When I went to college at a small Christian school, there were people who routinely left their car doors unlocked. Their justification for doing so was to ask if locking the door would really keep out a potential burglar who really wanted the car, and then follow up by asking if the door being unlocked would keep God from protecting it, turning their indiscretion into an act of faith.
Which never really followed, at least not to me. If someone doesn't steal your car on a given night, it doesn't really prove that God was protecting it, rather than it proves that whoever would have potentially stolen your car either found one before yours or didn't like yours enough to want to steal it. On the other hand, if said car WAS stolen, it does kind of definitively prove that God wasn't protecting your car that night (I don't know, maybe He was on the toilet?).
And my college was in an area where there was a REALLY high per-capita population of former sex-criminals (rape, child molestation, etc.), which really is similar to forms of theft, when you think about it. These were people who were used to, in a sense, taking things that didn't belong to them for their own benefit. So leaving one's car unlocked in such a place was almost like asking to have your car stolen. Naturally the question that follows is, Why?
And their answer, with arms flung wide for bravado and emphasis (sound and fury), was usually, "Well, if some criminal really wants the car so badly that they'd have to steal it, they obviously need it more than I do, so they can have it."
Which is really nice and faux-generous and anti-materialist and whatever, but it always struck me as being similar to saying, "Well, I'll just take these smoke detectors out of my house, because if God's plan is to kill me in a house fire while I'm sleeping, I wouldn't want to spit in His face by trying to survive."
Which isn't generous, it's fatalist. And it's a horrible way to paint a Christian.
Though it shouldn't surprise me. It's asking for martyrdom, which has been a Christian convention for about, oh, 2000 years now. But seeking out martyrdom is not something that we should strive for, and certainly not something that the God of the Bible wants for our lives.
Yes, martyrdom is very noble. And the reason for that is martyrdom is dying for a belief which cannot be proven, a willingness to stand up in the face of oppression and of uncertainty and say, this is something that I attest to, this is who I am, and I am willing to die to keep it that way.
Which is not what the other things are like. It's thinking you're able to call yourself a martyr by baiting people into wronging you in some way, and then saying that God's with you against the world when the world takes your bait. That's not martyrdom, that's teasing.
And it's a wrong way of thinking. As I've stated before, we all admire martyrs because of the nobility of their death. But the wrong way of thinking is when that admiration translates into thinking that Christianity is something to die for, rather than something to LIVE for.
Jesus did not give his followers the gift of death. He gave them a better way to LIVE LIFE, the life that we've been given quite undeservedly. And rather than living that life in a selfish fashion, watching one's own back and strictly being concerned with one's own physical and spiritual needs, Jesus of Nazareth came to earth and showed the unholy to the holy, showed the lost to the found, showed the hungry to the well-fed, showed the have-nots to the haves. And the life he lived echoes the life that WE should live, one outlined well before Jesus' birth in the words of the prophet Micah:
What does the LORD require of you?:
-Do Justly
-Love Mercy
-Walk Humbly with Thy God
And that's it. Rather than abandon one's car to being stolen by someone who doesn't have, Do Justly by paying attention to their needs and Love Mercy by trying to understand what has put them in such need in the first place. Rather than giving into one's pride and announcing with arrogant certitude that God will protect your car, Walk Humbly with Thy God by thanking Him that He's given you an alarm and locks on your door by using them.
Perhaps someday you will be in an oppressive situation, where someone is ACTUALLY disparaging you and your faith and ACTUALLY has the power to kill you for what you believe. And in THAT day, you can take your stand, your last genuine act of faith, and say to these people that, no, you don't have proof, you don't have a guarantee, but what you're doing is choosing to place yourself over that fence, to cast your lot with Christ rather than with an oppressive world out to destroy what you have hope in. And perhaps in that day, yes, you will be martyred.
But until that unlikely day comes, pray for and visit those in prison. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Heal the sick. Comfort the Mourning. Give of what you have for those who have-not.
