Would it be easier to be a Christian if all you had to do was press "Forward?"
That seems to be the gist of many of the emails I receive.
The point is often made that if I spend/waste my time forwarding jokes, pictures, cartoons, I should be all the more eager to send along Christian-related items.
It is true:
we are all in need of a Saviour,
Jesus is that Saviour,
those of us who already know Him are obliged to witness and encourage and uplift,
the world-wide web is an awesome way to span the miles between us.
So what's my problem? Just press "forward," right?
Well, maybe. But I have a few questions first.
Is forwarding Christian-themed emails the ultimate test of faith (they always cite Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26)?
How do I deal lovingly with the error contained in much of this stuff without being: snotty, condescending, know-it-all or holier-than-thou?
Is an attempt really being made to manipulate me through "Double-Dog-Dare" psychology or am I just paranoid (the 60's ya know)?
Finally...
How come I feel just a little bit guilty when I press "delete?"
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
On My Worst Behavior
Behavioral patterns. Everybody's got 'em.
It is endlessly fascinating to observe them in others. And to speculate on their origins.
Heredity?
Birth order?
State of relationship with parents?
Of parents' relationship with each other?
Psychoanalyze your friends and neighbors for fun (if not profit).
Uhhh, btw, don't tell them you're doing this.
"Are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at
yourself?" -Clarice Starling to Hannibal Lecter
"I turned my eyes to the inside to see where my energy had gone."
- Lord Have Mercy by Black Oak Arkansas
Look at Yourself -Uriah Heep
Hmmm. Yes.
Don't even mention "fun," and give me another word besides "fascinating."
One thing. Behavioral patterns (especially the bad ones) are self-perpetuating and automatically activated.
How do you react to irritation or annoyance?
Not very Christian, you know, to snap at someone or bite somebody's head off (literally OR figuratively).
So how about just poking fun at them (here, let me deflate that ego for ya)? Harmless stuff, right?
Thing is, when you consider it by its real name: "ridicule", it sounds mean; even hateful.
Other thing is when you unthinkingly but automatically turn it against someone you really like and respect.
I owe someone an apology.
To the rest of you, whom I may have unknowingly offended, please forgive me.
Oh, and when you see me, feel free to poke fun at me.
It is endlessly fascinating to observe them in others. And to speculate on their origins.
Heredity?
Birth order?
State of relationship with parents?
Of parents' relationship with each other?
Psychoanalyze your friends and neighbors for fun (if not profit).
Uhhh, btw, don't tell them you're doing this.
"Are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at
yourself?" -Clarice Starling to Hannibal Lecter
"I turned my eyes to the inside to see where my energy had gone."
- Lord Have Mercy by Black Oak Arkansas
Look at Yourself -Uriah Heep
Hmmm. Yes.
Don't even mention "fun," and give me another word besides "fascinating."
One thing. Behavioral patterns (especially the bad ones) are self-perpetuating and automatically activated.
How do you react to irritation or annoyance?
Not very Christian, you know, to snap at someone or bite somebody's head off (literally OR figuratively).
So how about just poking fun at them (here, let me deflate that ego for ya)? Harmless stuff, right?
Thing is, when you consider it by its real name: "ridicule", it sounds mean; even hateful.
Other thing is when you unthinkingly but automatically turn it against someone you really like and respect.
I owe someone an apology.
To the rest of you, whom I may have unknowingly offended, please forgive me.
Oh, and when you see me, feel free to poke fun at me.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Affliction?
Here is a paradox.
The things that we should and do regard as the greatest of blessings,
we sometimes view as an affliction.
What's up with that?
I love Matthew Modine's answer to the general in Full Metal Jacket: "Sir, I think this reflective of man's dual nature."
Ever use the phrase, "I am of two minds about the matter?"
Family. Is yours (even the nearest and dearest) sometimes a pain and you wish they would (if only temporarily) go away?
How can this be? These are the people with whom we share common blood and heritage and even physical resemblance.
Why the ambivalence?
Maybe Matthew Modine was sorta close to the truth.
Paul spends a whole chapter in Romans coming to the conclusion that the flesh struggles against the spirit.
That's me alright.
The things that we should and do regard as the greatest of blessings,
we sometimes view as an affliction.
What's up with that?
I love Matthew Modine's answer to the general in Full Metal Jacket: "Sir, I think this reflective of man's dual nature."
Ever use the phrase, "I am of two minds about the matter?"
Family. Is yours (even the nearest and dearest) sometimes a pain and you wish they would (if only temporarily) go away?
How can this be? These are the people with whom we share common blood and heritage and even physical resemblance.
