Compassionate Eyes — http://thegodjourney.com/2009/11/20/compassionate-eyes

It's now time to think outside the box of what we've always known. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down and declare as the sovereign Lord. I think that's a profound turning point in somebody's relationship with God. And our hope in starting this was that this would become an ever-expanding conversation. Just two real guys talking about life. That's a nice tagline. I'm Wayne Jacobson. And I'm Brad Cummings. And welcome to another edition of The God Journey. So you spent some time up in Sin City, I hear. Yeah, I've never been there before really. Driven through, seen the lights. We're talking Vegas. Yeah, I've seen the lights driven through. I've covered my kids' eyes as I've seen the posters. And I had some meetings there. And I gotta tell you, I mean, I'm not a smoky room casino going guy. Oh, that's good to hear. Yeah, I know. I mean, people all maybe he is. I don't know maybe I am. What was really amazing, though, is I went there with that sense of, ooh, I wish this was someplace else. What a creepy town. Well, I went there with that sort of pharisaical thought in my head. Sure. When I got there, the truth is I didn't have any of those emotions. It was really wild. You know, on our way, you know, from where our room is to walking through the hallways, walking through the casino, they got Bar Macy is going like, that's a Victoria's Secret thing. That's not all right. Someone put a towel over her. And not a clothes on that, huh? And I gotta tell you, I was struck with a ton of compassion. I looked upon, I looked at people. I went, something's happening in my heart that I really cannot take a credit for. I'm marveling at. People, more, it's just kind of empty. And I just, I didn't go, oh, what scummy people. I went, gosh, I had a love for them. I didn't have a love for what was going on, but I didn't have that ooh, yucky, unholy run. There was a sense of, there was real compassion that I was really surprised at was coming out of my heart. I was going like, Lord, I don't know where you're at or what you've done, but I like that. I really like my heart response. I'm looking at this and I'm going, gosh, is there anything I can do? Compassion for whom? We're talking about the gal and the barmaid. The little barmaid. You're looking at her going like, I'm not exactly looking with this sense of ooh, baby. You're going like, oh, gosh, he's somebody's daughter. I bet that's not real wonderful. Do you really, yeah, do you really want that job? Is that the job you have to have? That's, I mean, I locked eyes with a couple of them. And I got to tell you, there was, there was an experience back when I was just fresh out of college. I was at Zuba Beach in the summer. Dude, there is not much clothes on California. California. Okay. We're standing there by this hot dog stand and you got this one beautiful girl in a thong and you got about 10 guys ogling at her. And I'm, I come upon this scene and just going like, oh, wow, it's all there. And I, I wasn't drawn to it from a lustful standpoint, which that's where I was marveling. I'm just like, God, what have you done in this? Are you talking about Zuma Beach now? Yes. Zuma Beach. Okay. Zuma Beach. There's parallels. There's parallels. I like 21. I mean, just, you know, full on testosterone and just going like, I looked upon her and I remember locking eyes and I didn't, I was an ogling and instantly she was aware of just how few clothes and you could tell she felt uncomfortable but not judged. It's just like she didn't want to be a piece of meat. And before I think she's pretty proud that she was a great piece of meat. And I remember that moment of just going like, gosh, Lord, this is extraordinary because that wouldn't have characterized my college years. And I was feeling like you're doing a work that's pretty sweet. Jesus, I like not feeling owned here. I like feeling a sense of freedom of going like, no, I don't really see that as attractive. I'm kind of wondering about the person and going, that can't be cool. And so I remember, I mean, that was, I wouldn't have used the word compassion back then. I would just go like, wow, I'm not owned by lust for a moment. That's how cool that is. Okay. Okay. So this is kind of out of character with your normal life. Is that what you're saying? Yeah. You're going to say like, look, 21 year old guy. Yeah. You're just going like, wait a minute. Wow. Yeah. She's hot. Later. And I'm just going like walking through Vegas. She's going like, there were many opportunities to have a different response than that. And I sat there going like, gosh, Lord, I'm just more aware that she is somebody's daughter. And I may just cause I'm older now. And you've got a growing daughter. I do. And I sat there with the sense of just a broken hearted that can't be fun. That's got to be really hard. And I hurt in a good way of wishing, Lord, is there something I can do? I mean, that's why I deemed it's compassion. Because when I look at scriptures, it's like Jesus looked upon the crowds and he had compassion. He was moved to want to do something. I just didn't have the clarity of what to do. But I was going like, wow, I am very aware that