Here are some things I've learned about Jesus that might be a suprise to Christians... and that many will try to explain away and give all kinds of reasons why Christians today shouldn't live their lives the same way. (Sorry, the cynical side of me had to add the second line.)
#1. Jesus hung out with broken, dirty, sinful people a lot more than he did with those who were religious. The ordinary, don't yet have it together, sinful people were the ones he chose to be his disciples, the ones to carry his message to all the world. They are the ones he broke religious tradition to eat with. They are the ones he offered grace and love to when the religious were offering contempt and judgment. Jesus doesn't seem to have very much at all to say to or about the religious leaders that was good. Instead, he actually reserved his harshest criticisms for them. (And by the way, realizing that totally changed the way I live my life as a Christian.) Jesus lived his entire life this way, but who do most Christians hang out with exclusively? Yep, other Christians. (I do it too, and it sucks.) We do so to try to become more like Jesus, but the scary thing is that we might actually become less like Jesus the more we hang around other Christians.
#2. Jesus drank alcohol. He also turned water into wine so others could drink. Paul encouraged Timothy to drink "a little wine" for his stomach. Many Christians, though, view drinking alcohol as one of those big sins, right up there with murder and voting Democrat.
#3. Jesus spent way more time teaching about how to live a life that pleases God than he did about escaping the fires of hell. Sorry, but it's the truth. I've long said that not wanting to go to hell is a pretty crappy reason to follow Christ. Not that anybody should want to go to hell, but becoming a Christian because you prefer cooler temperatures is like eating cake for the protein from the one egg in it.
#4. Jesus spent way more time teaching about the Kingdom of God on earth than about Heaven. Sorry again, but it's the truth also. It makes our Christian life here and now a whole lot more challenging, too...
#5. Jesus taught that more than anything else... more than our obedience to a set of religious rules, more than our money, more than looking "like a Christian," more than our words or deeds or anything else, what God really wants is us. He wants all of us in every way. He wants us to know him more intimately than we know even ourselves, and everything that God has done from the beginning of time till now has been his work to bring us back to him. If you really think about it, that gives us a remarkable freedom.
One of the pretty radical parts of Jesus message is that he didn't call us to live our lives in the black and white, as we so often try to do. He lived his life in the vast uncertainty of the grey, and he calls us to do it too. Lately, I have become more and more ok with not having all the answers, not having everything sorted out, and not really caring too much if other Christians disagree with me on some issues. I'm excited about jumping into the vast grey abyss of life with Jesus. It's sometimes scary, rarely easy, but it's an awesome journey, and I invite you to join me.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Broken and Unworthy
Those of you who know me know that I'm a thinker. I analyze and over analyze everything, however insignificant it might be. I think this is one of my strengths. I have good problem solving skills. I am able to look at most situations pretty objectively. I am fairly self-aware. I know when I get on other people's nerves. I know when I'm more or less on-target. My analytical mind is a strength, but it is also a weakness. Not everything needs to be analyzed to the extent I analyze it. Sometimes, I choose analysis instead of action.
Recently, though, one of the things I have been analyzing a lot is my attitude and my life. Something on my mind and heart a lot lately is the feeling that I am increasingly less worthy of bearing Christ's name. The more I learn and grow, the more I realize that I can't be who I want to be. I'm broken, incapable, and unworthy. As much as I strive to be holy. As much as I strive to be who God has called me to be, I fail.
