It was the ultimate sacrifice. Literally giving everything He had and everything He is. Not so that He could get something, but so that WE could HAVE something. Because Jesus didn't just give His life FOR us, He gave His life TO us. God wanted the best FOR us, so He gave the best TO us. He SO loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. So that we might know that we ARE His beloved Son. So that we might HAVE that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. So that we might be able to partake of the Divine Nature and know that we are unconditionally loved. Because what is more divine than love? God IS love. I'm telling you, the most holy thing you can do is love somebody. And the greatest expression of love that a man can have is to lay his life down for his friends. That's the sacrifice that was made 2,000 years ago on the cross. And because Jesus made that sacifice (both for us and as us) we can now make that sacrifice. WE can give everything we have and everything we are. We don't have to be afraid of losing what we've got, because perfect love casts out fear! There is no fear in love. The sacrifice isn't about courage. It isn't about being afraid and doing it anyway. It's about faith. Trusting that the more we give it away, the more we experience it! And, again, our sacrifice is made possible because it is the same sacrifice that Jesus already made! We don't have to conquer. He already conquered. We are MORE than conquerors through Him. He did the work, and we get to enjoy the fruit of HIS labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Love. And we experience it by receiving it and releasing it. By knowing it and believing it. Not by faking it until we make it, but by letting God love us so much that it fills us to overflowing and comes out naturally! I think people are desperate for something real. They know when you're faking. And they're not interested in that. That's why religion is such a turnoff to so many people. There's nothing real there. No real, lasting change. Because change doesn't come from the outside-in. It comes from the inside-out. It isn't even "change" as much as it is a manifestation of Kingdom reality. Which FEELS like a change, don't get me wrong. But the change took place 2,000 years ago. And really, the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. So the "change" was always in place. Just waiting for us to understand the truth. To know and believe--through the Holy Spirit--that God always has loved us and always will love us. When the circumcision of the heart was made, the flesh of human effort was cut away and God's heart was revealed in our chests. And God's heart beats with love. So the sacrifice of loving God by loving one another is really every breath we take and every move we make. In Him we live, and move, and have our being. In us HE lives, and moves, and has His being! He made the sacrifice of love so that we might know love. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So when you know that you ARE loved... you can love. When you know that you ARE loved... you know that you ARE love! And then the sacrifice doesn't feel like a burden at all. It feels like the best, most natural thing in the world. SImply giving what you've got out of the abundance of your heart. Simply letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's (He's, love) in there!

The best part of Jesus' sacrifice--laying His life down... giving it FOR us, and giving it TO us--is that He picked it back up again. That's why, and how, perfect love casts out fear. When we make that same sacrifice, and love each other as Jesus loved us, we aren't actually losing anything at all. The value of love is in the loving. In the giving. And what we find is, the more we try to get, the less we have. But the more we give, the more we have! Upside down and backwards, I know. Such is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Love. Only by sacrificing... by giving all we have and all we are... can we truly experience the love of God. Which is what eternal life is; knowing the one true God and the One whom He sent. Knowing the Father through the context of being His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's what happened when Jesus picked His life back up. He ensured that we would be able to experience it. Not by us trying to be someone we're not, but by HIM living HIS abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life in us, and through us, and as us. It's HIS sacrifice. HE made it 2,000 years ago on the cross. All we have to do is receive it and release it. Know it and believe it. Receive it BY releasing it. Give everything WE have and everything WE are. Because that's what Jesus did. Because that's who Jesus is. Because that's who WE really are. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body. God in OUR flesh, love in OUR body. His sacrifice didn't pay off an angry God. His sacrifice brought us out of death and into life. Look at 1 John 3:14, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." We HAVE passed from death unto life. That happened. But we EXPERIENCE that life when we love each other. Not when we get something--because we already have it--but when we give something. Love is not about getting. Love IS giving. We have been GIVEN all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings. He did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. But there's a difference between having something (and trying to hoard it up and keep it to yourself) and experiencing what you have (by sharing it, or giving it away). And that's the "sacrifice." It takes a leap of faith sometimes, to give away what you've got. But we know that we are connected to the unlimited source of love. Like I said, the more you give it away, the more you have it. Because you can experience it. Have you ever noticed how good it feels to see someone else's face light up when you literally love the hell out of them? It's better than when someone does the same thing for you. Or at the very least it's AS good. Because bringing joy to others is how we experience joy. It's a sacrifice in the sense of giving away what we've got. But it's not a burden. It's not sad. And sometimes it seems hard, but it doesn't have to be. We just need to see the sacrifice that WAS made and then we can love with that same love. Because while you can't give what you don't have... you CAN give what you DO have. When you know that you ARE loved... you can love. Because when you know that you are loved... you know that you are LOVE!

