While the internet age has so many wonderful advantages, for me, instant communication DOES have one big drawback: the fact that it IS instant communication. Back in the day when we had to put pen to paper, I had time to stop and think about whether or not I REALLY wanted to express my opinion and time to weigh the consequences of speaking up. Nowadays, however, I often find myself hip deep in a HEATED discussion before I can stop myself. Something catches my eye and I jump in with both feet, sometimes later wishing I'd just hit delete and forgotten about the whole thing.
Yesterday, I landed, yet again, in that same situation. The topic of one friend's FaceBook comment was a recent story about a gay high school student who had asked the administration if she could attend the prom with her girlfriend AND wear a tux. The school responded to the request by cancelling the entire prom and punishing everyone! Sadly, this particular FaceBook discussion got ugly very quickly with several people logging in to condemn this specific gay young lady and to bash gay folks in general. What was most disturbing to me, and what sparked my headlong leap into the conversation, was the prevailing attitude of several of the contributors that ALL gay people were headed straight to Hell!!
Now, regardless of how anyone feels about whether or not homosexuality is a sin or not, the very idea that ANY human being has the right to speak up for God and punch another person's ticket to eternal damnation was like waving a red flag in front of a bull! Of course, I expressed my own belief that it wasn't up to US to judge...and boy, did I get an ear full of self righteous, judgemental pontificating!!
God's Word, it was explained to me, is "unchanging" and clearly states that God doesn't love gay people and that He intends for them all to burn in Hell! It was further explained to me that only a TRUE Christian would have the "strength" to "stand" for Him and proclaim the judgement of those around him/her who are in sin!
Oh, REALLY??? I guess I was too busy removing the "log" from my own eye to read that part in the Scriptures! I guess I totally missed the part in His Word that says "Here, God takes the rest of Eternity off and leaves the Judgement to mere human beings who KNOW His Will so much better than HE does!" Lord, help us if that were true...
Fortunately, the way I read the Bible, what He REALLY said was, "Look, you just clean up your own act and leave the Judgement thing to ME!" Over and over, repeatedly, in the Word, Christ points us toward loving and forgiving our fellow man...because we aren't one spot better than the sinner sitting next to us!! It may come as a surprise to alot of lofty church folk, but the ground is level at the foot of the Cross! We are all just miserable sinners, saved only by HIS Grace, and not by any good in ourselves...because without Him, we don't HAVE any good in us!
Throughout the four Gospels, we hear stories of how the Lord sought out the hurting, the helpless, and the sinners and sat down to break bread with THEM! To the high falootin' high and mighty temple people, He called them "white washed tombs, full of dead men's bones!" and warned that THEY were the ones headed for Hell!
Yes, it is absolutely true that we are to understand God's rules and abide by them and that we should recognize sin in all it's many forms. The reason for that, however, is NOT so we'll be properly prepared to whip out our pointer finger and find fault in everyone else! The idea is that we will be able to look in the MIRROR and see what is missing in US!
How sad that Christian people would EVER stand on their lofty principles, just so they can get high enough to look down on their fellow man and make lists of who does and doesn't get to go to Heaven. Those kind of "Christians," I'm afraid, are in for a VERY long fall when the Lord informs them that they NEVER had that right.
On the Cross, Christ looked down, in love, at those folks who, filled with hate and judgement, had nailed him there. In an instant, He could have called down fire from Heaven and consumed them where they stood. Their deeds certainly would have seemed to warrant that sort of punishment. Instead, He cried out to God: "Father, Forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing!"
Lord, Forgive US when we get so comfortable in our own "goodness" that we can point out the sins of others and dare to decide, on Your behalf, who should head up or down! Help us to see, clearly, the damage we do to Your Name when we strike out, in hate and disgust and anger, at our fellow human beings. Make it clear to us that we are not "standing up for You" when we seek to destroy others.
In the end, Father, the ultimate Judgement belongs to You and You alone. Have mercy on me, a sinner...
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday Driver...
I'm having to sincerely repent of enjoying someone else's misfortune! I know it's wrong and I'm working on that character flaw, but when you hear the details of the story, you may just need to repent, too.
Near our home, there is a major road construction project going on. They are linking a 4 lane bypass into the highway that runs in front of our house and will eventually put in an overpass, so it appears the work will be going on for quite a while longer. In the middle of the mess, of course, they have posted "work zone" warning signs and the speed limit drops from 55 to 35 in that area.