I've always had this head knowledge, that I'm messed up and all. That fact was build into my mind as I became a Christian in high school. There was probably never a time in my Chrstian life when I wouldn't have said that I'm unworthy, that I'm sinful, that I fall short, but in the back of my mind I probably would have thought that I was doing pretty well. At this point in my life, right now, I feel like I "get it" so much more than I did just 2 or 3 years ago. I am realizing that Christianity isn't really about half of the things I thought it was about. There was a time when I was pretty caught up in being religious. I said that I was Christian, not religious, but really, well... I was in the business of self-righteous, "do this but not that", sin management with a little grace and faith thrown in for good measure. I thought you could tell who was a Christian by how they dressed, who they hung around with, whether or not they drank alcohol or smoked, etc. Now I don't define Christianity in those terms so much, and I feel a remarkable freedom to be like Jesus without being religious. I found that a lot of things I thought were important probably don't matter all that much to Jesus, and some of the things I put on the back burner are really what are most important... some of those things that are less measurable and not cut and dried. For example, when you define Christianity as doing A, B, and C, and not doing X, Y, and Z, then it's pretty easy to measure who fits that profile and who doesn't. So, whether its right or not, that's how Christianity is often defined. On the other hand, it is a lot more difficult to measure love and grace and a relationship with God, and that's what Christianity is about more than anything else.
The more I grow and the more I learn, the more I feel unworthy and incapable of being who I want to be, who God wants me to be. Many nights as I am laying in bed on my way to lala land I think about the day, and over the last few months I've found myself feeling more and more unworthy--messed up, broken in all sorts of ways, and short of who I want to me. Whether I've had a good day or a bad day, I can usually see pretty clearly a lot of the ways I messed up and could have done better, ways my attitude stunk. I have realized that more often than not, when I've had a bad day, it's not because dramatic life-altering bad things happened. No, it's usually because my attitude was crappy. Granted, sometimes stuff happens that I have no control over, but even then, most of the time my day would have ended up pretty good if I would have reacted with patience, rationality, and some of those other Christian qualities I claim to live by. So the more I learn and grow, the more aware I am that I'm not learning and growing nearly as much as I want or need to. And I want that to change.
Recently, though, one of the things I have been analyzing a lot is my attitude and my life. Something on my mind and heart a lot lately is the feeling that I am increasingly less worthy of bearing Christ's name. The more I learn and grow, the more I realize that I can't be who I want to be. I'm broken, incapable, and unworthy. As much as I strive to be holy. As much as I strive to be who God has called me to be, I fail.
I've always had this head knowledge, that I'm messed up and all. That fact was build into my mind as I became a Christian in high school. There was probably never a time in my Chrstian life when I wouldn't have said that I'm unworthy, that I'm sinful, that I fall short, but in the back of my mind I probably would have thought that I was doing pretty well. At this point in my life, right now, I feel like I "get it" so much more than I did just 2 or 3 years ago. I am realizing that Christianity isn't really about half of the things I thought it was about. There was a time when I was pretty caught up in being religious. I said that I was Christian, not religious, but really, well... I was in the business of self-righteous, "do this but not that", sin management with a little grace and faith thrown in for good measure. I thought you could tell who was a Christian by how they dressed, who they hung around with, whether or not they drank alcohol or smoked, etc. Now I don't define Christianity in those terms so much, and I feel a remarkable freedom to be like Jesus without being religious. I found that a lot of things I thought were important probably don't matter all that much to Jesus, and some of the things I put on the back burner are really what are most important... some of those things that are less measurable and not cut and dried. For example, when you define Christianity as doing A, B, and C, and not doing X, Y, and Z, then it's pretty easy to measure who fits that profile and who doesn't. So, whether its right or not, that's how Christianity is often defined. On the other hand, it is a lot more difficult to measure love and grace and a relationship with God, and that's what Christianity is about more than anything else.
The more I grow and the more I learn, the more I feel unworthy and incapable of being who I want to be, who God wants me to be. Many nights as I am laying in bed on my way to lala land I think about the day, and over the last few months I've found myself feeling more and more unworthy--messed up, broken in all sorts of ways, and short of who I want to me. Whether I've had a good day or a bad day, I can usually see pretty clearly a lot of the ways I messed up and could have done better, ways my attitude stunk. I have realized that more often than not, when I've had a bad day, it's not because dramatic life-altering bad things happened. No, it's usually because my attitude was crappy. Granted, sometimes stuff happens that I have no control over, but even then, most of the time my day would have ended up pretty good if I would have reacted with patience, rationality, and some of those other Christian qualities I claim to live by. So the more I learn and grow, the more aware I am that I'm not learning and growing nearly as much as I want or need to. And I want that to change.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Keep your stuff to yourself
Has anybody been to a Christian bookstore lately and noticed the shelf after shelf of Christian crap that's being sold. It's bugged me for a while, and more I think about it, the more it bugs me. I mean, does the world really need Christian mints. I guess they must be sanctified because they have King James Bible verses on them. Maybe they fight bad breath better.