When we understand the sacrifice, we can make the sacrifice. Because the sacrifice was, and is, love. When we understand how we are loved, we can love. That's as simple as I can make the Gospel. 2 John 1:5 says it like this, "And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another." It's all about love. Which means it's all about God. All about Jesus. Because God is love. Jesus is God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. And because HE is the One living in you--and through you, and as you--we don't have to "make" the sacrifice that He made as much as we have to simply let it flow through us. We fill ourselves with what HE has filled us with and we let it come out naturally. That's what it means to apprehend what you've been apprehended of. That's what it means to BE transformed (into what you've already been transformed into) by the renewing of your mind. When you LET the mind of Christ (that's already in you) BE in you... that's when you start to understand, and think, the thoughts of God. We KNOW what those thoughts are. Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." But it's one thing to "know" something and another thing entirely to KNOW it. To understand it. That's what the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, is all about. He leads and guides us into the truth that we already know. Making what's true--what always has been and always will be true--true for YOU. Because the truth sets you free and makes you free, but only when you know it and believe it. That's why it's so important to understand WHAT Jesus did on the cross and WHY He did it. He gave His life for us, and He gave His life to us. Because He loves us. Loves us with an unconditional love. Not because of what we do, but because of who we are. And who He is. So when we understand the truth that we know--that God is love, and He loves us--that's when we can begin to love Him back. By loving each other. That's when what's inside us comes out. Naturally. That's when the sacrifice doesn't feel like something hard. It feels natural. Because it IS natural. Not the beast nature, but the love nature. Jesus gave us everything He had and everything He was. Gladly. Not because we had earned it, but because He wanted us to have it. That's the difference between a Father's love, and what religion has to offer. One is freely given. The other must be earned, but can't be earned. If you think you're making the sacrifice by trying (and failing) to keep the Law... then you totally missed the point of the story of Cain and Able. Cain brought the fruit of the ground. The fruit of his labor. What HE could produce. And God wasn't interested in it. But Able just brought a lamb. The only sacrifice God ever required, or would accept. Jesus didn't die because God wanted to kill someone and Jesus was saving us from God (saving us from Himself? Doesn't even make sense). Jesus died because we were already dead in our trespasses and sins and He wanted us to have life, and that more abundantly. He wanted us to have HIS life. So He laid it down. And picked it back up again. So that we could experience it as He lives it in us, and through us, and as us!

