Teflon Souls
Philippians 3:4-14
Here we are, entering the latter days of our Lenten journey. You have heard me speak often of these days leading up to Easter as a journey. That is because I believe it is important to remember we are all in a process of becoming. You are not the same person you were a year ago or ten years ago. You can either use those accumulated experiences to lift yourself up or drag your life down. From my old Methodist heritage, we would speak of this process of becoming as sanctification. Sanctification is one of those “churchy” words which simply means the journey we are on with God that leads us to holier places within ourselves and that leads us to make our world a better place by blessing others.
I have noticed, however, that Lent seems to be a catalyst season for people taking all sorts of journeys that aren’t nearly as helpful.
Larry Harp does a good job of describing what this other kind of journey can look like. He is one of the contributors to the “Inspirational Stories” website. See if you can relate to his story called “Leaving the City of Regret.”
I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. I’m talking about my annual “Guilt Trip.”
I got tickets to fly there on Wish I Had airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my baggage, which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was weighted down with a thousand memories of what might have been. No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town.
As I checked into the Last Resort Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year’s most important event, the Annual Pity Party. I wasn’t going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the town’s leading citizens would be there.
First, there would be the Done family, you know, Should Have, Would Have and Could Have. Of course, the Opportunities would be present, Missed and Lost. The biggest family would be the Yesterdays. There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share.
Then Shattered Dreams would surely make an appearance. And Its Their Fault would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in his life, and each story would be loudly applauded [on the sidelines] by Don’t Blame Me and I Couldn’t Help It.
Well, to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party knowing that there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that all of this trip and subsequent “pity parties” could be canceled by me! I started to truly realize that I did not have to be there. One thing kept going through my mind, I can’t change yesterday, but I do have the power to make today a wonderful day… Knowing this, I left the City of Regret immediately and left no forwarding address.
This seems to be the time of year for trips to the City of Regret or Margaritaville or the Land of Lost Opportunities or lots of other such destinations. But that is not the kind of journey I hope you are on this Lenten season because I believe God has a better destination for you. Why is it so easy to find ourselves on one of those rocky roads instead of on the highway of healing or New Possibilities Lane or well, you get the idea?
I want to suggest to you this morning that we often find ourselves detoured on the journey of life not by a lack of desire for new adventure or new possibility but because we’ve haven’t gotten rid of the things from our past that remain stuck on us.
Paul gives us a good example of what that can look like when, in our scripture for today from Philippians chapter 3, verses 4-14, he lists all the qualifications that he used to hold up as examples of what made him a good person of faith. He had everything – status, education, authority, and pedigree. He had an unsurpassed legalistic righteousness and zeal for persecuting those that threatened his religious worldview. “No brag, just fact!” he would have said.
All of these qualities and identities that had seemed so useful and helpful in his old life now threatened to stick to him so thoroughly as to prevent him from moving forward. Paul characterized those old things as rubbish. That is actually the nicer English equivalent. The Greek word is much more graphic. Thus Paul invites his readers to learn the art of a Teflon soul.
Just a bit of disclaimer here. I know that Teflon is a brand name for a product made by DuPont. However, in common vernacular, the word has come to represent a stick-free quality and that’s how I’m using it today. Neither the Apostle Paul nor Pastor Paul is suggesting that you go out and cover yourself with Fluoropolymer resins! Instead I want you to discover those spiritual qualities that allow you to keep your heart stick-free from those things that cling to our spirits and weigh us down in our spiritual journey.
Like gum on a sidewalk, as we journey in our spiritual walk we pick up clinging “stuff” that almost goes unnoticed until we realize we’re covered in the goop of life. It can be that wad of regret from some unfinished business you had with a parent or the glue of fear that seems to make every step an effort. It can be the weight of shame carried far too long to be useful for anything or sticky indecision that causes us to hesitate in choosing a direction. There are all sorts of things that cling to us – addiction, grief, bitterness, unforgiveness, rage, past disappointments, or missed opportunities. All it takes is something little to start clinging to your heart and that seems to give a handhold for other things to collect as well.
A few weeks ago I had some medical tests done for a research study I’m part of that is looking at the long-term health needs of HIV+ people. One of the tests they do is to put this scope on my neck that looks at the health of my carotid artery. As long as the lining of your arteries remains smooth and clean, blood flows freely. But if your vessels become damaged – through bad diet, smoking, lack of exercise, drug side-effects – then that little damaged spot attracts plaque to form which can grow to either diminish blood flow or break off and cause a stroke or heart attack. As long as the inside of our veins remains stick-free, we stay healthy. When things start clogging our arteries, we’re in trouble. It is a great metaphor for our spiritual lives.
That is why over the last few months we’ve talked a lot about living as blessed people whose purpose here on earth is to bless our world. Paul said that he had to let go of the past and focus on going forward. All of that energy spinning his wheels of regret – all of that time realigning the sequences of past mistakes to foresee a better outcome – all of that stuff that had clung to him that now threatened to rob him of his future had to come loose. You see, when we are using our lives to create good things – hope, love, care – then lots of the old clingy stuff starts not to stick so well either. Do you want to know how to make your soul Teflon smooth? Use your life in blessing. It works better on our spiritual hearts than Lipitor on cholesterol!
Use whatever you have – no matter how magnificent or seemingly insignificant – to make your world better. You might not believe it but you are rich beyond measure. Every person in this place has gifts, skills, resources, compassion and intelligence. Use those gifts to help someone in need. Take the time to express courtesy or generosity. Offer the other cheek. Suggest the extra mile. Allow the holiness that is God in you to come to forefront of your life. If you do that you will find so much of the sticky wicket of life just doesn’t cling as well anymore.
I was visiting Roger Riege in the hospital this week after his back surgery. What a wonderful man! There he was lying in bed the day after having his spine worked on and he was going on and on about the folks from the church who had visited him and how blessed he was and how much he was looking forward to becoming active again now that he would be able to stand up straight. He told me about a great tee-shirt he wanted to get me that read, “Jesus turned water into wine, but he can’t turn whining into anything.” Roger has a teflon soul. He doesn’t let any of that old negative stuff stick too long.
Living as blessed and blessing people is like applying “Goo Be Gone” to your soul. It won’t help your cholesterol, but you’ll find that your spiritual journey will have a lot less cling and a lot more zing. You’ll find that some of those old “hot buttons” that seemed to be so accessible to everyone around you start malfunctioning and lose their power. Like Paul, you’ll be able to “take hold of that for which God took hold of you.” It’s a process – a journey – becoming holy. Who knows, you might start even using the word “sanctification” for yourself. Probably not! Paul knew that he hadn’t shed all the stickiness of his past, but he was clear that his journey was taking him to healthier places. I hope that is where you are headed as well.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com Gum Control Legislation, March 2007
Larry Harp, “Leaving the city of regret,” www.inspirationalstories.com/3/314.html