with the pressing demands of my life, that hasn't been the characterization of my heart. I've been too consumed at times with just the pressing things on my plate, that I really haven't been all that aware with compassion of, oh, gee, what do I need to do for somebody else? I don't know if it was just being in a different locale, not being in the regular grind of what I was doing that I had a different space and the Lord was allowed to do something. I mean, I don't think I've all of a sudden matured to some new plateau. I just go like, you're with another brother too, aren't you? I was with a wonderful buddy. Yeah? Yeah, that has been a benefit. I wonder if that helps shape the kind of thinking too. You're in a different space when you're with someone that you share life with in Jesus and you're not seeing it. If you might have just been alone walking through that. Oh, sure. I wonder if that has an impact. I'm sure. We had such a marvelous, I would describe the weekend. My wife couldn't go. So I called a buddy that I knew wasn't doing much. And might benefit from the conference. Yeah. And I just said, you know, I don't know. I wanted to spend more time just as a friend with him because I know he's been wanting that as well. And I just sat there going like, we had like a three day encounter. I mean, we just felt pickled in God, but of all places Vegas. You just go like, I didn't have that as an expectation. I sort of figured, I'm going to have to have my guard up. I'm going to have to watch myself. And you told me, don't go to any of the peep shows. That's right. I'm watching out for you, dude. And it was, I don't know. I felt free in a wonderful way where we went up to this voodoo lounge. It was a beautiful restaurant. Voodoo lounge. I'm serious. Yeah. You shouldn't go to a voodoo lounge, but we went to the voodoo lounge, which is the highest place in Vegas looking over the city. It's not a little needle thing, is it? No. That's a stratosphere. No. But it was exquisite being up there. And yet, at the same time, it's got all this spiritual junk that in years ago, I would have gone, ooh, lions and tigers and bears. Oh my, and you go like, oh, terrible. You'll get demons if you go there. And it's not like I didn't just poo poo that. I'm like, I think there's something really here. I just don't care. I'm not worried you're going to jump on me. Or, oh no, what's in my stake? You're just going like, Lord, this is really interesting. We spent a couple hours talking about our love for God. And I don't have a low voice. I've noticed that. Yeah, you've noticed that. I do. We had probably half the restaurant in an engaging way listing in where you knew they were listing in. They weren't bothered. There wasn't a sense of, I wish those guys would stop there. We were having some wonderful conversations. And I just sat there going, Lord, this is just so different than what I would have thought. So unexpectedly wonderful to go, gosh, I feel like I'm seeing things through your eyes. You know, Pharisees look upon a crowd and they just see a bunch of dirty rotten something or others. Jesus can look upon that same place. And it's like, he's seeing how long to have gathered you under my wings. And I felt some of that in a way I hadn't been. The Matthew 9 thing, harassed and helpless. That's how he saw sinners. We see him as co-conspirators and ruining the country we hold dear. And we have all that angst about it. I love the way Jesus seemed to look on crowds and go, wow, these are people living this way because they're broken in some way. Yeah. Not because they're wonderfully healthy people doing all that they want to do. I mean, even thinking, you know, it's one thing to think about a bar made in a restaurant doing a deal. But if you think about it as your daughter or a sister in the law. A whole bunch of different emotions going like, oh gosh, what can I do to help? And I was so jazzed of just going like, Lord, you're busting a new move inside my heart. I wasn't feeling a sense of condemnation of, oh, the wasted days I haven't been in this space. I just felt like, Lord, this is really funny. I am in Vegas. I like Vegas. Not for all the reason that I think a lot of other people may like Vegas, but I just went, no way. This is, I looked upon this city as a place that God really loved and I was kind of curious. What are you going to do? What are you doing and what are you going to do here? Did that translate to the gamblers who come in to waste all their money pulling in one-armed bandits or playing card tables? Did you see them? Yeah, there was a guy at the dice table. I don't even know what they call that. I'm not allowed to say it on the podcast and my daughter will. We saw they were doing craps. So, I mean, honestly, I am a Californian in terms of I like smoke-free environments. I don't like smoke. It just climbs into your clothes and stays with you. Yeah, we were in South Africa with that smoking non-smoking thing going, man, I haven't heard that question in a very long time. I mean, it just lingers like a cloud in that place. But we decided to look in. It's like we were there Thursday night. It was before it really gets hopping. We were there Thursday night and we were looking at that and my buddy