Yesterday we saw the sacrifice Jesus made. Nobody took His life. He laid it down, and He took it up again. God's judgment wasn't death. It was LIFE. He raised Jesus (and us in Him) up to abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice--laying His life down for His friends--because He loves us. Because He IS love. My thought for today goes like this: "We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters" (1 John 3:16 NLT). It is also found in John 13:34 (NLT), "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other." That's the gospel, as simply as I can put it. God loved us and gave His life for us. So we ought to love each other and give our lives for each other. Loving God by loving others with the love that He has loved us with. Everything else--to me--is just details. Getting to know people and making connections with them so that we can love them better. Because everybody loves in different ways, and everybody receives love in different ways. But the bottom line--the TOP line, because it's the most important--is love. Giving everything we have and everything we are. Gladly. Regardless of the response. We don't love because we are looking for a response. We love because that IS the response. That's HOW we respond to God's love: We receive it and release it. Jesus made the Way of Grace (He IS the Way, and the Truth, and the Life). And we respond with the Walk of Faith. We respond to what He has done on the cross by knowing it and believing it. By filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. By apprehending what we've been apprehended of. When we understand the sacrifice that Jesus made... we can make the same sacrifice. Because we understand that HE is the One living HIS life in us, and through us, and as us. And that's when the sacrifice of laying our lives down, of giving maximum effort, doesn't seem like a sacrifice at all. It doesn't seem like "work" because it comes from a posture of rest. It's natural. Because it's our new nature. A new nature for a New Man. A New Commandment for a New Man. Not a beast nature, but a love nature. So that in Him we can live, and move, and have our being. So that in US HE can live, and move, and have HIS being. So that we can experience His life as He lives it in us. So that we can stop with religious works and labors and enjoy the fruit of HIS labor. Which is the fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. And we experience love by giving it away. By sharing. By, again, filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with and watching it come out naturally. Like Peter when he healed a man just by letting his shadow fall on them. He wasn't trying to do anything, or be anybody. He just couldn't contain what was inside. Because it was too big. Too good. Too abundant. The sacrifice isn't a bad thing at all. It's the best thing. Giving what you've got so that others can experience it. Seeing a need and meeting it. Being who you are and doing what you can do. Where you're at. Because of who Jesus is, and what He did. Because of who He is in you, and what He's doing in you!

I want to talk about the power of love for the next few days. And I know I did a similar Rant series a little while ago, but you know the advice my pastor gave me, "Preach it until your heart is empty on it." That's what I've learned, and that's what I'm going to do. So. The power of love doesn't come from fighting. It comes from surrendering. It comes from taking what someone gives you and giving them the love that's inside. Not an eye for an eye, but turning the other cheek. Showing people a more excellent way by showing them love. And when we're talking about love we're talking about giving everything we have and everything we are. We're talking about laying our lives down for our friends (with the understanding that we destroy our enemies by MAKING them our friends). So to start this Rant series I want to build the foundation that in order for us to be able to love this way, we first had to be LOVED this way. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Nobody forced Him to do anything. And certainly nobody killed Him. Even though the religious folk of the time thought that was exactly what they were doing. Jesus said, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father" (John 10:17-18). And, really, when you think about it, not even death could kill Jesus. The only reason He was dead for a couple days was because He had some stuff to do, like leading captivity captive. What I'm trying to say is, when death tried to hold Life down... death lost. 1 Corinthians 15:26 in Young's Literal Translation puts it like this, "the last enemy is done away--death." One of the reasons Jesus died is so that DEATH might die. So that we might be FREE from the bondage of sin and death. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, and we needed a second death (the death OF death) so that we might be born again and walk in newness of life. This wasn't something we could do for ourselves. Certainly not through the external behavior modification of the Law of Moses. But this was something that needed to be done. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). See, religion seems to want to teach us that God was angry. And He absolutely, positively HAD to kill someone. And that someone was us. Until Jesus stepped in and saved us from that angry God. Religion wants to teach us that the judgment of God was death. But that's not it at all. Jesus sacrificed Himself for us because we were ALREADY dead. And God didn't want to leave us that way. He would literally rather die than be without us. Than have us be without Him. So He did what needed to be done to close the gap, if I can say it that way. He did what needed to be done to reconcile us back to Himself. He gave us His Son, and His Son gave us His life, so that we could LIVE. The judgment of God is LIFE, and that more abundantly. The judgment of God was to ACCEPT Jesus' sacrifice and RAISE Him from the dead. Raise US from the dead. Because Jesus didn't just die FOR us, He died AS us. When He died, we died. And when He rose again, we rose again. He made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could partake of the Divine Nature and enjoy His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life as He lives is in us, and through us, and as us!