Now, I was once a city bus driver and am acutely aware of traffic signs (not to mention the fact that I don't want to see my insurance rates go up due to a ticket) so I obey that reduced speed limit religiously and poke along through that spot like a little old lady who only drives on Sunday! At the moment, though, I seem to be the ONLY person who takes that work zone all that seriously.
At the point that the speed limit drops, if a car comes up behind me, they don't have an opportunity to pass legally for at least a mile. You can't begin to imagine the ABUSE I've taken, driving back and forth through that spot, at the hands of highly irrate drivers who can not understand why I won't speed up. Often, I have someone so close to my bumper, you couldn't get a piece of paper between us. This is accompanied by horn blowing, middle finger waving, swerving, and shouting in many cases.
Needless to say, as soon as they reach the spot when the double yellow line ends, they take off like a shot around me, their eyes burning holes as they go by, mouths moving, reciting verbage I'm probably glad I can't understand. Away they zoom, leaving me in their wake as I continue to plod along at 35.
And the most frustrating thing of all? They get away with it! Day after day, week after week, when I reach the crest of the steep hill in the middle of the work zone, the cars who passed me are long gone. I can't count the times I've said, "Where's a cop when you need one!??" It's been so irritating to think that there I am, trying to do what's right, obeying the rules, to the letter of the law...and nobody is around to see me do right...or the other guy do WRONG!
That is, until the other day. The scene was familiar: Me poking along, another car weaving anxiously behind, loosing their minds over the anoying obstacle of my car in their way. They had come up on me SO fast, they'd already missed the first opportunity to get around me and had to wait until we got to the top of the hill for their next chance. As I came up over the crest, though, I could see what they could not. Nestled descreetly in the bushes just about a half mile down the road was a police car! Right as both our cars came into view, my frantic follower slammed his gas pedal to the floor and breezed by me...not looking down the road ahead of him, but staring into my car, giving me "THE" look that said, "Get outta the way, you slow old broad!" Guess that's why he didn't see those blue lights pop on until he was nearly up on the cop's back bumper!
Of course, I slowed down even more to make sure the officer had PLENTY of room to slide right in behind his prey. Both cars pulled over immediately, barely clearing the road way, so naturally, I had to creep by for the safety of all involved. As a result, this also gave me lots of time to make eye contact with the offending driver and flash him a pretty smile as I went by! MY look said, "Uh, huh, big boy! Look who's on the side of the road and look at the slow old broad passing YOU by!"
Aside from the fact that I enjoyed that whole event WAY too much, I did learn something else from what happened. I was SO frustrated at consistantly doing the right thing, without reward or recognition, and was downright jealous of that multitude of others who zoomed right past me, breaking every rule, but seeming to get away with it.
Isn't that the way it sometimes is with alot of things in life? When we try our hardest to follow God's rules and obey Him, we are often viewed as saps and suckers who are missing out on life in the fast lane. While we are plodding along, watching His road signs and going at His speed, it appears at times that the sinners are having a blast, racing along, wind in their hair, with no penalties at all! It make us downright angry and we find ourselves questioning God and questioning His rules.
When we see the consequences hit home, though, and when we see a sinner trip up and fall over his disregard for the law, it suddenly reminds us that someone IS watching, even when we don't perceive Him. Just as the speeder who zipped past me was probably doing what HE did on a regular basis (i.e. ignore the rules) I was busy doing what I tried to practice every day! When the time came that somebody WAS paying close attention, I didn't have to abruptly change my ways and do something new. I just kept behaving as I do every time I pass that way!
There is an old saying we're all familiar with: "Practice makes perfect." I'm, by NO means, anywhere close to perfect at this point in life...but if I am PRACTICING the behaviors, values, and morals that God has called me to, I am so much less likely to end up on the side of the road, paying the penalty for the consequences that come from flaunting the rules and trying to do it all at my own speed.
Yes, somedays, when I'm passed up by folks having what seems like a WAY better time, it can be hard to see the point. On the other hand, someday, I'll stand before the Lord and, hopefully, get to hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." With that goal in mind, I realize I'd rather get there in HIS timing and on HIS road, rather than to race my own way and my own speed headlong into a crash!
So, both on the road and in life, I think I'll just bide my time, slow down where I'm told to and enjoy the ride!
Near our home, there is a major road construction project going on. They are linking a 4 lane bypass into the highway that runs in front of our house and will eventually put in an overpass, so it appears the work will be going on for quite a while longer. In the middle of the mess, of course, they have posted "work zone" warning signs and the speed limit drops from 55 to 35 in that area.
