5:143 – How does your awareness impact your life?

#faithbites #faithjourney awareness

Intro

My kids often laugh at me when they mention some fad, entertainer, or word that I don’t know. The latest was the word stan as in, “I am a stan of Star Wars”. This is slang for someone who is a very zealous fan, especially of a celebrity or music group. Until then my awareness of this slang was zero. While the word is weird to me and I don’t use it, but if someone else does no big deal.

Often I find our awareness of what is right, wrong, and even happening in the world is framed by our experiences, faith, politics, and family. We chose to see or not see, act or not act, based on our limited viewpoints. In most cases, when we aren’t aware of something, we can be fearful of it and act negatively just because we don’t understand or it doesn’t fit our paradigms. Awareness can be a great thing, opening us up to new experiences and opportunities, but we have to be willing to be aware and know that God is with us through these new experiences. If we act in fear, we can lose out on many of God’s gifts.

Questions

• How do you act if you see something that doesn’t align with your beliefs?
• What if what you see has nothing to do with you, and doesn’t affect your life and relationships?
• How can us being aware that God made everything, help us be kinder, more loving, and more gentle to one another?

Scripture

• Habakkuk 2:14 – For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
• Psalm 119:18-19 – Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
• Romans 12:3 – For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Reflection

First, as with most things, we need to seek God’s guidance. We need to ask him to help us be aware of what is going on, see it with his eyes, and put aside our preconceived notions. When we seek him, we ask for our eyes to be open, and for his knowledge and grace to flow through us. Our Romans verse helps illustrate both the problem and the solution with awareness. Too often, we think our ideas and viewpoints are more important than others. We raise ourselves up on a pedestal. Many also weaponize the Word to try to support their belief. God clearly tells us that we need to humble ourselves and use sober judgment, and faith when we approach all things. This is not easy to do.

As we close, remember that God is infinite in his wisdom and in His creation. Let us appreciate and be aware of everything that He has to offer. Let us put aside prejudice and judgment and wear a heart of love, kindness, and understanding.

Prayer

Father God, we are in awe of your world and your people. Help us to love, respect, and appreciate all people and all things. We know that sin is present and can lead us to sin against others. We pray that you give us the awareness and compassion that only you can be. We beg that you give us the will and strength to work towards unity in your name. Amen.