And remember, Christianity is not to be thought of as something to die for. It is Something to Live For.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
The End of the World
Just for the sake of those unaware, the world ended last week.
There was a huge earthquake that threw open all the graves on Earth, and those dead in Christ rose again.
All of the true Christians on earth were raptured up to heaven.
And then the final five months of the world began, with all of those left behind damned for eternity to hell.
But, this is not the first time this has happened.
The world ended in about 2000 B.C. when the Zoroastrians predicted that the world would come to an end.
The world ended in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.
The world ended in 1033 when a few predicted that the second coming would occur a thousand years after Christ's death.
The world ended in 1666 when fires ravaged England.
The world ended in 1776 when doomsayers predicted the American Revolution would incite the end of the world.
The world ended in 1844 when William Miller predicted the Second Coming and sold ascension robes to his followers.
The world ended in 1890 when Joseph Smith turned 85 (well after he was murdered in 1844).
The world ended in 1914 when Jehovah's Witnesses announced that Jesus had finally started reigning in heaven.
The world ended in 1938 when Martians landed in New Jersey.
The world ended in 1970 when Hal Lindsey predicted it would.
The world ended in 1978 when Jim Jones predicted it would.
The world ended in 1988 when Edgar Whisenant predicted it would.
The world ended in 1993 when David Koresh predicted it would.
The world ended in 1994 when Harold Camping predicted it would.
The world ended in 1997 when Marshall Applewhite predicted it would.
The world ended in 2000 when just about everybody predicted it would.
And the world will end in 2012 when the Mayan Calendar comes to a big round number and nobody seems to know how to interpret that except that it's the end of the world.
-----
It's always the End Of The World As We Know It, because the world is always changing.
There was a huge earthquake that threw open all the graves on Earth, and those dead in Christ rose again.
All of the true Christians on earth were raptured up to heaven.
And then the final five months of the world began, with all of those left behind damned for eternity to hell.
But, this is not the first time this has happened.
The world ended in about 2000 B.C. when the Zoroastrians predicted that the world would come to an end.
The world ended in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.
The world ended in 1033 when a few predicted that the second coming would occur a thousand years after Christ's death.
The world ended in 1666 when fires ravaged England.
The world ended in 1776 when doomsayers predicted the American Revolution would incite the end of the world.
The world ended in 1844 when William Miller predicted the Second Coming and sold ascension robes to his followers.
The world ended in 1890 when Joseph Smith turned 85 (well after he was murdered in 1844).
The world ended in 1914 when Jehovah's Witnesses announced that Jesus had finally started reigning in heaven.
The world ended in 1938 when Martians landed in New Jersey.
The world ended in 1970 when Hal Lindsey predicted it would.
The world ended in 1978 when Jim Jones predicted it would.
The world ended in 1988 when Edgar Whisenant predicted it would.
The world ended in 1993 when David Koresh predicted it would.
The world ended in 1994 when Harold Camping predicted it would.
The world ended in 1997 when Marshall Applewhite predicted it would.
The world ended in 2000 when just about everybody predicted it would.
And the world will end in 2012 when the Mayan Calendar comes to a big round number and nobody seems to know how to interpret that except that it's the end of the world.
-----
It's always the End Of The World As We Know It, because the world is always changing.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
These People That I Love
Facebook is another tragic reminder of how short life is.
I mean, I'm glad it exists, I'm glad I'm able to keep in touch with friends from South Africa and Paris and Australia that, honestly, 20 years ago I'd have never really had the opportunity to regularly communicate with. Technology has certainly made our world smaller.
Though one has to admit that, in spite of the world's shrinking, we've now enabled ourselves to live our petty little isolated lives in an even more menial capacity, while using facebook to fool ourselves into thinking we're more important than we really are. We can have 4000 "friends" online and yet still spend a birthday or an evening totally and utterly alone, with not but the buzz of a cell phone or the blink of a computer screen to keep us company. And it's tragic that now we can waste away an evening in an imaginary community online rather than in the imaginary community of Gopher Prairie or Arnette, Texas. There would probably be better and more real company in those places than there would be on a social networking site.
