Vince Deagler

Listening Quotient Inventory to be used alongside FAMILYMATTERS sermon dated March 4, 2012. 

at a meeting this week someone asked me “what is god working on in your life”?  good question, because when we walk with god it is like any other relationship, we will be influenced by the people…in this case god…we spend time with.  the more time spent with god, the greater the influence.  so, if you have a relationship with god, what are you hearing from him?  what is he working on in your life?

i think this is important because it is so easy to live day by day and not even realize god is there.  he ends up being a divine 911 we call when trouble arises, but the rest of the time we are oblivious to his presence.  yet he is everywhere all the time wanting to share our lives in a very real way.  he feels for us, he has a purpose for us, he wants to guide us through all that’s happening in a way that allows us to find the good he has promised (see romans 8:28).  he invites us to come boldly to him, cast our cares on him, replace anxiety and fear with prayer that yields a peace that descends from god and exceeds all human comprehension.  if that is true, how could we not be hearing his voice, sensing his nudge?  but it is true, and still we can be oblivious.  can we make a conscious effort to do better?

an author i enjoy describes need to know and need to grow moments.  i think these moments help us hear gods voice, sense how god would shape and mold us.  loosely defined, a need to know moment is when circumstances present themselves in a way where we do not readily know what to do.  as a christ follower that should drive us to scripture (where gods answers can be found).  in the need to know moments, as we seek wisdom from god, we will hear his voice, sense the direction he would take us, just as it should be.  (see james 1:2-8)

in a need to grow moment, we may find ourselves in circumstances where the problem is not “knowing”, it’s in the doing.  i am a firm believer in philippians 4:13 where it says we can do all things through christ, he will strengthen us.  but that doesn’t mean i am ready to do all those things right now.  david got to where he could defeat goliath, but he didn’t start there.  our church administrator runs half marathons, another friend runs whole marathons, i suppose any of us in reasonably good health could do the same…but we might have to do some training first, don’t ya think?  that’s a need to grow moment.  we take what we have and know and begin doing what we can, knowing god is using that to grow us/prepare us for the unique challenges we will meet in the future.  we are studying nehemiah with our seniors bible study.  as nehemiah met with resistance in the rebuilding of the walls of jerusalem, he grabbed hold of god in prayer, rallied the people around the purpose of god, and built with brick and mortar in one hand…a sword or spear in the other.  it took time, it was hard, the enemy could attack at any moment.  but, through that experience god was at work within nehemiah and the rest of the people in a way they would all be better having gone through that adversity.

so, what are you hearing, where is god working…and what will you do about it?

thanks for reading, blessings.  vince

now that i have gotten your attention, can we have an adult conversation on a hot button topic of the moment?  that topic is contraception.  because HHS mandated religious organizations cover contraception (including morning after pills) in their employee’s health insurance, a huge national conversation has erupted.  sadly, from my perspective most of this discussion is off point.  i say that because:

1.  legislatively/politically, this is a constitutional issue.  the pros and cons of contraception have nothing to do with the constitutionality of this mandate.  one does not have to agree with the belief system of a religious organization to affirm its constitutional right to practice said belief system.

2.   culturally , this is a complicated issue.  but as i have followed the dialogue i’ve noticed that any suggestion that contraception is anything but good is met with an avalanche of anger, sarcasm, and mocking.  as if there is no need to even consider that possibility.  could we think about this for a moment, i’d like to ask a few questions and raise a few points. 

first, are drugs that destroy an unborn child after the moment of conception really contraception?  or are they chemical forms of abortion?  and if those kind of drugs are included within the scope of contraception, isn’t it reasonable to question whether that is a good idea?  especially when you consider the side effects of such drugs to the woman and the intentional effects on the unborn child.

2ndly, can we make a distinction between who uses contraception (let’s limit this to the type that would prevent conception), and why?  for instance as a pastor i tend to see things thru the lens of scripture.  i believe the bible teaches that sex is about more than procreation.  it is one of, maybe the most intimate of moments two humans can share.  i don’t want to describe it as recreational lest i conjure up images of co-ed volleyball, but there is an undeniable reality in scripture that sex is a gift given by god for our pleasure.  another point scripture addresses is the internal sex drive where again a legitimate human need is met in our sexual union.  now, one of the inevitable results of sex is pregnancy.  but again, as a pastor i am an advocate of planning.  contraception allows us to experience healthy sexuality and at the same time practice family planning.  so, i would have no problem seeing contraception as a positive when the who involved is married.  i would also see it as a positive when prescribed to an unmarried woman to treat a medical issue (like severe cramping during menstruation). 

but there are others, whose use of contraception would not be a positive in my estimation.  for instance, is there any doubt the use of contraception has resulted in an increase in promiscuous behavior?  when contraception allows people to commit immoral acts such as pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, and homosexual sex can we honestly say that is a good thing, no further discussion is necessary.  yes i understand contraception will cut down on unwanted pregnancies and future abortions.  but what about the other consequences.  are they not just as real?  are they not worthy of consideration?  things like the increase in sexually transmitted disease which has exploded at the same time contraception has become more available.  not all contraception prevents stds, hence the increase.  and we still have the problem of unwanted pregnancy because there is a failure rate in contraception.  and how about the broken marriages and broken families that result from the promiscuity that contraception affords.  and then there is the emotional damage, that largely effects women, who know deep within their soul that sex requires a loving committed relationship.  what about those women who after a series of sexualized relationships that have not resulted in a loving, committed, lifelong relationship (otherwise know as marriage), what do they do with their hurt?  where do they take their emptiness and longing?  how do they ever see themselves as anything more than a sexual object, when the world around them screams that is exactly what they are. 

do you see what i’m getting at?  we are so polarized we can not even have an adult conversation.  we are so committed to ideologies that we can not entertain the idea that perhaps there are other points of view.  contraception has in many respects been a great benefit to our culture, but for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  and guess what, that is true of contraception too.  to ignore this is to ignore reality.  and if we can get to that place in our society where we have open, honest, and full disclosure discussions about difficult issues like contraception.  perhaps we can get to the place where we take all the good, and come up with solutions for the not so good.  wouldn’t that be refreshing?  :)

thanks for ready, feel free to chime in.  peace