Patrick Butler: Another Look

If there is a God, surely his work is held up by offenses — not in the sense of “held back,” but in the sense of lifted up for all to see. It’s through offenses that true motivation and the measure of any person’s spirit is revealed and contrasted against God’s standards.

Most everyone could say they’ve been deeply offended in some way, manner and time. Just read any newspaper if you want to see who has been offended today. Why do offenses seem to happen on a daily basis?

Perhaps it’s because God conveniently gets put aside in perceived “must win” situations: competition for scarce resources, romantic relationships, personal recognition and career advancements. You name it and God has been put aside for it.

No one wants to be on the short end of a “gentlemen’s agreement” where they are excluded. Your opinion, family, team, etc., may have been overlooked, or worse, ignored, and that’s going to be offensive to someone. What if the offense “trickles down” and we all, as a community, have to live with it?

In East Texas communities, where people often to look to God for leadership, direction and wisdom, the entire social network can come crashing down if enough people walk around offended. The ancient Hebrew scriptures caution that “A brother offended is harder to win than a lost city.” Religious or not, many people can attest to the hurtful experience that once offended, soured relationships are quite hard to restore.

So it would appear the best way to operate as an open and gracious country, county, city, town, village, hamlet or home would be eschew offenses entirely.

If you’re thinking “that’s impossible” you may be right. But religion is all about the impossible — transformation of the spirit; restitution and restoration; clarification of purpose and healing of wounds suffered; the resurrection of relationships from the dead.

One way to remain “unoffended” is to keep the long perspective in focus; what are we trying to accomplish here on the planet? One religion says, “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart.” That’s a pretty good goal. But is it “practical?” Can you run a railroad, so to speak, trying to attain the goal of love from a pure heart?

This is fodder for many discussions that could take months, if not years, to figure out. Let’s start now. But the simple answer — the answer hopefully we have as community that works together — is “sure.”

Beginning with that “sure” in mind, what working it out takes is a constant readjustment of personal, business and community goals that in the long run ensure we are loving with a pure heart.

Frankly this is why religion is a tough row to hoe for people whose financial futures, businesses or reputations are somehow affected by it. It demands too much “faith” to believe that God, rather than external forces, is determining destinies and — with our cooperation — and how we should then live.

But isn’t that what religion is all about?

If God ever gets “put into a box” as it’s commonly said today, it’s when the box office, bucks and the Bible somehow get mixed up and priorities confused. People get offended. Offenses are hard to overcome. So back to the beginning we go to start over: What are we here for? Where did we come from? Where are we going? What’s really worthwhile to focus on?

The answer is learning. Putting aside what doesn’t lead us toward the long term for what does, is when our homes, hamlets, villages, towns, cities, counties and country improve. And the deepest question always is, “who is going to lead the way and model this for us?” Who?

Take another, long look. Once again, religion is all about the impossible. Please consider this: It seems everyone loves a Mother Teresa, but few want to be her. They’d rather send a check.

East Texas has a chance, as few places I’ve seen, to really risk living as if our neighbor mattered more than the marketplace. This is because in Tyler, unlike other places, so many people are already on “the same page” when it comes to a world view. Imagine what we could teach each other and the world.

This is a great place to examine priorities and see if one can truly strive to live on a continuous basis as if “God is in control.”

PATRICK BUTLER
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