I was at a bookstore recently and next to the Christian mints I saw little packets of "Harvest Seeds" for sale at the checkout counter--9 pieces of candy corn with a Bible verse on the package for 79 cents. I bet if some non-Christian kids got a pack of those they'd be believers by the time they finished off the package. Check out what a website selling the stuff has to say about it:
"This delicious Award Winning candy corn is made with real honey. Each piece of Scripture Candy is like that seed planted by the sower in the parable spoken by Jesus in Matthew 13; it has the potential of producing a tremendous harvest. Every bag of candy has a different Scripture Verse on it. This is the perfect candy to give away during the Autumn and Halloween season as a way to witness to your friends, neighbors and family. It's a great way to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ."
A great way to spread the gospel? It's candy. "The potential of producing a tremendous harvest?" It's candy! (Though not just any candy, candy with a Bible verse on it.) "A great way to witness." Or maybe a ridiculous waste of 79 cents.
Looking for some Christmas ideas? I recently saw that just in time for Christmas there is a going to be a Christian video game coming out that is based on the Left Behind book series--you know, the "made out to be an accurate biblical interpretation of the end times but is really a gross perversion of the truth" that has somehow caught a following of millions of unsuspecting Christians. The game is called Left Behind: Eternal Forces. I bet it is almost as fun as Saints of Virtue, the first person shooter where you can "overcome enemies like Pride, Fear, Vanity, and Self-righteousness while navigating an immense world full of traps, mazes, puzzles, and suprises." I bet it's great... or maybe it probably wont' be making my Christmas list this year... or at least it will be down the list from Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now game.
Why do people buy this stuff? Do they really think that it's ok to be materialistic and overconsume if the objects of their obsession have some sort of Christian label? Do they think that they are escaping the big evil world by buying lots of Christian junk instead of worldly junk? Do some feel the need to be identified by the stuff they buy and on some level they think if they buy "Christian" stuff they will be better Christians?
Though I am often a long way from where I want to be, I can honestly say that my faith goes deeper than these things. I'm not afraid to say that I'm more than a little sickened that these things even exist and are bought with any regularity. Millions of people around the world are starving, Christians in many countries live with the constant fear of government persecution, and we are buying "Christian" candy corn for 79 cents.
I was at a bookstore recently and next to the Christian mints I saw little packets of "Harvest Seeds" for sale at the checkout counter--9 pieces of candy corn with a Bible verse on the package for 79 cents. I bet if some non-Christian kids got a pack of those they'd be believers by the time they finished off the package. Check out what a website selling the stuff has to say about it:"This delicious Award Winning candy corn is made with real honey. Each piece of Scripture Candy is like that seed planted by the sower in the parable spoken by Jesus in Matthew 13; it has the potential of producing a tremendous harvest. Every bag of candy has a different Scripture Verse on it. This is the perfect candy to give away during the Autumn and Halloween season as a way to witness to your friends, neighbors and family. It's a great way to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ."
A great way to spread the gospel? It's candy. "The potential of producing a tremendous harvest?" It's candy! (Though not just any candy, candy with a Bible verse on it.) "A great way to witness." Or maybe a ridiculous waste of 79 cents.