Now, I was once a city bus driver and am acutely aware of traffic signs (not to mention the fact that I don't want to see my insurance rates go up due to a ticket) so I obey that reduced speed limit religiously and poke along through that spot like a little old lady who only drives on Sunday! At the moment, though, I seem to be the ONLY person who takes that work zone all that seriously.
At the point that the speed limit drops, if a car comes up behind me, they don't have an opportunity to pass legally for at least a mile. You can't begin to imagine the ABUSE I've taken, driving back and forth through that spot, at the hands of highly irrate drivers who can not understand why I won't speed up. Often, I have someone so close to my bumper, you couldn't get a piece of paper between us. This is accompanied by horn blowing, middle finger waving, swerving, and shouting in many cases.
Needless to say, as soon as they reach the spot when the double yellow line ends, they take off like a shot around me, their eyes burning holes as they go by, mouths moving, reciting verbage I'm probably glad I can't understand. Away they zoom, leaving me in their wake as I continue to plod along at 35.
And the most frustrating thing of all? They get away with it! Day after day, week after week, when I reach the crest of the steep hill in the middle of the work zone, the cars who passed me are long gone. I can't count the times I've said, "Where's a cop when you need one!??" It's been so irritating to think that there I am, trying to do what's right, obeying the rules, to the letter of the law...and nobody is around to see me do right...or the other guy do WRONG!
That is, until the other day. The scene was familiar: Me poking along, another car weaving anxiously behind, loosing their minds over the anoying obstacle of my car in their way. They had come up on me SO fast, they'd already missed the first opportunity to get around me and had to wait until we got to the top of the hill for their next chance. As I came up over the crest, though, I could see what they could not. Nestled descreetly in the bushes just about a half mile down the road was a police car! Right as both our cars came into view, my frantic follower slammed his gas pedal to the floor and breezed by me...not looking down the road ahead of him, but staring into my car, giving me "THE" look that said, "Get outta the way, you slow old broad!" Guess that's why he didn't see those blue lights pop on until he was nearly up on the cop's back bumper!
Of course, I slowed down even more to make sure the officer had PLENTY of room to slide right in behind his prey. Both cars pulled over immediately, barely clearing the road way, so naturally, I had to creep by for the safety of all involved. As a result, this also gave me lots of time to make eye contact with the offending driver and flash him a pretty smile as I went by! MY look said, "Uh, huh, big boy! Look who's on the side of the road and look at the slow old broad passing YOU by!"
Aside from the fact that I enjoyed that whole event WAY too much, I did learn something else from what happened. I was SO frustrated at consistantly doing the right thing, without reward or recognition, and was downright jealous of that multitude of others who zoomed right past me, breaking every rule, but seeming to get away with it.
Isn't that the way it sometimes is with alot of things in life? When we try our hardest to follow God's rules and obey Him, we are often viewed as saps and suckers who are missing out on life in the fast lane. While we are plodding along, watching His road signs and going at His speed, it appears at times that the sinners are having a blast, racing along, wind in their hair, with no penalties at all! It make us downright angry and we find ourselves questioning God and questioning His rules.
When we see the consequences hit home, though, and when we see a sinner trip up and fall over his disregard for the law, it suddenly reminds us that someone IS watching, even when we don't perceive Him. Just as the speeder who zipped past me was probably doing what HE did on a regular basis (i.e. ignore the rules) I was busy doing what I tried to practice every day! When the time came that somebody WAS paying close attention, I didn't have to abruptly change my ways and do something new. I just kept behaving as I do every time I pass that way!
There is an old saying we're all familiar with: "Practice makes perfect." I'm, by NO means, anywhere close to perfect at this point in life...but if I am PRACTICING the behaviors, values, and morals that God has called me to, I am so much less likely to end up on the side of the road, paying the penalty for the consequences that come from flaunting the rules and trying to do it all at my own speed.
Yes, somedays, when I'm passed up by folks having what seems like a WAY better time, it can be hard to see the point. On the other hand, someday, I'll stand before the Lord and, hopefully, get to hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." With that goal in mind, I realize I'd rather get there in HIS timing and on HIS road, rather than to race my own way and my own speed headlong into a crash!
So, both on the road and in life, I think I'll just bide my time, slow down where I'm told to and enjoy the ride!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Slip Slidin' Away
Sorry I haven't kept up to date lately, but as I stated last week, I took a pretty serious fall almost 2 weeks ago and have been spending most of my time in the lounge chair with an ice pack and a bad attitude!