Why the ambivalence?
Maybe Matthew Modine was sorta close to the truth.
Paul spends a whole chapter in Romans coming to the conclusion that the flesh struggles against the spirit.
That's me alright.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Appropriateness of Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy
Not sure if that is a word. Not joy, the other one. Joy is a word.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Joy is what I feel when I worship. Joy is the feeling I get when I'm with friends, especially brothers and sisters in Christ. Joy is not external. Joy is internal. It comes from God, who places it in my heart.
Thanks be to You, O LORD.
My joy sometimes annoys others, who think I'm not being serious enough. They're probably right, but that's no cause to not be joyful.
Mrs. Drysdale is irritated by it, but that's okay. I'm going to spat her on the bottom with my broom. Or my boat paddle. Or whatever I happen to be stirring the lye soap with.
Get thee behind me, joyless person!
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Joy is what I feel when I worship. Joy is the feeling I get when I'm with friends, especially brothers and sisters in Christ. Joy is not external. Joy is internal. It comes from God, who places it in my heart.
Thanks be to You, O LORD.
My joy sometimes annoys others, who think I'm not being serious enough. They're probably right, but that's no cause to not be joyful.
Mrs. Drysdale is irritated by it, but that's okay. I'm going to spat her on the bottom with my broom. Or my boat paddle. Or whatever I happen to be stirring the lye soap with.
Get thee behind me, joyless person!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Field of Blood
I really love the title of this book. Are the place names in the Bible cool or not?
So I'm back on this book again and I'm really having fun. I've been busy with a series of articles. You seem to never be able to do enough research for this stuff ( the book OR the articles).
About the articles; I was held up on the last one, wanting to make a practical application from 419 A.D. to our present time. What do these ancient heresies have to do with today, right? So I was digging through the confessions of several denominations and feeling kinda guilty cause I was fixin' to dis these folks in a newspaper article.
Lo and behold, Deon has one of the most outlandish experiences you could imagine (well maybe you could; I could hardly believe it). It was a picture-perfect illustration of how we can stray from the truth.
Yeh, I said WE. There's a real temptation to feel superior here. I'm fighting it. I'm thinking that felling superior to your fellow Christians is just as big a sin as thinking you've acheived a sinless state. Quite a bit of arrogance there, however you slice it.
So the book. Right now, I'm about to marry off Eleazar's sister. He's my hero: one of the Three, the mightiest of David's Mighty Men. His friend Shammah has asked for her hand. At this point I'm inclined to have the Philistines kill her before the wedding.
There are just too many issues that arise from having the protagonist related by marriage to one of his comrades-in-arms.
Don't you think?
So I'm back on this book again and I'm really having fun. I've been busy with a series of articles. You seem to never be able to do enough research for this stuff ( the book OR the articles).
About the articles; I was held up on the last one, wanting to make a practical application from 419 A.D. to our present time. What do these ancient heresies have to do with today, right? So I was digging through the confessions of several denominations and feeling kinda guilty cause I was fixin' to dis these folks in a newspaper article.
Lo and behold, Deon has one of the most outlandish experiences you could imagine (well maybe you could; I could hardly believe it). It was a picture-perfect illustration of how we can stray from the truth.
Yeh, I said WE. There's a real temptation to feel superior here. I'm fighting it. I'm thinking that felling superior to your fellow Christians is just as big a sin as thinking you've acheived a sinless state. Quite a bit of arrogance there, however you slice it.
So the book. Right now, I'm about to marry off Eleazar's sister. He's my hero: one of the Three, the mightiest of David's Mighty Men. His friend Shammah has asked for her hand. At this point I'm inclined to have the Philistines kill her before the wedding.
There are just too many issues that arise from having the protagonist related by marriage to one of his comrades-in-arms.
Don't you think?
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Everybody Hurts
How do you deal with pain? Easy to say, "Give it to the Lord."
Hard to do. Hard to let go of it. Why would you hang on to something that hurts? I am reminded of that scene at the beginning
of the tv series, Kung Fu, where Caine takes the burning cauldron
between his forearms and sets it aside. He then falls into the snow,
and the marks left on his arms identify him as a Shaolin priest.
Someone, maybe G. Gordon Liddy, once said "Eat your pain." I'm
not sure what that means; maybe you swallow it down and you digest it, absorbing that part which is useful and discarding the rest.
Someone else said, "That which doesn't kill me makes me stronger."
Yeh, I can relate to that. It's more in line with Romans 8:28 and the idea that all things come from God's hand and are intended for the good of those who love Him.
