In our crazy world that we so-called adults have permitted to be we often see the lack of knowledge, wisdom and common sense.
As a hairstylist I see this ALL THE TIME.
People come into the salon with an inspiration-picture reference, which is a wonderful communication tool to start from.
What they often don’t consider is that the picture took hours to achieve, the right lighting was used to capture the pic, and photoshop used to bring out the best of the look.
Following, the consideration of energy required to achieve the look at home, the financial investment to obtain and maintain the look, and whether they are prepared for the altered condition of their hair to achieve the look, are often not considered.
People romanticise hair, forgetting that it is a fibre that responds to elements, and doesn’t just happen to be perfect upon the wish for it to be so.
Knowledge, common sense, and wisdom often are lacking when a client dreams of a look and how they will feel wearing the look, but then are stunned when the practicality of the dream is more than they are willing to commit to.
I remember dating an editor of a magazine, so an Englishy academic, who often said, “Hairdressers are more practical than most dreamers in the fashion industries.” I think this is because hairdressers crossover between art, science, and technical abilities, so we have a well rounded approach in our experience of styling hair.
‘Enduring Word’, has an eye-opening lesson centered around Genesis 40 vs 14.
Genesis 40 vs 14:
“Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.“
First off, we have a remarkable act of human attitude- Joseph works the prison and doesn’t allow the prison to work him.
How often do we let our circumstances make us feel under-the-weather because they aren’t ideal?
A fantastic understanding of how our mind works is revealed by two fields of thought- imagined realities, commonly known as wishful thinking, and idealism.
IMAGINED REALITY:
Imagined reality is birthed out of narcissistic idealism that wants the world to revolve around us. We say things like, “The world shouldn’t be like that,” or, “If God is good, why …,” or, “What can’t people be more like …” We get trapped into thinking that our comfort, ideas, and beingness should be the yardstick by which the world must be. It is easy to make this error because we live inside ourselves, so it is easy to fall prey to our innate narcissism. A great antidote to wishful thinking is found in Reinhold Niebuhr’s famous ‘Serenity Prayer’.
IDEALISM:
To quote, ‘Queensborough Community College’, ‘“This is the view that the only reality is the ideal world. This would be the world of ideas. It is the view that there is no external reality composed of matter and energy. There are only ideas existing within minds.
Idealism is the metaphysical view that associates reality to ideas in the mind rather than to material objects. It lays emphasis on the mental or spiritual components of experience, and renounces the notion of material existence. Idealists regard the mind and spirit as the most essential, permanent aspects of one’s being.”’-Omonia Vinieris (2002)
https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/socialSciences/ppecorino/INTRO_TEXT/Chapter%204%20Metaphysics/Idealism.htm
Hence, we have this craziness in our world; people thinking that ideas are exclusive of material reality. In answer to this I often say, “Can your eye be your kidney?” There are material facts that cannot be separated into ideas no matter how we try philosophise them.
The Christian has the advantage that the Holy Bible is a material object given by an immaterial God who came and lived a physical existence as man.
GOD SHOWED US THAT SPIRITUAL HAS A PRACTICAL OUTWORKING AND ISN’T JUST A ROMANTIC NOTION OF PHILOSOPHICAL IDEALISM AND WISHFUL THINKING!!!
With that explained we come to grips with the wonder of Joseph’s faith in God, exercised by making the best of a nasty situation, AND by using his God-Given gift to interpret dreams to help others. Joseph could have gotten all sulky and brattish, like we do, and said, “God you allowed me to be falsely accused and put in prison. This isn’t my best life, so until You get me out I am not serving You until my life is ideal.” But he didn’t.
In your life, do you get on with serving in church, your community, and being a ray of sunshine in people’s day even when yours is gloomy, or do you sulk wishing things to be better before you step up and serve?
David Guzik, ‘Enduring Word’, points out that Joseph bid to get out of jail in the appropriate means. I recently watched a documentary on Netflix, ‘L’affaire d’Outreau’- a tragic affair of child abuse and judicial disaster, this docuseries revisits the Outreau case, one of the biggest scandals in French history. In the documentary we see how opportunistic sexual predators capitalised on judicial error to escape the full penalty they deserved.
How often do we take the escape route of our choices to avoid the consequences of the choices we make, thereby hindering our character development?
Joseph was innocent. Yet, he trusted God to get him out of the situation and didn’t find illegal, inappropriate, or loopholes to get himself out of prison. Peter in 1 Peter 2 vs 19-20 tells us that if we do wrong and pay the price of that it is normal.
FORTUNATELY, Jesus came for us to be changed by Him, and to save us. Through the sanctification process (1 Corinthians 6 vs11) which renews our mind (Romans 12 vs 2) from being bent to wrongdoing to loving what God loves and hating what God hates (Romans 12 vs 9/ Proverbs 6 vs 16-19) we can change from ashes to beautiful holiness (Isaiah 61 vs 3). Hence, we are called to live a repentant life (1 John 1 vs 9) as God moves us from corrupted conditioning into thinking on what’s holy, lovely, noble, and pure. (Philippians 4 vs 8).
Joseph used knowledge practically and in so doing appealed to their goodwill to appeal to Pharaoh on his behalf. Joseph used what was available to him, knowing that God isn’t limited by human circumstances and would work things for good.
As ‘Enduring Word‘ alludes to, “Seeing God in your present circumstances doesn’t mean that God wants you in those circumstances forever,” allowed Joseph to put faith into practice whilst patiently waiting on God to do what God does.
Idealism and wishful thinking rob us of being present in the moment serving God. Wisdom and common sense, however, get us to walk out the faith of Jesus by rising to our challenges knowing that God promises, Jeremiah 29 vs 11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Throughout Jesus’ ministry He reached all types of people. Jesus healed all types of people, and came to save all types of people. If we are to be true disciples of Jesus we must be careful to not let prejudicial idealism and imagined reality get in the way of doing practical things that SHOW THE LOVE OF JESUS.
James 2 vs 14-17:
”What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.“
#Hayibo 