Calling A Spade A Spade

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved. – Ezekiel 33:7-9

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 33-34; 1 Peter 5

Dear God,

What is the difference between speaking the truth and judging others? What should we do when we know that something is wrong, that someone is representing something false as if it were truth but we cannot prove it?

Fool's Gold

Who has believed our message 
   and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, 
   and like a root out of dry ground. 
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, 
   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 

He was despised and rejected by mankind, 
   a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. 
Like one from whom people hide their faces 
   he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:1-3

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53-55; 2 Thessalonians 1

Oftentimes greatness doesn’t come in a nice and neat package, though we would like it too.

Stop Throwing The Bible At Me!

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 20-22; Ephesians 6

I can’t stand it when folks take scriptures out of context.

It is literally one of my pet peeves. When folks do this they are clearly doing it for their own reasons. I know that I’m guilty of it just like everyone else who enjoys the Bible but we really gotta be careful about this. We have to make sure that we look at the passages in context rather than in isolation. When viewed in isolation the Bible can seem like a very hateful and evil book.

Here are two examples of what I mean in Ephesians 6.

What is "Right" and "Wrong"?

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste – Isaiah 7:14-16

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 7-8; Ephesians 2

So I was reading this passage and I just couldn’t get past it. It is so fascinating to me.

Us Christians believe that Jesus is the Immanuel that God is speaking of through Isaiah. So, of course as I got here to this passage I was like oh nice! Let me see what he has to say. Then I came to the 15th verse:

He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right – Isaiah 7:15

Whoa whoa whoa! Wait a minute!

I Just Put My Foot in my Mouth...

Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
   no one who does what is right and never sins.

Do not pay attention to every word people say,
   or you may hear your servant cursing you—
for you know in your heart
   that many times you yourself have cursed others. Ecclesiastes 7:20-22

Today’s Reading: Ecclesiastes 7-9: 2 Corinthians 13

Damn,

So you know those times where you do something that you say you try not to do without really being conscious of it and it comes back to kick you in the face?

Welcome to my day today.

So I got an email from a friend the other day saying that she is looking for roommates for this new place that she will be moving into pretty soon. When I first read the email it made me think of another friend who is looking for a place. As I ran down the list of amenities I was like oh this looks good. It’s in a cool area, the house looks nice from the pictures and it’s even pet friendly!

Check, Check, Check.

Looks like it might be a good fit.

So I forwarded the email to the friend who is looking for a new place. The email went like this:

“Not sure if you're really trying to have roommates but a Christian homegirl of mine is looking for some. I'll give you the low down on her if you are interested. We went to high school and Jr. High together... cool and sweet though on the judgmental Christian side... I don't know her super well. Let me know if you want to talk more.”

Not my finest hour…

It was alright until we got to the “judgmental Christian side” part. All bad… So here I am in an email judging someone I’ve known for years by saying that she’s judgmental!

That’s some irony for you… (a note to my literary friends… I don’t feel like looking up the definition of irony… if I am wrong feel free to educate me in the comments section below. Either way you get my point. Thanks.)

So the judged friend of mine called me and asked me about it. I’m actually really happy that she did because I know a whole lot of other people who would have just let it fester or just written me off as some kind of self-righteous hypocrite. But by calling me on it she gave me a chance to apologize.

I was so surprised by the call that I started off like “hummina hummina remember that one time when you had said x y and z well actually I don’t remember the exact time but you know what I mean blah blah blah.”

Such a dummy I was. How am I gonna try to blame her for my screw up?

Graciously she let me make a fool of myself until I just stopped and said you know what… I’m sorry. I judged you in saying that you were judgmental and that was wrong.

She thanked me for my apology and allowed me to clarify what I meant. We talked a bit more about it before ending the call decently well considering the circumstances.