Do you share it? Doesn't jibe with the "Suck it up" or "Gimme some pushups while you're down there" philosophy, does it? Here's something: Solomon, in the midst of his discourse about life "under the sun" said this: "For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who falls and has not another to lift him up!"
So how do I share your pain? Is just being there enough? Brother Red Johnson (some of you remember Brother Red) had a song that went "Stop, and Let Me Tell You What the Lord Has Done for Me." Talking about salvation, of course. But Paul said "Rejoice in the Lord always."
Can we rejoice together? "This hurts for now, but look what God is doing in my life to make me stronger and better and more like Jesus!" Can I share with you in this manner? Would it be offensive if you're the one hurting?
About Caine. This pain is blocking our path. We can't get around it.
It's so big and heavy, we must momentarily embrace it to set it aside. And this process marks us, identifies us, tells who we are and to whom we belong.
That's what I think, anyway.
Hard to do. Hard to let go of it. Why would you hang on to something that hurts? I am reminded of that scene at the beginning
of the tv series, Kung Fu, where Caine takes the burning cauldron
between his forearms and sets it aside. He then falls into the snow,
and the marks left on his arms identify him as a Shaolin priest.
Someone, maybe G. Gordon Liddy, once said "Eat your pain." I'm
not sure what that means; maybe you swallow it down and you digest it, absorbing that part which is useful and discarding the rest.
Someone else said, "That which doesn't kill me makes me stronger."
Yeh, I can relate to that. It's more in line with Romans 8:28 and the idea that all things come from God's hand and are intended for the good of those who love Him.
Do you share it? Doesn't jibe with the "Suck it up" or "Gimme some pushups while you're down there" philosophy, does it? Here's something: Solomon, in the midst of his discourse about life "under the sun" said this: "For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who falls and has not another to lift him up!"
So how do I share your pain? Is just being there enough? Brother Red Johnson (some of you remember Brother Red) had a song that went "Stop, and Let Me Tell You What the Lord Has Done for Me." Talking about salvation, of course. But Paul said "Rejoice in the Lord always."
Can we rejoice together? "This hurts for now, but look what God is doing in my life to make me stronger and better and more like Jesus!" Can I share with you in this manner? Would it be offensive if you're the one hurting?
About Caine. This pain is blocking our path. We can't get around it.
It's so big and heavy, we must momentarily embrace it to set it aside. And this process marks us, identifies us, tells who we are and to whom we belong.
That's what I think, anyway.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Time
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Forgive me, Heavenly Father, for I have sinned.
Tempus fugit
Sometimes I wish this day would just hurry up and end. How
foolish of me. Time, even when left to itself, flies.
I gaze at a photograph of my grandson and read that he resembles
myself at that age. Peace and blessings be upon you, young man.
May you go with God.
And I wonder, what happened to those forty-five years? There
were days, I am sure, that I thought would never end. I stare at this photograph and pray that you will see each precious minute given
you as a gift from God.
Time spent in contemplation of His goodness and mercy is time well-spent. Cherish your family. Look upon your job as a heavenly
calling. You will be placed there to to be a blessing, and to be blessed.
No need to wish for the day to be over. That time, when passed,
will be just as lost as the minutes of pleasure you enjoy.
And then, one day, you will look around and ask, where did it go?
So cherish it, but don't hoard it. Multiply it by sharing it. Enjoy God
and increase the value of your time. Give it back to Him by serving Him. It's all His anyway.
And we run and we run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking;
Racing around, to come up behind us again.
Forgive me, oh Heavenly Father, for against You, and You alone, have I sinned.
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Forgive me, Heavenly Father, for I have sinned.
Tempus fugit
Sometimes I wish this day would just hurry up and end. How
foolish of me. Time, even when left to itself, flies.
I gaze at a photograph of my grandson and read that he resembles
myself at that age. Peace and blessings be upon you, young man.
May you go with God.
And I wonder, what happened to those forty-five years? There
were days, I am sure, that I thought would never end. I stare at this photograph and pray that you will see each precious minute given
you as a gift from God.
Time spent in contemplation of His goodness and mercy is time well-spent. Cherish your family. Look upon your job as a heavenly
calling. You will be placed there to to be a blessing, and to be blessed.
No need to wish for the day to be over. That time, when passed,
will be just as lost as the minutes of pleasure you enjoy.
And then, one day, you will look around and ask, where did it go?
So cherish it, but don't hoard it. Multiply it by sharing it. Enjoy God
and increase the value of your time. Give it back to Him by serving Him. It's all His anyway.
And we run and we run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking;
Racing around, to come up behind us again.
Forgive me, oh Heavenly Father, for against You, and You alone, have I sinned.
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