Interpretation

We need to be reminded from time to time that our day-to-day translations of birth, life and death are often faulty, and do not always serve us well in the completion of various contexts in our lives.  We may follow poor advice because it fits with our current orientation.  In doing so, we strengthen a poor set of factors that may lead to even more complex negative future experiences and beliefs.  That developing orientation may be out of the meaning for what we ultimately want to be and do.  The world looks for chemistry, opportunism, materialism, competition, and winning more than serving.  Distortions are made goals.

This may be illustrated in various ways, but the principles apply widely.  The American society seems generally tied to materialism.  Much of the literature focuses on getting an education for the purpose of making more money than common labor will offer, of getting jobs that are more highly respected than others, of gaining privilege rights so as to fulfill the sense of self-worth, and of a belief that if all does not go well as cast that it is someone else’s fault and violation of the person and society.  God does not oppose any of that listing if it does not interfere with the primary pattern by which he evaluates (judges) the human condition and orientation.  He may even acknowledge that the pattern, somewhat amended, if fair to all, is a good one for common grace.  His first pattern emanates from divine grace for earth.  In divine grace the beginning and development of a life (innocence) has little to do with much in human emphases.  He begins with human need.  What does the human being need for a good and healthy adult life?  The needs must be addressed, and God works through human beings (creation’s orbit) to provide the earth needs of human beings.  The needs must be addressed, and one person is no better or worse in his evaluation than another – common grace.  Serving the needs of humanity relates to the degree mankind is willing and able to take on the service.  God permits service to his creation to be service to him.  From there he evaluates the faithfulness of every human being.  What has been my faithfulness to serve my family, friends, neighbors – the world?  The parent faithful to changing a diaper may have won more points today with God than the rich mogul sipping a mint julep on a yacht.  The garbage collector who faithfully empties foul smelling cans may have gained more points with God than the privileged group that may have filled the cans with leavings scanned by the poor.  (It is important that the reader notices that I have used may in that I find no wrong with a cruise on a ship, or eating at a banquet table, unless the consumer of pleasure has not made personal contribution to human need.)  God is concerned about faithfulness to his word, meaning, service opportunities offered or discovered that lifts the burden of imperfection that has visited nature and life.  Any failure of persons served is not the measure.  The effort of the persons serving provides the affirmative measure.  If we look for worthiness in others, we have lost some of the meaning of serving, even though we are to be wise in the context of serving.  Faithful serving is the point, even without forcing virtue on those served.  We do pray for them. This is biblical.  Jesus followed it, even for those with no appreciation for it. 

Having studied meaning for the Christian family during my adult life, writing on the subject, and counseling couples young and old about what marriage/family ought to be for them, I am fully persuaded that if marriages were begun with each of the parties totally committed to concepts of serving, the marriages will likely last and be fulfilling.  If not in service they will take various directions (too many to describe here) and so to possible divorce, or separation, or perhaps living together with some decency so as not to warp the children in concepts of love, unity and happiness.  The children may catch charades early, (usually in variances of perception) and it will depend upon the values and quality of compassion in the children to determine if there will be satisfactory family outcomes.  Many wealthy families have followed this last approach, although in recent decades there have been public breaks that reduced respect both for the persons involved, and the meaning of family.  It is important that the point be made here, that God makes his evaluations quite differently than wholly humanistic persons.  His calls relate to obedience, prayer, righteousness, love, faithfulness and peaceful acceptance for what he permits.