Looking for some Christmas ideas? I recently saw that just in time for Christmas there is a going to be a Christian video game coming out that is based on the Left Behind book series--you know, the "made out to be an accurate biblical interpretation of the end times but is really a gross perversion of the truth" that has somehow caught a following of millions of unsuspecting Christians. The game is called Left Behind: Eternal Forces. I bet it is almost as fun as Saints of Virtue, the first person shooter where you can "overcome enemies like Pride, Fear, Vanity, and Self-righteousness while navigating an immense world full of traps, mazes, puzzles, and suprises." I bet it's great... or maybe it probably wont' be making my Christmas list this year... or at least it will be down the list from Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now game.
Why do people buy this stuff? Do they really think that it's ok to be materialistic and overconsume if the objects of their obsession have some sort of Christian label? Do they think that they are escaping the big evil world by buying lots of Christian junk instead of worldly junk? Do some feel the need to be identified by the stuff they buy and on some level they think if they buy "Christian" stuff they will be better Christians?
Though I am often a long way from where I want to be, I can honestly say that my faith goes deeper than these things. I'm not afraid to say that I'm more than a little sickened that these things even exist and are bought with any regularity. Millions of people around the world are starving, Christians in many countries live with the constant fear of government persecution, and we are buying "Christian" candy corn for 79 cents.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
I Saw the Sign
You know what drives me nuts? Church signs. Not all church signs, but most church signs. Specifically the ones that have those pithy little tongue-in-cheak sayings that usually end up somewhere in between "really offensive" and "meaningless to people who aren't Christians."I know a lot of Christians think these little sayings are cute, but should that really be the point of a church sign? To make other Christians think they are cute. A sign is the first contact most churches have with people in their community. It defines them. It identifies them. And so how do a lot of churches choose to identify themselves? By showing love and acceptance? Compassion and mercy? Relevance? Well, often it is something else. When I was still living in Memphis I drove by a couple of churches that regularly had signs that made me want to pull my hair out, rip by shirt, and punch myself in the face... or at least gripe about it every time it crossed my mind. One sign quote I remember clearly was, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." No joke. They actually love God's children enough to write that on the sign that identifies their church. Nothing says, "Let us show you Jesus' unconditional love" more than a sign like that. Another church had a sign that once said, "In the beginning was the Word, the King James Bible." Really, that's what Jesus read? Moses spoke 16th century English? Wow, I never knew that. Darn those Greek and Hebrew classes!
Here are quotes from some other church signs I found. Feel free to comment on your favorites. Vote for the one that shows God's grace and love the best.
"Give Satan an inch and he'll be your ruler." Darnit, I'd better cancel my plans to play euchre online tonight. That might lead to playing poker online, then to playing poker in person. That might lead to gambling, and we all know that playing games of chance is sinful, right up there with listening to the Eagles... you know, since they are Satan worshippers and all.
"Try Jesus. If you don't like him the devil will always take you back." -- I'm convinced now, please help me become a Christian immediately.
"Friends don't let friends go to hell." -- No, they condemn them to hell instead.
"The Koran needs to be flushed." -- This sign is obviously written to witness to Muslims. I bet this would make them want to be Christians.
"If your religion will not take you to church it will not take U to heaven." -- Interesting thought, but I must have missed that part of the Bible.
"Stop drop and roll won't work in hell. - God" -- Nice.
And my personal favorite...
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Ok, so maybe it isn't. I know Christmas is still a few months away, but I actually saw some Christmas merchandise in a store recently (yeah, it was still September when I saw it) and I thought of this story.
"To the dismay of Christians, City Hall’s dignity is marred by an ungainly appendage between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. A red trailer is chained to a parking meter on the east side of City Hall. A sign hanging slightly askew says “Santa’s Workshop.” Children are brought into the dimly lit room, most of them wailing and kicking, and have their picture taken with another bony Santa. This of course is an exercise for the parents, not the children, and Santa does a brisk business in Hartville. A small gray speaker mounted on top of the trailer plays a tinny “Rudolph” by Gene Autry and the Peanuts theme by Vince Guaraldi. Every thirty seconds Mrs. Santa invites the “kiddies” waiting outside to think hard about what they want her husband to bring them this year. On this fateful night Mrs. Santa was in rare form.