The whole story of my slip and slide adventure is almost humourous now (well, ALMOST...) but at the time, it wasn't too funny at all. During this winter's wretched weather, I've been SO careful. We've had many, many inches of snow, topped with sleet, ice, and freezing rain which, over time had turned to a virtual skating rink in many places. Since I am suffering from advancing age and a lack of good health insurance, I'd been overly cautious ever time I set a toe outside the door. I bought those nifty little ice cleat things you can strap to the bottom of your shoes and I often used the snow shovel as a "crutch" to creep to the car. At all times, I walked in a crouch, arms outstreatched, ready for a potential fall. I was SO aware of every step and certain that no patch of ice was going to bring me down. I was on my guard!
Of course, as soon as we experienced a warm spell and everything began to melt, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was so wonderful to walk outside on dry pavement and not have to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame while doing it! I definitely relaxed and went confidently out the door, assured that every step was safe.
What I forgot to take into consideration was the fact that, underneath all that melting snow and ice, the earth had turned into a sea of cold, slippery mud. The first time I set my foot off the driveway and onto the yard, that foot went flying out from under me and down I went. Unfortunately, my shoulders were headed in a different direction from my backside and, as I fell, I heard an audible "pop" in my back. The pain hit me like I'd been tackled before I even landed.
It was one of those "your life flashes in front of you" moments. For several minutes, I lay on my back in icy, sticky mud, almost unable to breathe and incredibly panicked about what I might have done to myself. After a while, though, I figured out that I could wiggle my toes and move my legs, so I managed to sit up, with Zach's help, and roll over to crawl out of the mud to where I could try to stand up on the driveway. I knew that, if I attempted to get back up in that mud pit, I'd just end up falling down again.
The short version of the story is that I didn't end up doing permanent damage, but have really struggled over the last couple of weeks with alot of discomfort and rehabilitation. It was a very painful lesson in what ELSE to look out for in winter!
While I've been sitting and doing not much else, this whole incident made me think of how we run into such similar circumstances in our lives. When I first came to know the Lord and repented of my life without Him, I was SO ready to take on sin! Having lived a pretty decadent life before getting saved, I was sure I knew where ALL the "slippery spots" might be coming up...and I was definitely on my guard! Nobody was going to be able to throw anything at me that I would get tripped up on. I was walking through life, kind of like walking on that ice, with my head down, ready for any temptation. I wasn't going to slip!
Unfortunately, after a time, when my initial passion wore off and I got a bit too comfortable, the enemy of my Salvation knew exactly what to toss in my path to make sure I took a big fall. While I was busy watching out for all sorts of obvious sins that I thought would be like those big patches of ice this winter, the devil was preparing the "mud" for me to step in! Into my path, as I walked confidently staying on the straight and narrow, he planted a tall, handsome, blue-eyed 6-footer who was just smitten with little old me...and just "happened" to be a devoted atheist! As passionate as I had been about my faith, I was even more passionate about my new relationship and, needless to say, Christ quickly moved downward on the priority list! I slipped and I fell big time! This is not to say that anything that happened to my relationship with the Lord was the fault, in any way, of the charming young man that I fell for--it was just that, I became SO infatuated with him and wanted to please him to the point that, when he said church was silly and he didn't see the need to go, neither did I any more.
In time, we did go our seperate ways and it was then that I realized just how badly I had hurt myself. It was so much harder to get back up and come home to the Lord after having fallen right back into the old ways I had just repented from! Like the other day when I fell in the mud, I lay there in my sin for a long time before I "came to myself" and crawled back out to the solid Rock and got on my feet.
That was a long, long time ago, but the lesson was not lost on me. Any time that I get to believing that I am "there" and that my relationship with Jesus is just hunky-dory, I KNOW I'd better sit myself, get humble, and ask the Lord to show me exactly where I'm about to go off the path. I am always aware that the enemy has NEVER forgotten about me and will always be on the ready to throw an stumbling block in my way if I take my eyes off of where they should be.
No more slippin' and slidin' for me--in both the literal and spiritual mud! But, at the very least, I have definitely learned that, if I do misjudge my steps and end up flat on my back, I don't have to keep wallering where I'm laying, but I can get up, pull myself up, and deal with the consequences, knowing that the mud will wash off and I will be whole again in time.