I did learn a few things today. First of all, I’ve got more in common with the super judgmental folk than I think. This was a serious self check moment. I gotta work on that. Second, God has a funny way of teaching me things. I mean seriously… judging someone by calling them judgmental and getting confronted about it? That’s pretty ridiculous. Third… if you’re gonna be judgmental then don’t do it over email!!! (ok this isn’t really a good spiritual lesson but seriously… how moronic was I?)

As always… I’ve got a ways to go. For every one step back I gotta take two steps forward.

Smh… (shaking my head)

To my judged friend: If you are reading this then I hope that you will accept my apology and forgive me. Hopefully we can get past this and be cool in the future. I’m sorry!

No One Is Good, But Try Your Best

All have turned aside,
       they have together become corrupt;
       there is no one who does good,
       not even one.

 Will evildoers never learn—
       those who devour my people as men eat bread
       and who do not call on the LORD ?

 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
       for God is present in the company of the righteous. Psalm 14: 3-5

Today’s Reading: Psalms 13-15; Acts 19: 21-41

So I had an interesting facebook discussion with my folks online today. It started when I posted the following statement:

“Sometimes it feels like it pays to be bad. But bad seed will never sprout good fruit. The law of the harvest ain't no joke.”

The statement was in response to some general things I have been noticing lately as well as a recent conversation that I had with my mom. We were talking about how a lot of the rules we encounter that don’t seem to make sense are made to control for a few foul folks trying to get over.

Because of them, we are all inconvenienced.

When I posted that comment I didn’t think much of it. It was just something that I was feeling at the time… so I was surprised that I got a litany of responses from it. All of the responses were good and full of wisdom. I think that God was speaking to me through my friends and loved ones.

Thank you all for allowing yourselves to be the wonderful messengers that you are.

But one comment in particular got me. It was from Isaiah’s mom, Nya. She challenged my implicit notion of goodness. She said that as long as we live on this earth we will never be good or perfect. This immediately took me back to what we read in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus said the following:

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone” – Mark 10:18.

She was dead on right with this one.

I was challenged to think about what I really meant. I didn’t really mean “good” in the sense above ya know, I really just meant there are good people and bad people. You dig me right?

Eh… I guess…

But this whole good and bad people thing gets to be problematic. I am no better than anyone else no matter what I think about someone’s actions. Positioning me as good versus someone else is an implicit value statement. And as I have said countless times in the past… Judging is NOT the business.

So this conversation bounced around my subconscious for the rest of the evening until it was time for me to do my daily reading. That’s when I came across the Psalm above. It was the second confirmation of what she was saying.

“There is no one who does good, not even one.” – Psalm 14:3

But then it goes on to say that “God is present in the company of the righteous”.

What in the heck does “righteous” mean? How can it say that no one is good in one breath, and then mention the righteous in another?

They must mean different things.

Of course of to the Wiki I went and found this article. I also checked my mammoth concordance and they both supported my initial spark of understanding. Righteousness is a statement about a person’s actions whereas “good” is a statement of being.

None of us are good or perfect but that’s ok. We aren’t required to be. But what we are required to do is to do our best to keep our actions in a righteous place. Although we will never be able to act in a justifiable way at all times, or even most of the time, we can always strive towards a higher standard of excellence.

That’s what this life journey is all about anyway right? Shoot for the stars and perhaps we’ll hit the moon. And if we hit the moon we will have still gone out of this world.

One thing that this journey through the Bible has taught me is that understanding doesn’t come all at once. It must be patiently sought out and worked toward. If we persevere then maybe we will get a glimpse of it, a vision that may change our lives forever.

Seeking wisdom is like being a sculptor. You gotta patiently chip away at confusion to reveal the beauty of understanding.

I’ve got my hammer and chisel in hand. Hopefully soon I can pull out the sand paper to smooth out the edges.

Christian Terrorism: "International Burn a Koran Day"

Ummm... so this guy is proposing "International Burn a Koran Day". Of course it is on 9/11.







