world. But too often, we doubt God's sovereignty not because we are wrestling the larger questions of evil, but simply because he did not look smilingly across the counter and say, "Have it your way!"

Apparently Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego never ate at BK.  When Nebuchadnezzar (I bet he got picked on as kid. That's probably what fueled his aspirations to become a ruthless dictator) threatens them with death by fire for refusing to bow to his golden idol they respond,

"Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn't, it wouldn't make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn't serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up." 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had no doubt that God is sovereign, that he rules over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and even Nebuchadnezzar and his magnificent kingdom. But they also believed that God's sovereignty was not contingent upon him saving them. His sovereignty did not rest on whether their prayers were answered according to their requirements.

God does not lose control because I don't get what I want and God does not lose control because I do not understand what he is doing. Yes, I have permission to question, to shout, and to be frustrated. God welcomes such honest banter but perhaps before I call God's goodness and sovereignty into question I should assess my motives. Is my desire really for God to reign over HIS kingdom or do I simply want a God who says, "Have it your way"?

TransAmerica: Thoughts, Ramblings, a Lame Joke, and Learnings as We Penske Wagon Across America

It's nearly 11 PM and I'm in Effingham, IL (every Illinoisians' favorite city name to shout when angry). As I recline in a hotel bed, my family asleep all around me, and NBA analysts breaking down Miami's win, I decided to scribble down random thoughts and learnings from the Taylor's travels across the United States. Here it goes...

• Contrary to popular belief, people do live in Oklahoma. I was able to understand their language and they are friendly to foreigners.
• Texas seems to be the only state with state-shaped waffles.
• While Democrats and Republicans vie for power, it's clear that Ronald McDonald is the boni fide Commander and Chief.
• Penske trucks drink diesel like a sumo downs Chankonabe: quickly and in large quantities.
• Dogs are high maintenance. 
• Appreciation for long-winded preachers grows in direct proportion to the number of hours you are scheduled to drive (I've been hosting a three-day Penske Revival Conference and I managed to bring in some stellar keynotes and dynamic worship bands.)
• While driving and worshiping it is safest to be a one arm hand-raiser (preferably your non-dominant hand).
• Want Angolina Joliesque lips? Don't waste time and money with expensive cosmetic procedures. Have your brother throw a rock at your lip...poof! Puffy lips!! Repeat after two days (Pierson can testify to its effectiveness.  His words, "If feels like my lip wants to pop off!").
• If you have poor night vision and are an inexperienced 26-foot-truck-with-a-car-dolly-and-Kia-in-tow driver don't get stuck having to back out of a hotel parking lot, surrounded by unattended semi's, in a severe thunder storm, with a multi-block electrical outage. 
• If you gas-up at the big rig diesel pumps it is assumed that you swear like a drunken sailor who stubbed his toe after bumping his head... never mind the 8 year old boy standing next to me.
• What revenue Oklahoma fails to collect in its absence of professional sports teams it makes up for with highway tolls. 
• The iPhone never ceases to amaze me.
• Ice cream always sounds good.
• Every vehicle should be equipped with semi-grade side mirrors (scooters and segways included).
• The company that promotes the most on the Lamar billboards is Lamar.
• There are A LOT of people and each one has a story.
• The laws of physics don't lie.
• [Random lame joke] What's the the laziest town in Missouri? Doolittle, MO.
• Doggie toots smell distinctly different than human ones (I purposefully used the terms "doggie" and "toots" so as to make a crude subject sound cute.  You're welcome, Mom. I also replaced "toots' with "ones" in the second half of the sentence so as not to overuse the word "toot..." Oh, wait... I just used "toots" four times...wait, five - never mind).
• Panera Bread puts little effort in accommodating big rig parking, and I would be uncomfortable if they did. 
• With a family of five and a dog chances are that at any point in time someone has to go to the bathroom.
• In the Penske... uphills, "Sorry!" Downhills, "Weeeeeeee!"
• All bugs look the same splattered on your windshield (You are supposed take this comment and make a theological point, "In the same way, all people, if they were splattered on a windshield would look the same too. We are all made in the image of God).
• Just because you see a Highway Patrol doesn't mean you have to slow down, especially if he has already pulled someone over.
•  God is a magnificent sculpture and painter.

Between HERE and THERE

During the 1980's when girls just wanted to have fun, when money was for nothing and chicks for free, my parents planted us in Recife, Brazil - a tropical metropolis with taste bud seducing fruit and hospitable locals. We were part of a six family team sent to plant, water, and nurture a community of faith. To this day, my foreign experience serves as one of the greatest positive influences on my life.