just said, let's just watch for a second. And I wouldn't be like, oh no, we better run to the room. It's more like, okay. And I looked at this guy and he was putting a whole bunch of chips and trying to throw the dice. Lucky nine and you're just going like, dude, you get a one-in-twelve chance of getting that. That's a lot of money. I lost it three times in a row and I just had to go like, Khali, what's that feel like? I would cringe each and every time. He just doubled down, do it again. He's going like, gotta win it back now. How is that hope? How is that? I just had to go like, oh my gosh, that could rob you pretty quick. Yeah, I don't have that gene. People want to bet on fantasy football, bet on the games on Sunday. I was like, oh, whatever that is, I have no interest in putting my well-being online with 42 idiots. I have no control over how they're going to play that game, how they're going to, are all these games of chance that are definitely weighted for the house? They are weighted for the house. If you notice what's around the house, they're doing good. Yes. They're doing really good. But people are certain I'm the one that can beat this system and not lose my shirt. And it's pathetic that that would be, I'm sorry, those people enjoy gambling. I'm not saying, you know, you're horrible, evil people. I'm going, it's pathetically sad to me that that's what you find enjoyable. Well, I can watch my kids around the little poker table playing Texas Hold'em. And while I'm not as jazzed about it, I like different card games, they really have fun with the bluffing and all the other stuff, but they're playing with pretend money. Yeah, they're not playing for anything. They're not playing with the mortgage. They're not playing with the light bill. And you're just going like, yep. But there are so many people. And it was, you got all these people with wheelchairs, you got all these, I mean, I was going like, is there a wheelchair conference going on? It's just people. And we're like, gosh, they're in challenging situations. I don't know. I don't know their story. So I really have learned when you don't know someone's story, you don't know someone's story. You just don't. Right. So I've been looking at them and I'm going like, golly, I think they've got some definite challenges. I could see that much. And they're slot after slot plunking them. And you're like, there's a $5 one or the $10 one. I'm just going like, I can't imagine stuffing bills down something with the hope that three of something's going to pop up. And I'm just winter. We never heard one. Yeah. In three days of walking in and out through this place. They're 24 hours. You just go like, but I never heard one of those. You just go like, this is depressed. But even those aren't those set psychologically by how often a room needs to hear a ding, ding, ding. And how little it can possibly pay out to keep the momentum going of this could happen for me. I mean, even all that's down to a science. It will ching, ching, ching during the day because they know they've got to do it every so many minutes or whatever. Or people will just kind of like, you know, this, this casino is not hot. I'm going to go find a hotter casino and head out. And it's, I mean, all of that is so formulated now with all that we know about the human mind and psychological and who will do. I mean, before it was just games of chance and yeah, it was weighted to the house. Now it's all psychologically manipulated almost like a Sunday morning worship event. Okay. I was in one recently that was definitely that you can put your slot in the plate. You can. You get that motivation. You have to get. He was like, oh, help me Lord. Oh, gosh. But I, it was just driving around and you get this desert. But we had such a wonderful God soaked time of conversation that I just found sort of dreaming about stuff. I found it really creative. I just sat there going like, wow. Before in different seasons of my life, I would have thought, oh, you're walking through enemy territory. And I would have thought nothing good could happen here. And I'm going like that only things bad could happen to you. Exactly. Being there. And I sat there going like, gosh, I wasn't going, oh no, what if someone sees me? I did think, well, I'll see them. There you go. So you didn't think about it. I did. I did. But it was fun to just go like, gosh, Lord, I felt like he gave me a little slice of the graciousness with which he looks upon us. Because I just, I didn't see it as Sin City. I had heard of it as such. I had treated it as such. And I had all kinds of attitudes of it as such. And for those people who live in Vegas, and I know lots of people who do, there's a whole life to Las Vegas apart from the strip. But when the visitor comes, that's mostly what you're saying. It's just that strip stuff. You're not saying, I mean, it's real families and schools. And so don't ride us from Vegas saying, hey, there's a real city here outside the strip. We know that. We know there is. But I also know there's also some really tough things that there's a lot of people that come here to try to live off that. And when it's not happening, they got nothing. Yeah. And that's a tough part of that same thing that you