Makes You Think

Hi there.

First off, I want to say Happy Easter. Celebrate, Sing Praises, Glorify the Risen Lord. I was reading through some other blogs last night, and came across something that made me really think, and I know it will do the same for you. I was on Mark Koops' blog and read about his take on the "Big Idea" (Veggie Tales) falling apart. This promted me to read the account for myself. You can read it here. If you go, make sure you have a bit of time, because you won't want to stop till you are done. The account of what happened is something that isn't reserved to business and corporations. So often we start off in life with a dream, and a green light from God. Things are going great, and we are happy. Then we slowly (at first) and systematicly, ignore the little promtings that something isn't right. We have many ways of justifying it from "the devil is putting doubts in my head" to just pretending we didn't hear the voice at all. We think the setbacks that are mounting up on us, in whatever form that are, are challenges for us to trust God and push ahead even more, because God gave us this idea, and surely He wants the same things we do out of this. So we plunge deeper into it, and risk even more, under the umbrella of "God will use me to affect the rest of the world." Please don't get me wrong, this is a noble, and very plauseable idea. The problem lies in the fact that we haven't actually asked God if what He started, and what we are attempting, are following the same path. God dosen't NEED us to do His will, in fact, it is the opposite. We NEED to do His will. Towards the end of his account, Vischer says that when it was done, and the company sold,
" I felt about 100 pounds lighter. I felt released. Not like someone who has been unexpect-edly let out of prison, but more like someone who, having attempted to pull a very heavy weight up a very steep hill for a very long time, has suddenly been told they can stop."

Then came the reflection. When all was said and done, and people were ready to hear who's fault it was, it is here that Vischer brings it all back home, back to the man who started out with a dream to share God's love in an entertaining way. He reflected and layed blame for it all on himself. He layed no blame on the in-experience of some of his staff, or the continual increase in budget, or even the lawsuit from Lyrick Studios. They had all played a part, but the responsibility was his. He admits to having ignored his uneasy feelings, and what he started out to do in the first place. God does have plans for us, and "big ideas" and we are destined for greatness. I will not pretend that I know more then Vischer, or that I would even have made it as far as to start a successful company. But I think that he would want us to take something from his experience, and what I take is this. The very moment we take anything, be it a business, a relationship, ect., and make it our own, even a tiny bit, we are telling God we know better. Thanks for the help, but I think that I can do this little thing on my own. Sounds innocent at first, surely we can make tiny decisions without going to Him for everything. But one of the biggest tools the devil uses is self-reliance. It starts off small, but it can grow, as in the case of "Big Idea" for example, and affect so many of the lives it started out to help. I know that the lessons that can be learnt from this experience are infinate, but even if we take away one thing, then we owe God our thanks. Most of us can learn this lesson without the heartache of experiencing it on such a dramatic and public level. Reliance on God does not have a restriction to the "hard decisions". If God trusts us with the little and big things, do we not owe Him so much more? My challenge to you is to start with one day, and honestly ask, (and listen) for God's response to as many things as you can, even the "simple, no brainers" of everyday life. See how your day goes, and reply back to me. I am curious to see what you have to say.

Once again, Happy Easter. Take care.

-adam