It is a
classic getting to know you question usually reserved for rainy day
distractions, sleepovers and awkward summer campfire time. And it goes
something like this:
You are
walking along on a beach and find a lamp. You rub it (because really that is the
first thing I do when I find a random piece of home décor) and out pops a
genie. The genie says he will grant you three wishes. Which leads to the
classic question:
What do you
wish you for?
And as I am
writing this I immediately have to stop and ask myself that question.
What do I
wish for? The list looks like this:
Poverty and
war all over the world to cease
A pain free
life
Sick free
family and friends
And an
unlimited vacation fund
(I know,
that is more than three. I will make the cut later.)
I look at
my list. Not too bad. I throw in a little altruism alongside the classics of
good health and long life. Add a little fun.
But
something sits uneasy in me as I write this.
Is that
what I would really wish for?
When you
set aside the genie, what the question is really asking is what matters to you?
What is in your heart of hearts? It is a powerful thing to discover about
someone.
Even
yourself.
Taking a
look at the list again, I am not sure that would be my final answer.
I am sure
about other things though. One of them is how much I love trees. I really do.
They are extraordinary. And beautiful. They stand the test of time. They
withstand storms, provide shade and are an awesome addition to movie sets and
paintings.
I have a
special place in my heart for fruit trees, especially orange trees. Orange
trees blow my mind. Think about it. One tiny seed burrowed itself in the
ground, sprouted, grew, grew bigger and started making fruit. And not just any
fruit, but fruit that comes in convenient made-for-us slices! I mean, come on.
They are already SLICED for us. And that sliced fruit comes with more seeds! So
one tree can produce many more trees if given the opportunity. Anyone else
floored by that? Just me… okay, moving on.
How did the
seed get there? How did it succeed when others failed?
I find
myself asking myself the same question.
There is a
classic parable about this. Told on flannel graphs across America.
For those
unfamiliar, the parable goes something like this. A farmer scatters seeds on
different types of soil and of the four types only one type produces a tree
that bears fruit.
(I need to
pause here. Who is this farmer anyway? He is either a madman who doesn’t
realize where he is throwing his seeds or a loving optimist who wants to give
everyone a chance. Things to ponder another time.)
Now, in my
tradition one definition of fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
So, how do
I live a life full of that kind of fruit? What type of heart, or soil, do I
need to have?
When
reviewing this parable again it reminds me in an uncomfortable way of my wishes
that I would have the genie grant me. Something is not adding up.
In the
parable, the first type of soil the farmer scatters seed on is rocky soil.
Birds circle around and swoop in before the seeds even have a chance. In the
explanation given, the rocky soil represents a heart that hears something but
doesn’t understand.
What did I
ask for with my first wish? I rattled off what any respectable beauty pageant
contestant would.
World
peace.
But then
what? What happens when the wand is waived and world peace is suddenly
achieved? Peacemaking is often times the result of awful horrible excruciating
never-ending conflict. It is learned. Painfully so. I could ask the genie to
end poverty and war but my guess is that without any understanding on how to
sustain that peace in a New York minute everything would change back again.
What good would my wish do? Peace without understanding would be fleeting, never given a chance, even if we did sincerely want to obey the lyrics of that 60s song sung by protesters everywhere. Peace, like the seed that fell on the hard ground, would never take root and be stolen by those that seek to destroy it.
Strike one
for my wish.
The second
set of seeds fare better than the first. They fall on rocky soil. These seeds
get to sprout. The only problem is, they don’t have any roots and at the first
sign of a hot sun, they wither and die, having no reserve to draw from.
Roots are
painful. They just are. When you think about it, these are the parts of the
plants that are the least desirable. They go AWAY from the light and dig
further into the dark earth to find water. And it is this journey into the
darkness that makes it possible for survival. Without them, at the first sign
of trouble, the plants are goners.
I would be
a goner too if I was granted my second wish. I could wish for a pain free life
filled with happiness. It is my right. It is even says so in our US
constitution for goodness sake. (A wonderfully weird addition by the likes of
Adams and Jefferson.) But again, then what?