It is embarrassing that a clown like this claims to live by the same book I've been reading this year. Even the casual observer of my blog would be able to tell that his motives are based in his own fears, anger, and thirst for power rather than what is actually in the letter and spirit of the Bible. 


But this begs the question... what makes someone a terrorist? 


Sir Webster defines terrorism as "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion." 


What those folks did on 9/11 sure does apply but so does the man in the video above. I don't support the use of fear in any form but at least I can understand why some people outside the United States might not be so keen on our international policies. 


But this guy? I don't get it. Dude is launching a book burning campaign from the safety of his home in the most powerful country in the world. His freedom to live and worship how he sees fit is not under attack at all. And to top it off, he is challenging the faith of Christians like me who oppose his views. 


He is using faith and the threat of eternal damnation to encourage folks who follow a spirituality based on love, charity, and community to act completely contrary to these values. 


I wonder what he will say to God when it is his time to answer for the actions of his life. How will he justify these actions? How is it in line with the great commandments to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves? 


And if he doesn't consider those who place their faith in the words of the Qur'an to be his neighbors, Jesus also challenged us to love our enemies!


I know it's not my place to judge but oh boy would I like to be a fly on the wall in the room when he has to answer for this one. 

Truthaholics Anonymous

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. – John 9:39-41

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41

I was once like the Pharisees.

I thought that I could see everything, understand all the mysteries of the universe, solve any problem. I was addicted to pursuing truth. I was a truthaholic.

It’s amazing to look back and see how arrogant I was.

I know I have said this in the past but there really is so much we can learn when we accept that we know nothing at all.

Have you ever had to make a brochure, presentation, or document that would be seen by many important people? I’m sure that after your initial design effort you reviewed it over and over again to check for any stupid spelling errors or mistakes.

But what happened when you showed it to someone else?

They were probably able to quickly identify an area of improvement… something that you could not see.

Many times we look at life through stale eyes. Our eyes are made stale by our experiences, hopes, dreams, disappointments and accomplishments. The more we live and rely on what we think we know the more our vision is skewed by the prism of our experience.

We become blinded by subjectivity.

When you think about it, this is where judgment comes from. We look at others through the lens of our own experience and apply our rules and regulations to their conduct.

But this lens has a blind spot. Just like how you couldn’t see the glaring error in the project you were working on, we have a hard time seeing the glaring flaws in the lives we are living.

As Jesus suggested, we point out the splinters in another person’s eye but cannot see the planks in our own.

This is how I understand the passage above. We have a tendency to fall into the trap of worshiping our own minds by thinking that our own perspective is truth.

I believe that truth, like God, is a concept too great to comprehend. I used to seek it out but not any more.

That’s above my pay grade.

My name is Clarence Mitchell and am a truthaholic. Finally, I see that I know nothing.

Adulterous Shenanigans

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin.” – John 8: 6-11

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27

This is the famous scene where some folks catch a woman in the act of adultery and they ask Jesus if they should stone her. Then Jesus starts to write on the ground with his finger and the events above transpire.

I’ve always had a few interesting thoughts about this scene… some more serious than others.

First thought

What in the world was Jesus writing on the ground? My new twitter friend @HomeEverAfter heard that some folks say he was writing the names of the accusers who also committed adultery.

That would be pretty funny, and effective, and I do think that Jesus does have that kind of sense of humor (funny of course with 2000 years of hindsight…). I used to think something along those lines as well. But what if it was something totally random? My current vote is that he was writing a miracle grocery list. His thought process was something like this:

Thought bubble above his head as he is writing: “Hmm… ok I gotta feed 5000 people this coming Friday. So I’m gonna need five loaves of bread, and I think two fish will do it. Hmm but what to drink? Will two barrels of water suffice? Should it be white wine this time? Naww… The Cabernet is always the best way to go. Dry baby… keep it dry…”

Second Thought

They found her in the act of adultery right? That begs the question… where’s the dude???