Not far away, about fifty people huddled together in front of City Hall with signs that read “Jesus Is the Reason for the Season,” “Put Christ Back in Christmas” and “Santa Didn’t Die for Your Sins!” The sun was nearly finished for the day, and shoppers scurried along with their bags. A line about fifteen feet deep formed in front of Santa’s place as parents tried to beat closing time. Deacon Wright, a former marine, and looking somewhat like Bull Conner at a civil rights march, led the way, encouraging his followers by chanting, “You can’t take our holiday!” [This is my interjection, but for the record "our holiday" is referring to the celebration of Christ's birth that the church moved up a couple of months to coincide with the Pagan festivities surrounding the winter solstice, so in a way it is the holiday we took from them...] “
They repeated in unison, “You can’t take our holiday" "It’s in our heart and here to stay!”
“Sound off, Jesus!”
“Sound off, he’s born!”
There are conflicting reports about how the fight began. [yes, how the fight began] Some say one of the elves asked the marchers to lower the volume of their singing. Others contend it was the nasally sound of Gene Autry that pushed the protesters over the brink. Whatever it was, the next day the headline on the front of the Daily News said, “Police Arrest Four in Skirmish with Santa.” Christmas is supposed to bring peace on earth, goodwill to men, but just the opposite happened at City Hall last night. Four protesters were arrested, then released after allegedly attacking Santa Claus at his holiday workshop. One elf was also slightly injured."
This story is so ridiculous it's actually pretty stinkin' funny, but then again its really sad at the same time.
"To the dismay of Christians, City Hall’s dignity is marred by an ungainly appendage between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. A red trailer is chained to a parking meter on the east side of City Hall. A sign hanging slightly askew says “Santa’s Workshop.” Children are brought into the dimly lit room, most of them wailing and kicking, and have their picture taken with another bony Santa. This of course is an exercise for the parents, not the children, and Santa does a brisk business in Hartville. A small gray speaker mounted on top of the trailer plays a tinny “Rudolph” by Gene Autry and the Peanuts theme by Vince Guaraldi. Every thirty seconds Mrs. Santa invites the “kiddies” waiting outside to think hard about what they want her husband to bring them this year. On this fateful night Mrs. Santa was in rare form.
Not far away, about fifty people huddled together in front of City Hall with signs that read “Jesus Is the Reason for the Season,” “Put Christ Back in Christmas” and “Santa Didn’t Die for Your Sins!” The sun was nearly finished for the day, and shoppers scurried along with their bags. A line about fifteen feet deep formed in front of Santa’s place as parents tried to beat closing time. Deacon Wright, a former marine, and looking somewhat like Bull Conner at a civil rights march, led the way, encouraging his followers by chanting, “You can’t take our holiday!” [This is my interjection, but for the record "our holiday" is referring to the celebration of Christ's birth that the church moved up a couple of months to coincide with the Pagan festivities surrounding the winter solstice, so in a way it is the holiday we took from them...] “
They repeated in unison, “You can’t take our holiday" "It’s in our heart and here to stay!”
“Sound off, Jesus!”
“Sound off, he’s born!”
There are conflicting reports about how the fight began. [yes, how the fight began] Some say one of the elves asked the marchers to lower the volume of their singing. Others contend it was the nasally sound of Gene Autry that pushed the protesters over the brink. Whatever it was, the next day the headline on the front of the Daily News said, “Police Arrest Four in Skirmish with Santa.” Christmas is supposed to bring peace on earth, goodwill to men, but just the opposite happened at City Hall last night. Four protesters were arrested, then released after allegedly attacking Santa Claus at his holiday workshop. One elf was also slightly injured."
This story is so ridiculous it's actually pretty stinkin' funny, but then again its really sad at the same time.
It takes unselfish people...
