An End of Excuses

For me, one of the best things about Scripture is how you can have read a passage – even multiple times – and suddenly see something in it that you never really noticed before. Some new truth will be revealed to you. It’s sort of akin to finding $20 in a pair of pants you haven’t worn in years.

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago, and it’s taken me this long to write this post. But I needed to write this, because this truth is very important for my fellow Christians to hear. Or hear again.

Here is the text:

“whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:11

If you attend a church – of any size – you most likely find that said church has difficulty finding enough volunteers for their programs. They’re short on teachers, short on nursery workers, short on people to help clean up, in need of people to do outreach, etc. In every church that I’ve seen, it’s always a small percentage of the congregation that does the lion’s share of the work. The rest of the population just goes to consume. If asked directly, these consumers say something to the effect of, “Well, nursery just isn’t my thing” or “I’m not really a very good teacher”.

Cast your eyes back up to the quoted verse. Pay close attention to the words “the strength that God supplies”. Roll that around in your brain for a second. Those simple words, in the middle of that verse, pretty decisively negate any excuse you could come up with. The truth is, God doesn’t want your strength. He doesn’t need it. He has plenty all by himself. As humans, we tend to take credit for our strengths. God is glorified when we, in our weakness and frailty, use his strength to do his work.

Think about Moses. By his own admission, Moses was a poor speaker. Not only that, but he was an exiled shepherd, just trying to live out a quiet life. Then, God shows up and tells him that he will free the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. In a great example of our humanity, he argues with God about all of the reasons that he’s not qualified. God, essentially, says, “Yes, I know. You’re going anyway, and it’s going to be awesome”. At the end of the day, the only thing Moses had going for him was obedience. That is what God desires. Just our desire to be obedient and use “the strength that God supplies”.

I’ll admit that this revelation makes me feel pretty silly (and more than a little ashamed) for all of the times that I’ve allowed opportunities pass me by. Specifically, I’ve been exceedingly reluctant to share my faith with others. I have a litany of reasons excuses, too:

“I don’t want to seem pushy”.

“I’m not sure that I could convince them of my point of view”.

“I’m still too young in my own faith to share it with others”.

You see where I’m going with this? The only truth in any of this is that I really don’t want to, and I want to rationalize it away, so I don’t have to do anything outside of my comfort zone.

When I read this passage of Scripture, I wasn’t necessarily looking for anything to really shake me up. However, I was moved almost to tears by the truth and simplicity of it, and at the memories of times when I’ve been disobedient because I didn’t want to make myself uncomfortable. On the heels of this, though, I was also reminded of the times when I’ve been most blessed in my spiritual walk. It was those times when I listened for God to tell me where he needed me, and then did what he asked. I’ll be completely honest here, too – it’s always been service in areas that I would never have volunteered for out of my strengths and abilities.

Fellow Christians – it should be no surprise to you that God seeks to advance his glory and that he desires our help in doing so. If you are not currently serving, please take this as my loving chastisement. Get out there and get your hands dirty. God desires a church in motion. 1 Peter 4:11 removes any excuses we have for idly sitting by and letting others do all of the work, while you sit idly on your derriere. Move.

PS. Yes, I compared the Bible to a pair of pants. I also compared the truth of it to a $20 bill. I’ll tell you what, though. I sure feel like checking through the other pockets now!

Culture of the Lost

I've been thinking about athiests a lot lately. More specifically, I've been thinking about the nature of atheism, and what causes it. I think I've got an idea or two. I'm writing on-the-fly, so we'll see where this goes.

First of all, let's take a look at our culture. I've wondered more than once why missionaries can go to poverty-stricken countries and see tremendous conversions to Christ. How people in countries where Christianity is illegal (and punishable by imprisonment or death) will meet in standing-room-only rooms, under cover of darkness, just for an opportunity to hear the Scripture. It truly boggles the mind when, in the US, church members will stay home from church when it's raining. And raining plain ol' water, not bullets.

Not to go all Tyler Durden here, but I think consumerism may be part of the cause. In Western countries, we're advertised to CONSTANTLY. We're made to think that our lives are lacking if we don't have the latest gadget, the fastest car, the whitest teeth. What this causes is a society of consumers. And what do consumers do but, well, consume? Everything in our lives is focused on drawing in - on pulling things towards ourselves. We become black holes at the center of our own little universes and, when we are at the center of the universe, it becomes difficult to perceive anything else as being more meaningful than our own existences.