Perhaps if our goal was to understand and support, rather than to manipulate and control, we wouldn't constantly find ourselves getting so worked up about other people and what they do. Perhaps if we saw the value behind their actions--more than just, "I wish they wouldn't do that," even to the point of understanding WHY they do that--then we could stop building walls and start building bridges. Because here's the bottom line: People are going to do what they're going to do. And you CAN'T control them. Scaring people into a certain type of behavior will only work if the fear is greater than the desire. And the simple truth is, fear is NOT greater than desire. Even the fear of getting caught pales in comparison to the thrill of getting what you want. Let me say it another way: Strict parents produce sneaky kids. Rather than crushing people with rules that the rule givers can't even follow (Where do we think the phrase "Do as I say, not as I do" came from, after all?) is no way to accomplish anything. Instead we ought to, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). And my emphasis is on the word "should." Train up a child in the way he SHOULD go. Show him a more excellent way. Don't tell him what's wrong with him, tell him what's RIGHT with him. People are used to the world kicking them when they're down. We ought to REACH down and help people up. Show people that they have value by valuing them. By letting them be who they are. By understanding that people learn in different ways, and at different speeds. Just because we're in different places in the never-ending everlasting life-long journey into the heart of the matter doesn't one is better than the other. We need to give people the time, and opportunity, and space, to grow. We need to see that if someone is kicking and screaming and shouting... chances are they want to be heard. So if we ignore them, or try to just make them be quiet, what we're doing is telling them what they want doesn't matter. When it DOES matter. We need to start embracing people and letting them know that we DO hear them. We DO see them. We see them and hear them with the eyes and ears of the Spirit. With grace, and mercy, and patience, and love. The value of love is in the loving, right? So there's no better way to show someone that they DO have value than to show them love. And when we do that (whether we use the word "God" or not) we SHOW them God. Because God IS love. So rather than shoving Jesus down people's throats, and ensuring that they choke on Him, we ought to just love the hell out of them. Instead of tearing people down, we ought to build them up. That's what Scripture was given for, by the way. That's the work of the five-fold ministry, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12). And you "perfect" the saints by telling them that they ARE perfect. By showing them what it MEANS to be perfect. It's not about getting something we lack. It's about understanding what we have. Understanding the value in OUR actions, and in the actions of others. Understanding OUR value, and the value of others!

It's so important to meet people where THEY are at. When we put our own expectations on them we will almost certainly lose them. At the very least we are starting out on rocky footing. When we ought to be starting out on the unshakeable foundation of love. My favorite example of this idea is in Genesis 46:3-4, "And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will surely bring thee up again..." God didn't say, "Get yourself out of Egypt and then I'll take care of the rest." He didn't say, "Clean up your act and then go to church." He said, "I'll go down WITH you, and I'll bring you up again." We have to let people be who they are. If all you ever do is tell someone how bad they are and how much they need to change, well, you're not exactly building a relationship there. At least not a loving relationship that will reveal Jesus to them. I think, for the most part, people know what they're about. Sure, we can have blindspots, and we can do things without realizing, but I don't think it helps to point out what's WRONG with people. That's what the Law did. In fact, that's ALL the Law could do. It demanded perfection without being able to produce it. It condemned people for messing up but couldn't do anything to help them NOT mess up. That's why Jesus nailed the Law to the cross; because it was contrary to us. Against us. And the Law was never given with the expectation that it could be kept anyway. It was given as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. To show us that even thought we can't... He can. And He did. 2,000 years ago. He already came down to where we were--the Word (Jesus, love) wrapped Himself in human flesh--and He already brought us up to where He is. We are seated in the heavenly Christ as we speak. As He IS so are we in this world. And as He is, is seated on the right hand of the Father. So when we're dealing with people we can't expect them to be robots that will do what we want, when we want, because we say so. If that's our expectation then we're setting ourselves up for failure. Setting ourselves up for frustration. Because I'm telling you right now, people do what they want. It's kind of what Jesus was talking about in Mark 7:21-22, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." And I say, "kind of" because that's all the stuff that came out of the heart of MEN. The Old Man who was crucified on the cross. The point I'M trying to make is... what's in your heart comes out. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. And with the circumcision that was made without hands, the cutting away of the flesh of human effort, what is revealed is GOD'S heart beating with love in our chests. So instead of condemning people for looking for love in all the wrong places, we need to understand that they ARE looking for love! We need to understand that even though it doesn't always look the way we want it to, it's all part of the journey. And if we can go down to where someone is at--I'm not saying do something you shouldn't I'm saying let people be who they are--then we actually have a chance of bringing them up to where Jesus is by SHOWING them who they REALLY are. By understanding the value in their actions--even if we don't agree with them--and understanding the value of the people involved!