just go like, if you think the strip is bad, look at the whole host of people that weren't working that night. They got nothing. Yeah. What I love about what you shared though, where was the gal on the beach or even lock-in eyes, which is kind of a strange term used with one of the gals in the casino. Well, you know how when you walk to someone, everyone kind of politely dims their eyes? Yeah. I don't anymore. Well, I think part of that's because to objectify people in that way, you have to dehumanize them. And an actual eye contact rehumanizes something. Yeah. And it takes this situation to add more awkward. If you're not, this is an illusion here. Nobody's really thinking we're real people. We're just gals wearing hardly nothing so that guys will buy more drinks and gamble longer in the deal. And please don't think of me as a real person because right here I'm not even trying to think of myself as a real person. Right. Isn't that what we do when we objectify people? Yeah. They cease to be people. They're just like this. Or you can dismiss them out of hand. They're hunk of meat. Or you can admire it or lust after it and then just go on down in your day and you really don't realize there's a person. There's a person in there. Yeah. And they may be doing it because they just think the hottest thing in the world and want to show themselves often. Maybe it's just the best job they can get to pay for the bills back home or whatever. But it really takes an objectifying of a person to be in that environment. Even I think they have to do it to themselves somewhat. You have to pretend this is just my job and I look better. I look nicer than I'm thinking I look to other people and you just kind of get through your, I would think I have to get through your shift. I don't know. Well there's a couple of me that must be what the Tuesday night thing is because it weren't the weekend crowd. And I said they're even that. You just go like golly, how hard is that? They're not the hottest thing on the planet. And they're dressed as though they're supposed to be wearing that with a knock you dead kind of response. I'm going like it's not doing it. And the difficulty of just going like gosh what does that feel like? How does that play out inside that hurting heart that just goes or what does it feel like for a woman to walk past the hot thing in the thong with ten guys ogling her when she's not that person? I mean I think for women, I watch my girl grow up in this culture different from my boy. My boy got rewarded for who he was and what he did and what he could do. My daughter was a lot fixated on how good she looks. Wow. Even when people see pictures of my kids they'll remark on how beautiful Julie is. They'll ask me more about Andy what's going on. We don't have to say men don't carry that same objectified ideal that creates such a nightmare for women in our culture. Wow. Is there everyone that's getting ogled at? You've got twenty women walking past going I'll never be that, I'm not that, what worth do I have? When you're objectified and worth is found in external beauty it's our culture is absolutely. Sadly that side never crossed my head. Sadly. I'm looking at that going I did not have that perspective at the same time and I'm realizing wow there's a lot I also missed. Well that's why catfights are so notorious with women because the really girls that attract attention they're really not liked a lot by the ladies that don't have that same look or maybe have that look but don't flaunt it. Yeah don't flaunt it in such a hussy kind of way and I do think that creates all kinds of vibes but what I loved when you were talking about that to think you know I haven't seen that in my life I've been so busy with all the stuff on my plate and I noticed that about my life when I'm going through an airport you know busting it to get to the next flight on time or frustrated about a flight being later you know all that stuff people are just in your way. Yeah people are not you know why are you standing on a escalator? Get a little exercise man walk up that thing because I'm trying to get up there too. I mean I just I don't know why people will walk through an airport and stand on a conveyor belt. I don't have to walk here. I'm just gonna stand I'm still moving. Or get the Jacobson pet piece. No I'm just saying when or driving on the freeway when you're late to something you're all about you everything. Yeah. Everything is just in your way. Yeah. But somehow when you live in that space of living loved and at peace with your world and you know left ten minutes early for your appointment and so you're not having to run to sweat traffic and other things like that. I find myself the same thing so much more aware of people when I'm living in peace or I'm having you know great fellowship with somebody on trips especially when you're twenty four hours well twenty four I sleep at night so you know sixteen hours a day having the Jesus conversation with brothers and sisters. Even when you're in restaurants and you're out in society you're different person. You're looking with totally different eyes. You really are. The world's a lot better place. It really because the orbit it's got to be about me and my next deal and