Manning Monday

I'm moving slowly through The Importance of Being Foolish partly because I want it to sink in - and partly because I really only read it on Mondays...

Anyway, in the chapter titled "Diversions," Manning talks about insecurity - about how we often can put our trust in earthly things - money, success, affirmation, relationships, and so on - rather than putting our trust in God alone.

"The devil never rejoices more," said Francis of Assisi, "than when he robs a servant of God of his peace of heart." Peace and joy go a-begging when the heart of a Christian longs for one sign after another of God's merciful love. Nothing is taken for granted and nothing is received with gratitude. The troubled eyes and furrowed brow of the anxious believer are the symptoms of a heart where trust has not found a home. The Lord himself must pass through all shades of the emotional spectrum with us, from rage to tears to amusement. But the poignant truth remains - we do not trust him. We do not have the mind of Christ Jesus. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

So far, Manning has been spending his words "defining the problem" I think. As I read through this chapter (the rest is how we seek pleasure and power instead of Christ) I can see that he's making a case for our hearts and minds being captive to this world - instead of obsessed with Christ - how we too often spend time, energy, money, attention, everything we have on things that, in even a short view of life, don't matter, often neglecting the eternal.

Anyway, I get what he's saying here - in so many ways I trust God...yet how often do I hold something back...and thus demonstrate that I don't trust God fully? That's what it comes down to, isn't it? I mean, trusting God completely?

And it's not like God has ever let me down - but, still - there's some things that I just HAVE to control because...well, I don't know why. Maybe because if I turn it over to God I'm afraid that it won't turn out how I want it to... For me it's time - I want to control my schedule - which means, in all honesty, that my schedule tends to control me. But it also means that sometimes my time with God suffers - because I "can't fit Him in." No, really... It's not something I'm proud of.

So...I turn my schedule over to God - I make a point of spending time with Him first...and then something happens...and pretty soon I'm squeezing some time with God in at lunch, while I'm doing two other things ('cause I can multitask with the best of them...).

But I know - God will not compete for my attention. And God doesn't sit like a lonely dog, waiting for me to just scratch his ears once in awhile to "make it all better", happy to just get some attention, any attention, tail wagging joyously. Yeah, that's the Creator of the Universe all right...

But...too many times I know people treat God that way - even long time, trying to be faithful Christians. We squeeze God out...and throw him a bone once in a while - a "hey, thanks for doing THAT for me" and think it's all good...

But it's not. And I know that I'm moving away from Manning...except...that it's all based on whether or not we actually trust God... Trust Him with our time, our money, our marriages, our children, our lives, our health, our...everything.

And then we end up with restless hearts, joyless lives...

Man, I hope there's some light in the next section of this book...