But in 1988, the time came to return to the land of Dr. Pepper, M&M's, Whoppers, and G.I. Joe cartoons. We moved back to the United States the summer before my sixth grade year. My sixth grade year holds the record for worst school experience - EVER! The TRANSITION home was brutal.

I returned to the US after studying in a diverse private school in Brazil... Americans, Chinese, Brazilians, English, Indians. My best friends was a Korean named Francisco (a very Brazilian name) and we communicated in Engluese (a Portuguese-English hybrid). The private school was laid back. Our classrooms had three walls; the fourth side opened to a lush garden of trees and flowers.  It was quite the contrast when I started school in the US. The Nazi teachers made me stand in straight lines with my hands to my sides, and they answered any movement with vicious screams. The kids pulled down my pants for a laugh while others made fun of my white Cheetah high top tennis shoes. (I had admired Michael J Fox's shoes in Teen Wolf and could not wait to get back to the US to mimic his look.) They were my prized possession until my "friends" started calling them "Cheep-ah's." Apparently Nike and Reebok were the only fashionable footwear.

The year of 1988-1989 was a difficult year because it was a year of reverse culture shock. It was a year of transition. Transition is often difficult, uncomfortable, and disorienting.  The majority would prefer to teleport from HERE to THERE than than hike through the BETWEEN phase called "transition." But the reality? Most of life is transition! We are always in transition, and transition offers immense growth potential. Unfortunately, most of us miss out on the opportunities transition offers because we are too focused on its discomforts to appreciate its value.

Israel understood the frustrations of transition better than any of us. Forty years wandering in the desert is not my idea of progress. They too missed out on the opportunities transition afforded because they could not see past its discomforts. Below are some of their responses to the disorientation of transition. Perhaps you can identify.

1. "I want to go back!" Israel had just experienced the power of God first hand: the Red Sea parted and they skipped across on dry ground only to look back and see the same obedient sea turn hostile and lay waste the Egyptian army. At that moment Israel feared the LORD. Fast forward one and a half months. Israel has been wandering the desert, their bellies are rumbling, and already they desire to return to Egypt, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." (Ex. 16:3)  God was taking Israel to the Promised Land, to an amazing future, but the uncertainty of transition led them to forget what lay ahead. Instead they longed for the past, an oppressive past. They preferred slavery over transition! Many times the difficulties of transition make us long for the past, even for a less than ideal past.
2. "You did this!" When you find yourself in the mess and muck of transition one option is to blame someone else for your discomfort: "Mom, you made us move." "Well...the students here are snobs!" "These people are clickish!" "This town is full of idiots!" Israel blamed Moses! Apparently it was Moses's fault when Israel got thirsty in the desert.  And apparently it was serious; at least Moses thought it was, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me." (Ex. 17:4)  Israel's transitional discomfort pushed them to find a scapegoat and Moses's number was up!
3. "God has abandoned me!" The demanding thirst of desert travel led Israel to doubt if the "Shock and Awe" God of the Exodus was still hanging around. They figured he had gotten out of Dodge. Exodus 17:7 expresses their concern, "Is the Lord among us or not?" It is a fair question. Could not the God who leashed the Red Sea send Israel some desert Dasani? You may have similar doubts during the chaos and uncertainty of transition, "Is God even here? Does he care?" Transition can feel as if God called you a direction and then jumped shipped.
4. "I got this!" In Exodus 32:1, Israel is tired of waiting on Moses and God. They are not getting any younger, so they turn to Aaron, "Come, make us gods who will go before us." Aaron caves to peer pressure and sculpts Israel some cow-gods to lead them. The Lord's time was not working for Israel; his time led them to believe he was gone, so the people took matters into their own hands. "If God won't lead us, we'll make our own gods who will." Like Israel, when transition lingers you might try and speed up the process by pushing, forcing, and orchestrating your own outcomes. As a result, transition becomes about what "I" want rather than what God is doing.

Perhaps you identify with Israel and while in transition you have longed for the past, taken your frustration out on others, questioned God and/or decided your timing was better than God's. But, as you look deeper into Israel's story you discover that the desert wanderings, the marathon transition was not wasted time or a pointless meandering, but that during this BETWEEN time God was doing something. You learn transition offered opportunities the "firework" moments of life could not offer. The same is true for you.

On June10th, I'll be preaching a message to help you see that transition DOES! Israel's desert experience will help you better understand the BETWEEN segments of your life. In the meantime, spend some time exploring Israel's sandy transition. Read Exodus 14-19, 32:1-33:6, 40.