Quick fixes
are just that. Quick. How many of us have started on a quest of our own only to
quit at the first sign of trouble?
When you
are too tired for the gym.
When you
get into your first fight.
When you
made a spiritual conversion and then your life fell apart.
If we go
into life thinking everything is going to be fine, if we go in blinded until we
are REALLY blinded by the blazing sun, we won’t amount to much. The struggle,
the roots, are painful yes, but necessary. You could even go as far as to say
they are for our protection.
Strike two.
At this
point I am noticing a pattern. There is a progression here. The first set
didn’t stand a chance. The second fared only slightly better. What about the
third set?
The third
set of seeds fall on the ground surrounded by thorns. They go into the ground,
take root and grow and then tragically fall short of producing fruit.
How sad.
The thorns represent the cares of this world and the lure of wealth. Or, to put
it in layperson terms, worry and money.
This set is
probably the most tragic of the three failures. The seeds have a good start.
They have made it through trials and tribulations. Victory is near.
But it is
not the lack of understanding or an instantaneous event that derails them.
It is
hanging on too tightly to this side of heaven.
Over time.
For us our
weeds come customized. The newest car. The latest cell phone. The double health
insurance. The extra long hours at work. We want to keep up with the Jones and
their neighbors. It’s botox and gated neighborhoods. It’s hate-filled radio. Or
sermons.
It is the
comfort of being able to buy everything we need so we don’t need to depend on
ANYBODY for anything.
It is
trying to control life and doing everything we can to protect ourselves.
It is the
slow daily decisions we make to operate out of fear instead of love.
And it is
so prevalent and subtle we don’t even know it is happening.
I think an
affluent society is a weedy one.
And it is
easier to blame society than to look in the mirror.
Back to my
wishes. I believe I had two more, what were they? Ah yes, an unlimited vacation
fund and… sick free friends and family.
Selah.
The trouble
with cares of this world is that they don’t care.
They show
up anyway.
Strike
three.
So I am
batting zero. Which brings me back to the question. What kind of heart do I
actually need to bear fruit? What is really important? Clearly I need help and
don’t understand.
Solomon
understood. Solomon was the son of King David, the leader of ancient Israel.
And when his father died Solomon had an encounter with God that is probably the
closest anyone has ever been to actually having the hypothetical genie
situation happen.
Basically
God says ask whatever you wish and I will give it to you.
Can you
imagine? God coming to you and saying I will give you WHATEVER YOU WISH?
WHATEVER?!? The endless possibilities! That is offering the Holy Grail! Maybe
literally. There at your fingertips is a worry-free peaceful life in a peaceful
world full of everything that could make it enjoyable. God granted and
guaranteed!
And what
does Solomon ask for?
Wisdom.
Not wealth
or absolute power or dominion over his enemies or even world peace. Nothing
like that.
Wisdom.
And when I
look back at the parable it makes sense. You need wisdom to receive
understanding. You need wisdom to know this too shall pass, hard times come,
don’t give up and keep going. You need wisdom to tap you on the shoulder when
you are holding on to something too tightly or making little compromises that
could end up having big consequences.
Without
wisdom, fruit is impossible.
And what my
friend Sol knew and I didn’t is that it takes humility to ask for it.
He was
looking up from his knees. I was just looking around.
He asked
God not to change his circumstances but to form his character.
He knew
that in this life, this side of heaven, that is what we really need.
So I ask
myself again, what kind of heart do I need to live a life full of love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?
A wise one.
So where do
we find wisdom? She is certainly plainer than her sexy twin folly.
She can be
hard to spot because most of the time we aren’t looking. We associate wisdom with age and
reserve it for wise monks who live on mountaintops and wizards in far off
lands.
But wisdom
is for all of us and can be found everywhere.
In friends,
lovers, strangers, sages, books, scriptures, music, poems, intuition,
experience, prayer.
Or maybe we
can take a page out of Solomon’s playbook and just ask.
Alright Mr.
Genie, let me try again.
Grant me:
Eyes to see
Ears to
hear
An
understanding mind
And a
changed heart
And yes, I
know, that was four.
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