When you understand the value of YOUR actions--giving, not trying to get--then it becomes much easier to understand the value of OTHER people's actions. And, in short, unless you know and believe the love of Christ... unless you know that you are loved... your actions are going to be all about GETTING love. Which is why we so often look for love in all the wrong places. And why we so often accept anything that comes our way, figuring "something must be better than nothing." The worst part though, is when we feel like we can't get what we want so we act out in order to get SOMETHING. I think people yell because they want to be heard. I think we've accepted the idea that negative attention is better than being ignored. I think we're in a place where we don't think we deserve anything good, so we'll take what we can get. Because nobody hates their own flesh. So self-destructive behavior has to have something behind it. Some value. There has to be something we're getting out of it--or at the very least something we HOPE to get out of it--otherwise we wouldn't do it. So when we are confronted with this behavior we need to take a minute to let empathy into the equation. "That guy did blah blah blah to me!" Ok, but it probably wasn't about YOU at all. I think a lot of the time rather than someone being AGAINST you they are really just FOR themselves. And you happened to be in the area. This is where Jesus' teaching about turning the other cheek really hits home. Because if you take something personally and try to give an eye for an eye... well... everybody will end up blind. Like Logan always says, "When friends fight... nobody wins." So instead of giving back what someone gives you, listen to what their behavior is saying. Because hurting people hurt people. And if you know somebody is hurting... you can help them. You can break the cycle by NOT just giving back what they gave you. You can give them what YOU'VE got. Which, again, is the unconditional love of God. You can obey the New Commandment and love others as Jesus loves you. Show them a more excellent way. Which is Jesus. Which is love. And when someone is confronted with the very thing they desire (love), especially in the face of them giving you something LESS than love, that's how you heap burning coals on their head. Not in order to punish them, or hurt them, but in order to melt their hearts. In order to consume all of that other stuff and leave only love. Here's my caution to you though: When you go that gentle route of being vunerable and opening your heart in the face of something less desirable... you might not get the result YOU are looking for. Especially in the heat of the moment, it might not be a "Saul getting knocked off his donkey and blinded by the light" moment. It might seem like you come out on the short end of the stick. Getting hurt by someone (who is hurting) and not retaliating... by letting someone else have the last word... that can be really hard. But it's better to have the RIGHT Word (Jesus, love) than the last word. It's better to leave them thinking about the love you gave them. It's better to show love in the face of, well, everything really. Because love is the most valuable thing in the universe. And it's value comes when it give it away. No matter what. To no matter whom. Why? Because you are loved, and because you are love!