Still, I think I'll try to stay on the solid ground in the first place! It hurts a WHOLE lot less!
The whole story of my slip and slide adventure is almost humourous now (well, ALMOST...) but at the time, it wasn't too funny at all. During this winter's wretched weather, I've been SO careful. We've had many, many inches of snow, topped with sleet, ice, and freezing rain which, over time had turned to a virtual skating rink in many places. Since I am suffering from advancing age and a lack of good health insurance, I'd been overly cautious ever time I set a toe outside the door. I bought those nifty little ice cleat things you can strap to the bottom of your shoes and I often used the snow shovel as a "crutch" to creep to the car. At all times, I walked in a crouch, arms outstreatched, ready for a potential fall. I was SO aware of every step and certain that no patch of ice was going to bring me down. I was on my guard!
Of course, as soon as we experienced a warm spell and everything began to melt, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was so wonderful to walk outside on dry pavement and not have to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame while doing it! I definitely relaxed and went confidently out the door, assured that every step was safe.
What I forgot to take into consideration was the fact that, underneath all that melting snow and ice, the earth had turned into a sea of cold, slippery mud. The first time I set my foot off the driveway and onto the yard, that foot went flying out from under me and down I went. Unfortunately, my shoulders were headed in a different direction from my backside and, as I fell, I heard an audible "pop" in my back. The pain hit me like I'd been tackled before I even landed.
It was one of those "your life flashes in front of you" moments. For several minutes, I lay on my back in icy, sticky mud, almost unable to breathe and incredibly panicked about what I might have done to myself. After a while, though, I figured out that I could wiggle my toes and move my legs, so I managed to sit up, with Zach's help, and roll over to crawl out of the mud to where I could try to stand up on the driveway. I knew that, if I attempted to get back up in that mud pit, I'd just end up falling down again.
The short version of the story is that I didn't end up doing permanent damage, but have really struggled over the last couple of weeks with alot of discomfort and rehabilitation. It was a very painful lesson in what ELSE to look out for in winter!
While I've been sitting and doing not much else, this whole incident made me think of how we run into such similar circumstances in our lives. When I first came to know the Lord and repented of my life without Him, I was SO ready to take on sin! Having lived a pretty decadent life before getting saved, I was sure I knew where ALL the "slippery spots" might be coming up...and I was definitely on my guard! Nobody was going to be able to throw anything at me that I would get tripped up on. I was walking through life, kind of like walking on that ice, with my head down, ready for any temptation. I wasn't going to slip!
Unfortunately, after a time, when my initial passion wore off and I got a bit too comfortable, the enemy of my Salvation knew exactly what to toss in my path to make sure I took a big fall. While I was busy watching out for all sorts of obvious sins that I thought would be like those big patches of ice this winter, the devil was preparing the "mud" for me to step in! Into my path, as I walked confidently staying on the straight and narrow, he planted a tall, handsome, blue-eyed 6-footer who was just smitten with little old me...and just "happened" to be a devoted atheist! As passionate as I had been about my faith, I was even more passionate about my new relationship and, needless to say, Christ quickly moved downward on the priority list! I slipped and I fell big time! This is not to say that anything that happened to my relationship with the Lord was the fault, in any way, of the charming young man that I fell for--it was just that, I became SO infatuated with him and wanted to please him to the point that, when he said church was silly and he didn't see the need to go, neither did I any more.
In time, we did go our seperate ways and it was then that I realized just how badly I had hurt myself. It was so much harder to get back up and come home to the Lord after having fallen right back into the old ways I had just repented from! Like the other day when I fell in the mud, I lay there in my sin for a long time before I "came to myself" and crawled back out to the solid Rock and got on my feet.
That was a long, long time ago, but the lesson was not lost on me. Any time that I get to believing that I am "there" and that my relationship with Jesus is just hunky-dory, I KNOW I'd better sit myself, get humble, and ask the Lord to show me exactly where I'm about to go off the path. I am always aware that the enemy has NEVER forgotten about me and will always be on the ready to throw an stumbling block in my way if I take my eyes off of where they should be.
No more slippin' and slidin' for me--in both the literal and spiritual mud! But, at the very least, I have definitely learned that, if I do misjudge my steps and end up flat on my back, I don't have to keep wallering where I'm laying, but I can get up, pull myself up, and deal with the consequences, knowing that the mud will wash off and I will be whole again in time.
Still, I think I'll try to stay on the solid ground in the first place! It hurts a WHOLE lot less!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