But lately, my mind has been turned to the friendships that are represented by facebook, and how despite the fact that these are really my friends and that I actually do care about them, most of those relationships will never be able to develop deeply because of location, because of time constraints, because of the pursuit of money to survive, because of realism and so many other things that prevent the kind of deep, intimate friendships that I truly believe my friends deserve.
Now whenever I log onto facebook or myspace or friendster or orkot or whatever the blankety blank it is this week, I see these people that I love, most of whom will never be given or will never feel the love that they deserve to feel, will never really know how important/special/awesome they must be in order for me to consider them my friend, simply because I don't have the time to go around making everyone my best friend.
And no one does. Because time is so short.
Like Bill Watterson said, this life is fragile, precious and temporary, and in order to go along with our lives we can't really sit and realize exactly how that is or what that means.
I suppose if time is so short, you have to do all you can with it. There is absolutely none to waste and not nearly enough to do all that you want to do.
This thought is unfinished, but I think it's obvious why. Because life is too short.
I mean, I'm glad it exists, I'm glad I'm able to keep in touch with friends from South Africa and Paris and Australia that, honestly, 20 years ago I'd have never really had the opportunity to regularly communicate with. Technology has certainly made our world smaller.
Though one has to admit that, in spite of the world's shrinking, we've now enabled ourselves to live our petty little isolated lives in an even more menial capacity, while using facebook to fool ourselves into thinking we're more important than we really are. We can have 4000 "friends" online and yet still spend a birthday or an evening totally and utterly alone, with not but the buzz of a cell phone or the blink of a computer screen to keep us company. And it's tragic that now we can waste away an evening in an imaginary community online rather than in the imaginary community of Gopher Prairie or Arnette, Texas. There would probably be better and more real company in those places than there would be on a social networking site.
But lately, my mind has been turned to the friendships that are represented by facebook, and how despite the fact that these are really my friends and that I actually do care about them, most of those relationships will never be able to develop deeply because of location, because of time constraints, because of the pursuit of money to survive, because of realism and so many other things that prevent the kind of deep, intimate friendships that I truly believe my friends deserve.
Now whenever I log onto facebook or myspace or friendster or orkot or whatever the blankety blank it is this week, I see these people that I love, most of whom will never be given or will never feel the love that they deserve to feel, will never really know how important/special/awesome they must be in order for me to consider them my friend, simply because I don't have the time to go around making everyone my best friend.
And no one does. Because time is so short.
Like Bill Watterson said, this life is fragile, precious and temporary, and in order to go along with our lives we can't really sit and realize exactly how that is or what that means.
I suppose if time is so short, you have to do all you can with it. There is absolutely none to waste and not nearly enough to do all that you want to do.
This thought is unfinished, but I think it's obvious why. Because life is too short.
Friday, May 20, 2011
God Helps Those Who...
Think again...
The good news: "God helps those who help themselves" is not a true statement. Never was.
The truth is: God helps those who CAN'T help themselves.
God is not the god of the capable, the rich, the fat and the unconcerned--far from it. God is the God of the disenfranchised, the weak, the weary, the mourning, the incapable, the helpless, the downtrodden and the sick.
Christ didn't hang with the elite, the cream of the crop, and those who had manipulated others to their own ends. He hung down with the freaks and the ghouls, those who had been cheated by those elbowing their way to the top. He hung out with those who had to steal to feed their families, those who had to sell their bodies to survive in the here and now, those who had been exploited to the point of poverty and illness by the rich.
And did he frown on them for their reliance on handouts? Did he scorn them when they asked for healing, or even for money? Did he chastise them for having to do illegal things because of the immorality of those above them?
No.