Over the last few days I've been thinking a lot about how selfish I am. I can't even describe all the ways, the little seemingly insignificant ways that my selfishness is put on display. The more I think about it, selfishness really sucks. I don't mean that it sucks when other people are selfish and it ends up meaning that I get the short end of the stick. I mean it sucks to be selfish, because even getting everything I want, when and how I want it, doesn't make me truly happy. I just end up pushing the envelope a little farther and wanting more.
I've realized that selfishness is really the opposite of love. Love says, "I can't stand for you not to be happy." Love says, "I will gladly go out of my way, to the ends of the earth, to make sure you have what you need and most of what you want." Love says, "No matter what--no matter how you treat me, no matter what I get out of it, no matter what it costs me--no matter what, I'll always be there for you." Selfishness says, "Won't you do _____ to make me happy?" Selfishness says, "Why won't you go out of your way for me?" Selfishness says, "I love you, but..."
I am coming to realize that selfishness messes up God's plans, because his plans are executed out of love... love of God, love of neighbor, and on some level love of self. I have learned first hand that one of the most freeing things in life is letting go of my desire to get something... being freed from the bondage of selfishness. I can't count the number of times I have worried and fretted about something situation without seeing any change, only to have things work out perfectly once I stopped worrying and just put the situation to God's hands. I've read a quote several times that says something like, "True happiness is not getting what you want, but being satisfied with what you have." I have experienced it time and again, but I can't seem to really get it through my head that I am a lot better off when I let God take care of me instead of trying to take care of myself. And so my selfishness persists.
No matter how I look at it, no matter what area of life I think of, it seems like it takes unselfish people to fulfill God's plans and purposes for our lives. If I really want what God has for me, I have to get over myself long enough to let God give it to me. If I want to live out the Great Commission and reach people for Christ, I have to be willing to give up my time and my comfort to build relationships and talk with people. I have to be willing to give up "my church" with the songs I like and the messages that feed me and be willing to unselfishly realize that maybe somebody else needs what they need more than I need what I need. If I want to be a good husband, I have to quit asking what my wife has done for me and ask myself why I haven't done more for her. Being selfish sucks. I don't want to be selfish, but it is as natural as breathing. So my selfishness persists.
I've realized that selfishness is really the opposite of love. Love says, "I can't stand for you not to be happy." Love says, "I will gladly go out of my way, to the ends of the earth, to make sure you have what you need and most of what you want." Love says, "No matter what--no matter how you treat me, no matter what I get out of it, no matter what it costs me--no matter what, I'll always be there for you." Selfishness says, "Won't you do _____ to make me happy?" Selfishness says, "Why won't you go out of your way for me?" Selfishness says, "I love you, but..."
I am coming to realize that selfishness messes up God's plans, because his plans are executed out of love... love of God, love of neighbor, and on some level love of self. I have learned first hand that one of the most freeing things in life is letting go of my desire to get something... being freed from the bondage of selfishness. I can't count the number of times I have worried and fretted about something situation without seeing any change, only to have things work out perfectly once I stopped worrying and just put the situation to God's hands. I've read a quote several times that says something like, "True happiness is not getting what you want, but being satisfied with what you have." I have experienced it time and again, but I can't seem to really get it through my head that I am a lot better off when I let God take care of me instead of trying to take care of myself. And so my selfishness persists.
No matter how I look at it, no matter what area of life I think of, it seems like it takes unselfish people to fulfill God's plans and purposes for our lives. If I really want what God has for me, I have to get over myself long enough to let God give it to me. If I want to live out the Great Commission and reach people for Christ, I have to be willing to give up my time and my comfort to build relationships and talk with people. I have to be willing to give up "my church" with the songs I like and the messages that feed me and be willing to unselfishly realize that maybe somebody else needs what they need more than I need what I need. If I want to be a good husband, I have to quit asking what my wife has done for me and ask myself why I haven't done more for her. Being selfish sucks. I don't want to be selfish, but it is as natural as breathing. So my selfishness persists.
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