I mean seriously… that’s so problematic. He must have been well versed on the Shaggy Doctrine.

Third Thought

After all of the accusers bounce he turns to her and says "Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Drats… that’s the hard part.

I sure am glad that forgiveness isn’t a one time deal… but the point is clear. The whole idea of becoming a better person isn’t asking for forgiveness after each chronic screw up… the idea is being progressively better until we become brand new.

One step at a time…

One…step…at…a…time…

God Don't Like Ugly

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. John 5:1-5

Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 24-25; John 5:1-24

So I just read this article in the Washington Post this morning entitled “Why Looks are the Last Bastion of Discrimination”.

The article briefly discusses the legal history of discrimination against unsightly individuals and then goes on to suggest that perhaps civil rights protections should be extended to people generally considered to be less attractive.

When I got to the section where the author sited the “National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance” my first thought was…

Word?? Come on man are you serious?

But then I kept reading.

My mood changed for good when I came to the section about a study done by some researchers at Cornell University

“Stephen Ceci and Justin Gunnell, two researchers at Cornell University, gave students case studies involving real criminal defendants and asked them to come to a verdict and a punishment for each. The students gave unattractive defendants prison sentences that were, on average, 22 months longer than those they gave to attractive defendants.”

Wow… that’s almost two years man… That is NOT ok.

It made me think about the times when I was a kid (and as an adult… let’s keep it extra real) when I ridiculed others for being unattractive. And then I thought about the passage above, how back in Jesus’ time folks were marginalized for many of the same reasons.

Jesus was a champion of the poor, maimed and downtrodden. What right did I have to ridicule anyone?

None at all.

So I realized that I had to ask forgiveness on that one and change my ways.

I will do my best.

There’s an old African American proverb that says “God don’t like ugly”. The ugly that God doesn’t like isn’t anything that can be seen on the outside. It’s that ugly on the inside that we all have and keep hidden from the outside world.

So I wanted to take a moment to thank the writer of that article for helping me to clean up some of the ugly that I have on the inside.

Better late than never right?

Here's an interesting piece by the homie Adam Tillman-Young. It relates. I promise.

Question of the Day: Do you have anything within that needs to be cleaned out? Do you harbor any hidden prejudices that you never thought were that big a deal? Take an honest look and work through it. You’ll be a better person for it.

The John 3:16 Dilemma

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. – John 3:16-18

Today's Reading: 2 Kings 15-16; John 3:1-18

Sigh…

So this is one of those scriptures that have always been hard for me.

I love what it says for me. That’s great. But for those who aren’t a fan of Big Homie J…

Rough game man…

To be quite honest with you I still struggle with it until I remember that condemning others to eternal damnation is NOT MY JOB. But when I really think about it, my biggest struggles are with how folks use this scripture.

A couple weeks ago I was walking around during my lunch break in downtown LA. As I’m going about my business trying to come up on some good grubbery I see some dude holding a sign that says “John 3:16” on it. And on top of that he looks at me like I’m some kind of heathen with devil horns growing out of my fro.

Getouttaherewithallthat

In the past it used to hurt my feelings, but now it just pisses me off. This kind of behavior is what I was talking about with my last post on my pet peeves. I hate when the Bible is used as a weapon to condemn random pedestrians and the like.

I’ve been to many a Easter sermon where the preacher brings out the fire and brimstone and scares the hell out of everyone (pun intended). Then at the end of the sermon you have all kinds of folk walking up to the alter call, knees shaking, confessing their faith in Jesus.

If fear is the opposite of faith then how are these people “saved”. If you come to God out of a “if you can’t beat Him, then join Him” mind state… what do you really believe? Do you believe that you should live your life with Jesus as the example or are you just trying to get over?

Now I’m not saying that churches shouldn’t preach from this scripture, or that it should be hidden away from folks so that we can all feel warm and fuzzy… but I do wonder about this.

