I want that.....!

I LOVE Chipotle. I loved them because they signed the Fair Food Agreement with the CIW. I love Chipotle because one of my good friends works for them and loves her job. I also love Chipotle for their fresh and delicious food. For these reasons and more I went there Saturday after a training to pick up a quick lunch for me and my husband. His order, the chicken bowl, complete with deliciously flavorful chicken, cheese and sour cream. My order was also a veggie bowl with brown rice, beans, and LOTS of veggies. I got home we opened them up and all within me yelled, "I want that.....not this....." For about five minutes my attitude stayed the same until I realized I was majorly coveting and be that, "do not covet", is one of the ten commandments I should probably stop and be thankful for what I have to eat. Surprisingly the attitude adjustment worked quite well and I did actually enjoy my veggie bowl.

Food is so necessary and regular that it really does become a great
examine into the other parts of ones life, even the spiritual parts, especially the spiritual parts. My Chipotle coveting experience has since caused me to pause and reflect on the spiritual demon that coveting can becoming in ones life. The truth is that coveting does not only happen in my life concerning food but also concerning material things. I look at preachers using an I Pad to preach and I want it. I see friends making big bonuses and earning fabulous trips around the world and I want it. Lets be clear I am not saying Ipads, Chipotle chicken bowls, and trips are bad. They are actually all very good. In fact I just took an amazing honeymoon that was very good. What I am saying is that there is danger is coveting as it almost immediately  goes to battle with contentment within me. At times coveting what someone else has causes me to ponder and question again my values, calling, and mission to which I believe God has called me.

This past week in worship at Branches UMC we read the story of Jesus being tempted in the dessert. Although I am fasting from certain things Jesus' temptations were much different than mine and many of ours today. The temptations were to turn rocks into bread, to jump off a cliff and save himself, and to have total power of all kingdoms in exchange for worshiping Satan. To each temptation Jesus resisted. The temptations in themselves were not necessarily bad things. Turning bread into stones could solve world hunger. Jesus could have possibly stocked up in followers by jumping off a cliff and saving himself. Worldly power could have also saved Jesus a lot of hassle both with those pesky Pharisees and the Roman government.

The problem with the temptations is that they were not part of the plan Jesus came to accomplish. Jesus did not come to solve world hunger. Jesus was against miracle-based evangelism. Jesus started his following not by aligning himself with the most powerful but with the most vulnerable and willing. The inciting plans of Satan were not Jesus' plans. Most times the temptations in our lives are not the worst things for us and in some ways might even be the best thing for us. The following questions have helped me this past week of fasting and in other hot mess moments of coveting.

1. Is this thing necessary for my mission in which God is calling me? (Mission might be fast, job, calling, relationship, vocation.)
2. Will this thing compromise my mission in which God is calling me? (The compromise could be financial, relational, etc.)
3. Can I wait patiently for this thing if it could one day be part of my mission with God?

Usually the answers to these questions help me to discern what is best for me and help me to live contently not only in my material possessions but in my calling as well. The great benefit of restraint is that in the process one is always being changed. I remember my first summer as a camp counselor when I was told I could only bring one trunk to put all my clothes and supplies in for the summer . After a summer of a limited wardrobe I was content with that wardrobe and really didn't feel the need to want anything else.

 Recently a yoga friend of mine told me she was subscribing to the ReThink church Lent challenge. She commented how refreshing it was to do something every day that was positive. She said, "really this challenge should be every day not just forty days." The work of fasting, restraint, challenge is to slowly habituate us deeper into the life and calling God wants for us. Possibly this is one of the reasons that within our tradition fasting has been so important in preparation for God's mission. My prayer is that this fast will help my habitual impulse of, "I want that..." to be transformed to, "I'm happy with what I have." May it be so.