http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4:8&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3:23&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4:11&version=NIV1984
Occasionally new words get added to our vocabulary. Think of all the words associated with computers. Upload. Download. Internet. Webpage. Software. Hard drive. Cursor. Icon. The list is endless. I wasn’t aware of how much these words had infiltrated our culture until a couple months ago. I was pitching to our 4-year-old grandson Brett inside our house. (Don’t worry, it was a plastic bat and ball!). After swinging at a pitch and missing, he told me, “Pap Pap, I just made a delete!” Now in 50 years of being around baseball I have never heard a strike referred to as a 'delete'. His comment really made me laugh!
There is another word that has invaded our culture recently. Especially among the younger generation. It is the word ‘whatever’. Now it’s not like 'whatever' is a brand new word. Quite frankly it has been around for hundreds of years. What is new about it is its current usage. When you are talking to your teen about something and they reply ‘whatever’, this is not a good reply. Basically what it means is, “I don’t care.” “Aaron, you’re room is really messy. I think you ought to clean it up.” He responds, “Whatever.” Basically you’ve just wasted your breathe because your teenager has no intention of cleaning his room. In the larger scheme of things, ‘whatever’ is a rude response. A sign of disrespect. When a person says this to you they really don’t care what you think, say or do. They are going to do what they want to do. End of discussion. I was joking with someone just the other day that there was a time when a child’s first word was ‘No!”. Now it is ‘whatever’!
I am glad that this word wasn’t popular when my children were growing up. Because in all honesty, I wouldn’t have accepted it as a response. And I would hope that my children would love and respect me enough not to even think of using it as a response. But as negative as this word is, it is a word that I think more Christians ought to use with God. Whoa! Just exactly where are you going with this one, you are wondering? Relax. I’m not about to get you struck by a bolt out of the blue!
As much as I despise the popular use of the word ‘whatever’ I would say that, for the Christian, it can be the ultimate word of surrender. Think about that. When we say 'whatever' to God it means that we are willing to do what He wants us to do. We are willing to say ‘whatever’ God wants us to say. Willing to avoid swearing or crude language. Willing to apologize when necessary. Willing to witness to others. It also means that we are also willing to do ‘whatever’ God asks us to do. Respect authority. Go the extra mile. Forgive. Love our enemies. You see, when we say ‘whatever’ to God, we are saying that we don’t care. Not that we don’t care about keeping His commands or doing what He asks us to do. Quite the opposite. We are saying that we don’t care what He asks us to do - we will do it. In others word, we are completely surrendered to God. Sold out. That He can do ‘whatever’ He wants to us, and we’ll accept it. Without arguing. Or complaining.
So maybe this would be a good word for us to express to God frequently. “Lord, I am willing to do whatever You want me to do. To accept whatever Your will is for my life.” If we would pray this prayer, and really mean it, I wonder how different our lives would be? And our world? There’s only one way to find out.
Lord, I confess that ‘whatever’ is not a word that I naturally want to say to You. Because I want to have some say in how my life is lived. Yet it is the word that You most long to hear from me. Because it is a word of surrender. Of trust. Of love. Help me that I will be able to say ‘whatever’ to You. And mean it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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