I think that this is where atheism springs from. If we are our own gods, what use have we for any others? Indeed, it becomes galling to even consider our focus wavering from ourselves. When our lives are full of our stuff and our own concerns, where is there room for God? So many of the atheists I know have such scorn for Christians. I know that I hated Christians before I became one. I think this contempt is a product of the perceived weakness of a group of people who would willingly submit to another entity, especially one that you can't see.

"We don't need God. You want me to believe in God? I'm going to need you to put him in this box for me. I'm going to need him to show himself to me, personally."

There is no room for faith in this thinking. Instead, it's a demand for a more self-focused approach. More consuming for the consumers. We want God to come to us. We want God to be a product that we can digest. What we don't want is something to be subservient to. We're far too proud and intelligent and self-gratifying for that.

And most of us Western Christians display these characteristics, too. This explains why the flashiest churches have the highest attendance - they have the best, shiniest product. It's also why, in any given Western church, maybe 20% of the population does all of the work. The rest of us don't want to stop focusing on ourselves - to stop consuming - long enough to truly build a relationship, either with God, or with our supposed brothers and sisters in Christ.

I think it's interesting that - as far as I know - every major society in the span of human existence has believed in and worshipped one or more deities. That being the case, is it completely unreasonable that - maybe, just maybe - there's something to that? That maybe you are NOT the center of the universe?

I'm not bringing all of this up to pick a fight. Truly. Atheists, I used to be where you are. I used to be you. Then, I was broken. I reached a point in my life where my own deity (myself) failed me. I turned to God in desperation and, while my life certainly hasn't been all puppy dogs and ice cream since then, I've been more filled up than I ever was as an atheist. My sincere prayer for you is that you are broken to the point where your own deity is insufficient. Not because I want bad things to happen to you, but because I want to share what I now have with you.

Hope to see you on the other side.

Statistical Analysis (or, Who Are You, Lone Visitor?)

And if that title didn't put you straight to sleep, I don't know what will (no offense to people who are into statistical analysis).

One of the great things about keeping this blog is the lovely toolset that Blogger gives me to track things like pageviews, audience, etc.  It doesn't drill down to an individual person or anything like that, but country of origin, linking page, and such are at my fingertips.  Ordinarily, I see a brief spike when I post a new blog and self-promote on Facebook.  People like my parents and a few close friends check in to see what I'm rambling about now and, within a day or so, the pageviews flatline again.  I'm mostly journaling for my own entertainment, so it's not a huge blow to my ego when I don't get pageviews for a while.  I'm not a huge source of news, or a celebrity, or hosting a depository of cute cat photos, so, admittedly, the draw is limited.

What spikes my curiousity is after I haven't posted anything new for a while and then get a single hit.  Especially when it's from a country where I don't know anyone.  Who is this single person, and what brought them to my tiny corner of internetdom?  Did they find what they were looking for?  I'd love to be able to engage this lonely visitor in a dialogue, just to complete that connection.  Was it a random blog link, or did they come, searching for beer, music, zombies, or religion (and what sicko [other than me] would combine those things)? 

People are notoriously loathe to forfeit their anonymity, but I'd really enjoy hearing from you if you find yourself here and don't already know me personally.  If you don't mind, drop me a quick comment, letting me know what brought you here.  I think it'd be a fun experiment.

It's Not (Necessarily) Hate

Amidst a Facebook newsfeed largely comprised of red equal signs, I saw a phrase that I took some exception to: Str8 Against H8 (Straight Against Hate).  On the surface, there's nothing wrong here.  I am also straight and am not particularly pro-hate.  I understand that equal marriage rights are a huge deal right now.  Personally, I don't care if you marry your patio furniture.  It doesn't change my marriage in any way. 

No, the problem I have is this wholesale appropriation of the word "hate" by the LGBT community to label anyone who doesn't agree with them.  It's certainly an effective political tool, and one that I'm certain has rallied more than a few to their cause.  I mean, let's be honest - who wants to be viewed as someone who HATES an entire subsection of our society?  Anyone?  Probably not.  From a purely psychological standpoint, I bet there a good number of people who look at this propaganda-esque usage of the word and jumped on board, just to escape the label.  Very clever, LGBT community.