what I'm achieving that really takes into pretty ugly space. No we made we made friends with every waiter we had and involved them and even our decision making where it's kind of like it was a thrill to go like hey this is your place what would be good here. And it was just fun to establish that that that sets of I have no anybody's going to tell me but I'm going to respond to it and I love the relationship that's coming out. My buddy didn't have his cell phone charger so we kind of called down to the front desk and we just said you know where where would we go to find a cell phone charger. We just call the security guard desk. They got tons of them. I never thought about it. We go down there. That brings three or four bags of these things. Almost find one that works. Yeah he just but he was so incredibly helpful. We exhausted four bags of trying to find the right adapter. Wasn't there. And the guy gets on the phone to call two other places. He's going like he could have just totally blown us off like I don't care what a hassle and for whatever reason he cared and I sat there going like of all places I really didn't expect that somebody would express that kind of care and service to us total strangers not a buying customer. We're taking lost stuff if we find one that works and he wanted to help. He's going like you could have just said no too bad. And I'm going like what is his incentive. There's nothing that we're going to do that's going to bless his life other than he was showing kindness. And that touched me. And maybe when you just watch him up for the lost and found box people are down there with you. It's just hey let's I got people to talk to. It could be I could be reading more. It could be wonderful. But I just I don't know. I just I came away and one of the really interesting things was I forget how I got on to this conversation but I was taking a look back over 20 years of things and I was remarking on some people that had an influential impact on my life. And I've watched them do their thing in God. And I've also watched the rise and the fall. And I was stunned by some of the observations I had never put together that were relating to some of what God was doing in my heart. And I recognized I was first drawn to them because of this profound sense of compassion that motivated what they did. I received it. I remarked about it. I just went wow that feels like God at work in someone's life because most people aren't motivated like that. And it seemed very genuine and real and powerful too. You're just going like wow that's touching lives. And then I also watched things reach a measure of success where all of a sudden that was no longer that motivation. There was something else. There was something else that they were protecting, preserving, being notarized by. And each one of those seemed like that it was at that point that I went wow it all went downhill when that left. And it wasn't this sense of oh I'm judging them. It's more like wow gosh I'm appreciating a retenderizing of my heart because I'm recognizing that was getting crowded out of my life. Very real. And again of all places I really wouldn't have thought therapy would be Las Vegas. Go to Vegas, walk through a casino have a life-transforming experiment. You're just going like lord this even there's just there's so many things even like down to and this is where I'm a little quirky but even down to the room number we stayed in and it meant something. And when I chased it out in the Bible at a tiny little hunch it had a profound impact on me because I just went no way that has been a meaningful verse all my life. And it's applicable right now in this situation. The probability of that is not on the chart. You're just going like lord I could be reading everything but I'm not suggesting we'll just try to make it up. It meant something to me and I experienced that moment a lot of attention and care and just like wow God what a helpful reminder. So I you know I just I was like hey when we go to Vegas we're going to plan the God Journey tour of Las Vegas and if you'd like to meet us there we're going to talk about objectifying women and have seminars on watching a craps game feeling bad for the guy losing his box and how to engage your security guard wonderfully. Yeah leave your phone charger at home and see if God provides one. There you go. You know the moments from the Gospels that have always captured my heart the most particularly we talk about women the culture they grew up in is very much external stuff. We've got a cheat. The thing that I always have admired about Jesus' life in the Gospels is those individual encounters with people that just were part of his day. I want to think if you've got three years to be the Messiah to work up a theology that's going to live in the world you've got to get a kingdom launched you've got to get a church launched and teach guys how to operate and manage it and do bulletins on Sunday morning things like that. I'm thinking you've got to do that and you've got to die for all that. You can't dilly-dally. I'm thinking you've got to be moving. I'm thinking you've got to stay motivated you've got to have your five-day goals and I've got to get here. And yet Jesus walked to his day