He loved them. He decided that they were his people--the downtrodden, the poor, the sick, the criminals. He said that the poor would be rich in his kingdom, because they refused to step on their fellow man and had fallen behind. He said those who were quick to listen and learn would inherit the earth, because they weren't so arrogantly certain of themselves and what they attested to. He said that those who were mourning because they couldn't feed their child--they would be comforted despite those who had overlooked them.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 indicates that being arrogant, comfortable, overfed and unconcerned are detestable things in God's sight. That those who decided that their place was secure and they didn't need to care at all for the fate of those around them were to be despised above all men. Because Sodom was so arrogant and overfed, the Lord said, it was destroyed. Ignore the plight of those around you and take whatever you want that doesn't belong to you for your own pleasure, and you'll be destroyed. Pretty harsh lesson.
That's why God is not the god of America.
Those who are overfed and unconcerned cannot count themselves with God, because God doesn't count Himself with them.
God is the God of those suffering in Africa, who lack clean water and are dying from AIDS. God is the God of those in South Asia, where overpopulation kills thousands of children a year. God is the God of those oppressed by tyrannical governments, despots, plagues, fires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, inequality, slander and hatred.
God helps those who CAN'T help themselves.
And how does He help them, one might ask?
He's already taken care of that.
And here's a hint: it's your job, Christian.
In Matthew 25, Jesus makes it pretty clear that the Lord's work is to be done by his followers. "Whatever you've done for the least of these, my brothers, you've done for me."
"These are my people...
They are starving...
They are sick...
They are in prison...
They are naked...
Feed them.
Heal them.
Comfort them.
Clothe them.
Because I help those who cannot help themselves."
The good news: "God helps those who help themselves" is not a true statement. Never was.
The truth is: God helps those who CAN'T help themselves.
God is not the god of the capable, the rich, the fat and the unconcerned--far from it. God is the God of the disenfranchised, the weak, the weary, the mourning, the incapable, the helpless, the downtrodden and the sick.
Christ didn't hang with the elite, the cream of the crop, and those who had manipulated others to their own ends. He hung down with the freaks and the ghouls, those who had been cheated by those elbowing their way to the top. He hung out with those who had to steal to feed their families, those who had to sell their bodies to survive in the here and now, those who had been exploited to the point of poverty and illness by the rich.
And did he frown on them for their reliance on handouts? Did he scorn them when they asked for healing, or even for money? Did he chastise them for having to do illegal things because of the immorality of those above them?
No.
He loved them. He decided that they were his people--the downtrodden, the poor, the sick, the criminals. He said that the poor would be rich in his kingdom, because they refused to step on their fellow man and had fallen behind. He said those who were quick to listen and learn would inherit the earth, because they weren't so arrogantly certain of themselves and what they attested to. He said that those who were mourning because they couldn't feed their child--they would be comforted despite those who had overlooked them.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 indicates that being arrogant, comfortable, overfed and unconcerned are detestable things in God's sight. That those who decided that their place was secure and they didn't need to care at all for the fate of those around them were to be despised above all men. Because Sodom was so arrogant and overfed, the Lord said, it was destroyed. Ignore the plight of those around you and take whatever you want that doesn't belong to you for your own pleasure, and you'll be destroyed. Pretty harsh lesson.
That's why God is not the god of America.
Those who are overfed and unconcerned cannot count themselves with God, because God doesn't count Himself with them.
God is the God of those suffering in Africa, who lack clean water and are dying from AIDS. God is the God of those in South Asia, where overpopulation kills thousands of children a year. God is the God of those oppressed by tyrannical governments, despots, plagues, fires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, inequality, slander and hatred.
God helps those who CAN'T help themselves.
And how does He help them, one might ask?
He's already taken care of that.
And here's a hint: it's your job, Christian.
In Matthew 25, Jesus makes it pretty clear that the Lord's work is to be done by his followers. "Whatever you've done for the least of these, my brothers, you've done for me."
"These are my people...
They are starving...
They are sick...
They are in prison...
They are naked...
Feed them.
Heal them.
Comfort them.
Clothe them.
Because I help those who cannot help themselves."
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