WHY I DO THE THINGS THAT I DO

Greetings and Salutation O Ye Friends, Neighbors, and Enemies...you know who you are.

WHY? You may be asking yourself that question...I find myself asking myself WHY all of the time. WHY do things happen? WHY do I have to be in the position that I am in today? WHY DO I DO THE THINGS THAT I DO?

This first picture is a collage of various personification of myself throughout the years. Some funny...some serious but all reflecting me doing something at some point in the time-space continuum of my life.

"I've proven who I am so many times...the magnetic strip's worn thin...and each time I was someone else...and every one was taken in...Powers chatter in high places...stir up eddies in the dust of rage...set me...to pacing the cage." (Pacing The Cage by Bruce Cockburn on the album Charity Of The Night)

A big driving force in WHY I do the things I do...is my family. Brenda and Phillip are my incentives to get up in the morning and trudge off to a job that I am really not that thrilled about trudging off to...so I can bring in money...to live in the lifestyle we are accustomed to. Eating, clothing, housing are great motivators.

"Do not worry then, saying...what will we eat...or what will we eat...or what will we drink...or what will we wear for clothing? For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things...for your heavenly Father KNOWS that you NEED all these things. BUT...SEEK FIRST (1st) HIS KINGDOM...and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS...and all these THINGS will be added to you. So...DO NOT WORRY about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:31-34)

NOTE: This is not an edict to never plan or budget...there are plenty of references to work hard and plan...but we must always NEVER WORRY...and lay our plans on the altar...and let God breath life on them.

For the past 41 years...I have in some form or fashion...been teaching the WORD OF GOD. I have been blessed to be able to share the Word...at The Springhouse Worship and Arts Center (formerly Smyrna Assembly of God) in the Ruminator Sunday School Class...and periodically on Wednesday night. Also...for the past 30 plus years I have been writing in the form of Bible study workbooks...and blogs (Ruminator Ramblings)...and was blessed last year to record a CD of old songs I wrote in the 70's. (Ruminator Unplugged). WHY? Why expend that much energy into these things? WHY gather together with other believers (church)? WHY tithe...give offerings...go to other countries to teach? I could think of a lot of other things to do and a lot other places I could funnel my money.

"I never knew what you wanted...so I gave you everything. All that I could pillage...all the spells that I could sing. It's as if the thing were written in the constitution of the age...Sooner or later you'll wind up...pacing the cage." (Pacing The Cage by Bruce Cockburn from Charity Of The Night).

The bottom line...for the WHY in what I do...is that I love the Lord my God...with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength...and love my neighbor (and enemies..my addition) as myself. (Luke 10:27;
Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30)

Another burning WHY question that I ask myself all of the time...WHY ME LORD? Kris Kristofferson got it right with this song. WHY ME...? There are visions, dreams, writings, books, desires, music swirling in my head...and I am thinking...I can't even live the life I live now.

"For what I am doing...I do not understand; for I am NOT practicing what I would like to do...but I am doing the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:15)

I am so aware of my failures and my capabilities...that sometimes I am paralyzed with fear and guilt about standing before people and opening my mouth.

"But if I do the very thing I do not want to do...I agree with the Law...confessing that the Law is good. So...NOW...no longer am I the one doing it...but SIN which dwells in me. But I know that NOTHING good dwells in me...THAT IS...in my FLESH...for the WILLING is present in me... but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want..I do not do...but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want ...I am no longer the one doing it...but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me...the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the INNER MAN...but I see a different law in the MEMBERS OF MY BODY...WAGING WAR against the law of my MIND and making me a prisoner of THE LAW OF SIN which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will SET ME FREE from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:16-24)

NOTE: The theological debate is...is this Paul speaking about pre-conversion...or is he speaking about his post conversion state. I relate to both sides...because I struggle with the WHY of why I do the things (negative) that I do...knowing better. Then I get all guilty and condemned and fearful for doing anything for God. Well which ever side the theologians pontificate about...thank God...Paul answer the question in verse 25.

"Thanks be to GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD! So then...on the one hand...I myself with my mind am serving the law of God...but on the other...with my flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:25) NOTE: Read Romans 8 for the mindset that will set us free from death and bring us to a place of life and peace.

"You think I built this for me? You think I built this for me? This isn't mine...it's Yours, It's really for You...I didn't build this for me." (I Did Not Build This For Me...by Daniel Amos... about WHY people do things for God)

Well...whether I am clowning around...teaching the Word of God...going to work...singing a song...being a dad...being a husband...writing a Rambling...the driving force is love for the Lord.
I am an imperfect man...serving a perfect God. Jesus hung up for my hang ups...and I have plenty. As I bide my time on planet earth...just visiting...this world is not my home...I am just passing through...with my eyes on the sky...waiting for His return...but occupying until He does.

"Sometimes the best map will not guide you...you can't see what's around the bend...sometimes the road leads through dark places...sometimes the darkness is your friend...today these eyes scan bleached- out land...for the COMING OF THE OUTBOUND STAGE...pacing the cage... pacing the cage." (Pacing The Cage by Bruce Cockburn from Charity Of The Night)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY. No really FINALLY!

Why do I do the things that I do?

"Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul) as [something DONE] FOR THE LORD and not for men...knowing (with all certainty) that it is from the Lord [and not from men[ that you will receive the inheritance which is your {real} reward. [The One Whom]you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ, The Messiah." (Colossians 3:23-24 The Amplified Bible)