with time for a woman to dwell Zacchaeus in a tree the moments with Mary and Martha in Bethany and Lazarus you just see these wonderful moments of Jesus not blowing through life with an objective to do with loving people who's right in front of me. One of the emails I get a lot and it's a kind of rough segue but I think it applies here quite honestly. I get this email a lot going can you connect me to believers who are like-minded where I live because I have a lot of contacts and a lot of people that I've met. If somebody could you'd be a likely person to help. Or they heard I was in Colorado Springs an old podcast from four or six months ago so I was like who did you meet with and for the most part I don't meet with groups in churches or in the house church somewhere. I'm hanging out with brothers and sisters who are on a journey and can I introduce them? Sometimes I can sometimes I can't remember. I've lost the ability to track all that so it doesn't work real well. But one thing I want to say to people is why wouldn't you just love and I do say this often why don't you just love the people that are in front of you? Whether the world, whether your neighbors your colleagues why don't we find our community links to community out of the relationships that are already around our lives if we live less to find a group who thinks like I think and more what does it mean for me to love? No I don't go to a mall and try to love everyone in that mall in the ten minutes I've got to run in there and pick up something at the Apple store which is the only store I go to in the mall. So I'm not trying to create some really false thing but I am trying to say if you just love what's in front of you in a day talk to your waiter or waitress with a bit of kindness and compassion let somebody have the road in front of you instead of fighting for your spot. If you just live differently and loved your neighbors had a conversation with a colleague at work I think you'd find your way into the body of Christ even in the area in which you live. But we try to make that a whole other world experience now finding the body of Christ is something I have to achieve then I think we add all this complexity to it and then a stranger calls somebody out of nowhere and the relationship doesn't work out I'm still trying to find a group you go from group to group and every group's got something in it they just why don't you love what's in front of you today and have an eye not to rush to do all that you have to do but make some space in the margin of your lives to love people. Because I think that's where the best stuff in my life has happened that way. Yeah I mean I think when you're going like how do I find more like me it's like you know what I know me I'm not looking for more like me but not exactly what I mean no I know that but there's a sense of just going like that whole us them that I'm going to find that group that I fit with I know the need to belong I know the desire to have shared values I just know that having sort of left that as the request and more said alright God how about you help me see what you see I know I don't I got a different set of eyes but if you help me see what you see I might be a little more aware of what you just might be doing and I would love to be involved in that so long as you can just prod me in terms of how might I be involved in that what could I do that extends your kingdom and connects I mean there's a beautiful verse it's in Ephesians where it talks about we're being set I think it's Ephesians or Philippians I forget the address we're being set as living stones where God is building us together into a heavenly dwelling place Ephesians 2 I look at that going the rocks weren't saying excuse me can I find a pile that works the builder who is God is setting us together and I just knew when Kelly couldn't go it just popped in my head just ask this buddy see if he wants to go I already had an objection of well he probably won't be able to and somehow he was and I just went you know this would be cool we haven't had any time like that road trip and I just sat there going like wow lord you did something extraordinary that sure I participated in the decision making but I'm pretty darn sure I didn't come up with the idea to start with it was more like wow when we let him orchestrate that and there isn't I'm not so driven by my awareness of my agenda some glorious things oftentimes can transpire and I go like wow how do you make that happen I mean I know he's God but I still love that sense of marvel and going how did you pull that off I really think it comes down to loving what's before you today and that will take you to wherever next place you need to be instead of no I'm so busy trying to fix something find something do something that the very people around my life are missing even you get right down to this allows the economy of people trying to find work 90% of people who find work find work through a friend yeah and if you don't have friendships if you're not inculterating yourself with other people and you know spending time just loving people who are right in front of you then you're going to find yourself in a very lonely place and the time you really need a friend you're not