The reward of a good deed is in the doing. If you're looking to get something... then you've missed out on the truth that you already have something. And if you're trying to use LOVE to get something... then you don't understand love at all. Because love is never about getting. Love IS giving. And this has to do with yesterday's Rant because when we begin to understand that behavior is communication, and that people do things because they think they have some sort of value, we need to be careful with our own actions. Jesus said it like this, "And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get" (Matthew 6:16 NLT). Which is to say, we don't do in order to be. We do BECAUSE we be. If we're looking for a reward, then we've totally missed it. If the value of a thing is getting, then it's not worth it. I've said this MANY time, "If you have to beg for something, even if you get it, it's not worth it." And if you have to earn your bread by the sweat of your brow then you aren't resting. You aren't trusting your heavenly Father to provide for you. You aren't receiving and releasing the gift you've already been given. And, again, all of this has to do with SERVING instead of being served. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So if you're focusing on GETTING, you CAN'T be focused on GIVING. And, again, love IS giving. The value of loving someone is in the doing. Remember my definition for love? Gladly giving everything you have and everything you are no matter what the response. Even though it seems like the more you love the less you ARE loved. Because even though people are desperate for love... it is the most basic human desire... people are terrified of love. I really believe that's why we look for love in all the wrong places. Why we get into--and stay in--abusive relationships. Because as badly as we want someone who will love us to the moon and back, we don't really believe that's possible. Or we don't really believe we deserve that kind of love. So we settle. Because we think something is better than nothing. And sometimes it is. But sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it's better to have nothing than the wrong thing. I think today I'm talking about valuing ourselves, and our own actions. I'm going to focus on understanding why others do what they do. That's still the main theme of this Rant series. But I think it's important that we don't get caught in the trap of setting ourselves up for disappointment (or failure) by placing value on the wrong things. If you think love is about getting... well... "If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much" (Matthew 5:46 NLT). If you have a motive for loving people then you're not really loving them. If you only give in order to get then that's not love. And you have put the value on the wrong thing. The value of love is in the loving. Giving it away. Putting the value on other people and esteeming them higher than yourself. Seeing a need and meeting it. Because if you see a need you better believe the person IN need has put a big time value on their need. And when you fill it... man... that's something special!

Lately, for pretty much the first time in my life, I've been looking at WHY people do things. Up until now I've just kind of assumed people would do whatever they wanted to do. But for the last couple of weeks I've kind of been peeking behind the curtain and trying to see what's going on behind the scenes. And it's not so that I can control or manipulate. Of course not. It's so I can understand, and support. Basically, I've really been getting into the revelation in Mark 10:45 (NLT), "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." A couple of years ago I wrote a FaceBook post about how a life of service was the only life really worth living. And I'm not sure I had any real idea what I meant by that. But it was in my heart, so it came out. And I think my focus really DID switch from being self-centered to being Christ-centered. Which means being people-centered. Loving God by loving people. Focusing on others instead of myself. Which is what I think it means to be humble; not thinking less of yourself, but just thinking of yourself less. Which means thinking of people more. And I'm not saying we can necessarily figure out exactly why people do the things they do. Sometimes it's just waking up on the wrong side of the bed, you know? But I'm saying that the things we repeat, our habits, have to have some value in them. We have to do those things for a reason. And, bottom line--or TOP line, as my son Logan says, because you put the most important things on the top line--we do what we do because we think it will get us closer to what we want. We go to work every day because it gets us what we want (or at least need), which is money. That one is fairly obvious. But what about some of the less obvious, and perhaps more self destructive things? The Bible tells us that, "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church" (Ephesians 5:29). Which I always thought was just flat out wrong. Because I've seen people who hated themselves. I've seen people scar up their bodies. I've seen people do the exact WRONG thing. In fact, we see it all the time. Don't we? Head scratching moments where there's just no explanation of someone's actions. Except there ARE explanations. Sometimes feeling physical pain is better than feeling nothing at all. Sometimes being "self destructive" is really a cry for help. We have a sign at work that says, "Behavior is communication." And I try to take that to heart. I try to see behavior as something more than just the end result. It's like I always say, "Love doesn't HAVE a motivation, love IS the motivation." So what's the motivation? WHY is someone banging their head against the wall? What's the value in it? Nobody wants a headache. Nobody hates his own flesh. But maybe there's so much frustration there that there's no other way to express it. And if I can see that it's about frustration... then maybe, just maybe, I can help with that. Maybe I can be a better servant. Instead of just saying, "Stop banging your head," and trying to modify behavior, maybe we can find another outlet for that frustration. Maybe we can get to the root of the problem. I don't think people do things just to do them. I think there has to be some value to the things that we do.