However, I'm going to go ahead and cry foul here.  I am not a stupid person, and I understand that this "hate" label is largely being leveled at Christians, right-wing-ers, evangelicals, fundamentalists, and whatever other groups are not on board with gay marriage, regardless of reasoning.  This lack of concern for the reason of one's opposition is my problem, and I'm going to say this loud and clear:

Religious conviction is not the same thing as hate.

It just isn't - regardless of willy-nilly application of labels.  As I've already stated, I'm not a stupid person.  I am sadly aware that some (perhaps many) people who oppose gay marriage do hate homosexuals.  It's unfortunate that, if these people who do hate - and do so in the name of God - are ignorant and are also, quite frankly, doing it wrong.  Scripture tells us to love each other many more times than it condemns homosexuality.  Actually, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, amongst the people who are listed as not inheriting the kingdom of God are, yes, homosexuals.  Right alongside them are: the sexually immoral (which is a BROAD topic), idolators (anyone who places anything else above God), adulterers, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers.  Certainly, most of us (myself included) fall into one or more of these categories - even the Christians.  The only hope any of us have is the salvation as noted in v. 11 - sanctification in Jesus Christ.

Now, where am I going with this?  Mostly, I just think it's unfair for everyone who disagrees with a particular issue to have this "hate" label applied to them.  For a group (the LGBT community) who is trying so hard to be accepted and normalized in society, this approach seems a bit counter-productive to me.  As I've said in other posts - if you're asking for tolerance and acceptance, try practicing a little.  Casting anyone who doesn't agree with you as an enemy does not foster acceptance.  Instead, it makes people defensive.  If you really want walls to come down in relationships, you have to bring yours down, too.

We'll all be better off when we can learn to disagree on principles without personal attacks on those who may be against us.  We're all human.  We all want to be loved and be free to live our lives in the way that we best see fit.  Let's all try to be a little cooler and not create hate where it doesn't exist.

Monkeys And Clay

I'm sure that most of us have certain things that we don't talk about in certain groups. For me, one of those things has been rearing its ugly head lately, and I've been finding myself biting my tongue an awful lot over the last few days. This is particularly troubling because the groups that I've been in have been groups that I should feel free to speak my mind with.  The major issue is that the topic in question is one of those hot-button topics that can really set individuals off.

In this case, I am speaking of the debate between evolution and creationism.

Let me lay out the scenarios: In the first, a fellow Christian and good friend of mine brought up people who believe in evolution in a tone that I would expect ordinarily reserved for, say, Michael Vick, immediately following that whole dog-fighting fiasco. The implication was that Christians should not believe in evolution.  This was Friday night.

The second happened Sunday morning, during our church service. The pastor was delivering a sermon on hearing the voice of God. Towards the end of the sermon, he made some statements that basically said that, if you believed in evolution, you were essentially unable to hear God, because you were too busy listening to the World (which is a bad thing).

It appears to me that this is one of those things that (like so many things nowadays) has become completely politicized and polarizing. Christians feel that believing in evolution negates God's hand in the creation of, well, everything. Evolutionists feel that believing in God means that you have checked your brain at the door and have become a sheep. Therefore, you must be one or the other, with no room for gray area.

It's not so simple for me. See, I believe both. I have spent many clock cycles puzzling out how these two things can fit together and have reached a point where I feel very confident that God, in creating the Universe, also put everything that falls under the term "Science" into place - including *gasp* evolution. Evolution, physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc. It all works, and I see His glory in all of it.

Sadly, I've been made to feel like a pariah by my "family", because I don't think that Science and Faith have to be mutually exclusive. I love God, but I refuse to be willfully ignorant of the things that I know to be true, just to fit into a mold.

I thought about outlining my personal belief system here, but I'm not sure it would do any good. It might actually do bad, if people are really that vehement about it. Depending on what feedback I get, I may write up another post about it. For now, I just wanted to vent a bit about how I've been feeling.

Update: I was able to talk to one of my other friends today, and he was able to talk me down from the proverbial ledge.  Most helpful: I'm not alone in my beliefs, as well as some wise words about how to proceed from here. I'm extra double grateful to have some really grounded Christians to bounce my ideas off of.