going to have a friend because that's why when I was a pastor today one of the things that bugged me so much with people I didn't invest any time building relationships but one of them but when they had a need they wanted people to make them meals to help them move to help them do whatever and they couldn't get anybody to do it because they didn't know them they hadn't invested any time with people friendships is what life is all about in the way that we get to interact with other human beings and the way God loves through us and I think 99% of living is love what's in front of you that will open whatever other door God needs you to be a part of and that will open ways into fellowship you can't conceive of we first moved to one of the new places we moved in the last nine years we lived on the street we didn't know anybody on the street and everybody moved in it was new it was a new development we bought a home that somebody had forfeited on and couldn't end up buying and God just said love these people like they were your home group now this just seems strange because they weren't they weren't believers none of them were believers on the streets but loving them like my home group what did that mean go spend time with them invite them over for dinner, hang out in the front yard and talk while you're mowing the lawn just live openly love them look to help feed their pets when they're on vacation and boy even one of those guys who didn't ever come to the Lord out of that relationship but one day we were talking about some stuff and he's asking me about our journey and we're sharing some of the spiritual hunger he's kind of like a cousin of mine really? where's he? he's in town here and we found a wonderful connection of some brothers and sisters just through a person who caught this commonality of language that I was using and something his cousin used and it got an open door so I really think that really if you just get out of trying to achieve and love folks but I'm like you I get caught and I'm so busy so much going on that I lose sight of that too it's a good refresher to go man how do we get back to just living compassionately Romans 12 talks about be transformed by the renewing of your mind no longer being conformed to the image of this world and I remember somebody said that word conformed was like I had been squeezed into them old and I'm like man if anything was ever true that's what happens I actively guard against that it is pretty easy to get squished right into the way that the river just flows and it's like you can do that as being led by the spirit but you can also be you can do that being led by the spirit of this age in a way just going like but that's not what I want to govern my life and I think it really requires a sense of intentionality to say God guess what here's a few things I think I'm going to do today but you can at any juncture that if you would like if you want to edit my schedule please let me be aware of that so I can be available to you and then you can live with your eyes open and you'll see things that you just caught up in your own deal it's not like you see them and refuse them you just don't see them I remember Bible callers teachers saying this whole good Samaritan parable and the priest and the Levite that walked past you know we think gosh these were just horrible people who didn't care maybe they were so late to their discipleship training school that they just didn't see it maybe they were just late to the worship team practice and just didn't see it okay now I've never thought of it that way before they just thought they were bad guys who ignored not too busy to have a margin in your life to love somebody God might put in your path even if it's just a moment or two of a greeting or an exchange you just don't see it and life goes on this guy that opened up one of the seminars there's nothing Christian or believers or faith about this that you would be able to chart you just go like you wouldn't think anything like it's just business stuff and you're just going okay whatever this guy opened up and said you know what you guys are in a new place things are different don't be afraid to respond to the moments he said you know just don't want this to be a revelation that might happen for you both me and my buddy looked at you like what? really? what word did he just use? I thought we were in a business center he's got to go like where is this guy coming from? why did he use of all words he used that one and man it ever it struck a chord with us but I remember I looked back and I just went you know just to a real wonderful degree that's what happened there was just moments of revelation that you just went wow that's incredibly valuable I never threw the dice but I did hit the mother load for that weekend of just going wow God you deposited something really wonderful wow and you broke the biggest rules about Vegas what? what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so sorry tourism board will be after me oh you know I got five other things I hope we talk about today but you know there's more podcasts down the road thank you for traveling with us on The God Journey you can be part of the conversation by visiting our website thegodjourney.com