2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. --- From the Book of James, chapter 4, verses 1-3
It never ceases to amaze me how the greatest reference book ever written has stood the test of time and is always relevant. I'm aware that reducing the Holy text to the term reference book is probably not the most reverential thing to do, but indulge me for a moment while I allow it to underscore my point. Battles both large and small are waged daily all over the world that largely could be avoided if we were all on the same page. This page is in the New Testament and deals, in a nutshell, with how to get along with one another if I may put it into lay terms. To find that page one must have the right book. Imagine that. Could this be yet another instance where we as a people neglected to read the directions before getting started?
Why does one country wage declare war upon another? Is it because the desire for oil to supply power to all of the machines of one country is so great? Sounds like a good place to start, doesn't it. The United States of America is staring in the face of shortages in energy, money, goodwill, and compassion for its fellow citizens of the world and yet the best ideas that it can come up with to address these issues are war and asking God to bless America. It is indeed so audacious for a people to ask for a blessing with selfish motives as these. Bless America, but don't bless anybody else. Bless America so that it alone may enjoy the fruits of those blessings. Just as it was written, the blessings are not likely to come when they are sought with the wrong motives.
Bringing it closer to home, I'll ask why do we fight with our brothers, sisters, best friends, fathers, and mothers? Human nature dictates that we seek things that will make us as individuals happy. The thing that will make me alone feel the best is the thing that I want, is what we tell ourselves. Not surprisingly, the desires of one are often obtained at the expense of another, not unlike that oil sought from the country with the surplus. Just as that country is very unlikely to just sit idly by and allow its resource to be gobbled up and taken away, so to is that other individual surely going to put up some resistance to stand their ground. None too pleased that the pursuit of desires have been derailed, retaliation is in order and then its on. It's war and until cooler heads prevail, there is no peace for anyone in the line of fire. But why?
It's this why question that keeps me up late at night. Why can't we just pump our brakes and take a step back before encroaching on others? Would we really do what we do all of the time? Surely had not Jesus been tempted we couldn't expect that any mercy be granted us. I'm reminded of this as a parent and before that as a coach, trying to be the guide for those that endeavor to go places that I've already gone and do things that I've already done. In my parental role, the lessons that I teach and the actions that I make in the presence of my children are all in preparation for them to be cognizant,compassionate, and responsible individuals that are able to make good decisions when called upon to do so in my absence. They are prone to fall off track and that's when I must step in to remind them ever so gently that it's time to get back on the course.
When I coached high school basketball or track and field, I ran those kids until they felt like they couldn't stand up anymore. I had them do the same drills over and over again until they were ingrained in them like involuntary movements. I had them perfect their techniques of jumping, hurdling, or shooting jump shots through mind numbing repitition in hopes that when they were out in the heat of competition that they would perform without hesitation and without mistakes. Of course, they did not and sometimes faltered, and of course, I was sometimes frustrated a great deal by their shortcomings. Perhaps I didn't want them to make the same mistakes that I had made. Perhaps I had hoped that my wisdom would help them to eclipse my achievements with even greater achievements of their own, and was disappointed for them. Perhaps I felt that their failure, however insignificant, was a reflection of my inability to properly prepare them for success and thus made me a failure as their preparer. Surely, some of the raw emotion escaped and I let them know in no uncertain terms that it was for just such an occasion that we ran that extra lap or shot those extra shots despite their protests and had they been more willing instead of doing so begrudgingly then we wouldn't be having this conversation. We would instead be celebrating and being thankful that we emerged victorious and performed to the best of our abilities. I was not above getting angry or being disappointed. It is always very tempting to lash out in frustration at others when you feel like you weren't able to control the outcome of a situation to your satisfaction.
Even though I'd been entrusted with leading them toward the pursuit of perfection, I was not perfect, so I could only do the best that I could in preparing them. I retrospect, I can take comfort in the knowledge that even Jesus was tempted and even got frustrated. I'm not nearly gifted enough as a writer to make an analogy that could adequately put into perspective the magnitude of his frustration at Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-45), but I'll continue nonetheless. Supposing for a moment that my campaign as a coach for the Menlo-Atherton Bears Boys Varsity High School Basketball Team were instead the much more exalted post occupied by Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke University or Olympic "Redeem" Teams. Had I (he) fallen short of the gold medal, there surely would've been a talking to in that locker room after the game.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?from verse 40
Coach K might have started in, thoroughly frustrated that the gold was not delivered and that he would now have to face what he indeed did not want to face (in his case the wrath of the media and in Jesus' case a much more grave fate). But then he would have (just like I usually find myself doing) let cooler heads prevail and realizing that his players are only human and summoned the courage to go face the music.
45
Then cometh he to the disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand
Oh how sweet it is to know that He can relate.
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