We are supposed to spread the Good News right? But is that what we are doing when we harass people on the street with this scripture, finger pointing, with mean grimaces on our faces?

I have no answers here… Just my thoughts…

My Biggest Pet Peeve

As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: "Go in and kill them; let no one escape." So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day. 2 Kings 10: 25-27

Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 13-14; John 2

Wooahhhhhh!

I’ve heard of Christian missionaries in Brazil who did this to folks who practice Candomble.

Now… I’m not a big fan of Candomble but good gracious… you can’t use this scripture as justification to act contrary to Jesus’ message of love your neighbor as yourself.

Which brings me to my point…

Some folks look at stuff like the passage above in the Bible and compare it to Jesus’ message and say that the Bible is contradictory. The typical argument goes something like this.

“The Bible says an eye for an eye and turn the other cheek. That’s contradictory therefore the Bible is hogwash.”

Umm… these people clearly haven’t read the Bible.

Now that we are pretty deep into it maybe you are noticing a progression. If one were to look at the Bible as a history of God’s relationship with humanity then we can see that this relationship has evolved greatly.

The first agreement was with Adam and Eve. They had one rule. Don’t eat the fruit.

That didn’t go so well.

Then the next agreement was with Noah to never destroy the earth with water again. The symbol of this is the rainbow.

Next was the agreement with Abraham. If Abraham worshiped only God then God would bless him. It continued that way through Isaac, and Jacob and all the way until we get to Moses. Moses went up to Mount Sinai and got the first of the 613 Mosaic laws. These laws clarified what it meant for the nation of Israel to obey, follow and worship God.

Then fast forward to Jesus who changed the game by making us accountable by faith shown by love instead of actions.

My point is this… much like nature… the relationship between humanity and God in the Bible evolved greatly from Adam and Eve to Jesus. It is very easy to pull a scripture from the time when the Mosaic laws were king and compare them to Jesus’ message and say that the Bible is contradicting itself…

But before you do this, try to understand the context. And if you don’t know the context it’s ok to say “I don’t know” rather than assuming.

This is the good move in life as well. If more of us spoke only about what we actually know then life would be a whole lot less complicated. Many lives have been destroyed and lost based upon innuendo, hearsay, or outright lies.

So to my fellow Christian folks… stop pulling out archaic Old Testament references to justify acting out on your character flaws.

And to my non-Christian folks… if you have heard or seen terribleness when it comes to Christians and are curious about why… ask someone that you know and trust who is knowledgeable. They might be able to break it down for you.

And if you don’t know any such person, holla at me… I’ll do my best.

Can't Serve Two Masters

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight. Luke 16: 13-15

Today’s Reading 2 Samuel 12-13; Luke 16

I had a chat conversation with a good friend of mine today. We were talking about Ethiopia and in the middle of her typing I interjected with some comment about Ethiopia haven’t a gang of Christians.

She was already typing the same thing. Shut up and listen Clarence…

I’ve never been one to worship money like the Pharisees but I definitely have dealt with my own idols. I used to worship at the altar of the mind.

My own mind… How arrogant is that? Or perhaps insecure…

Two sides of the same coin really.

Here’s what I mean by that. Have you ever met someone who always had to be right or always had to come up with the answer to the random questions that invariably come up in casual conversation? Aren’t those people insufferable?

Yep that was me. And you know what. It’s really tiring. It’s impossible to know everything right? So imagine how much energy it would require to seem like you do.

So silly.

But I’m sure you’re thinking how is being a know-it-all anything like what Jesus is talking about above with the two masters stuff.

Well it interfered with my relationship with God.

When I was having doubts and troubles with things related to Christianity several years ago much of it was due to what other “Christians” had done. But another part of it was that there were so many things that I had questions about. There were so many things that I didn’t understand.

That scared the hell out of me.

So I went on this quest to try to answer some unanswerable questions:

What is “sin” and what causes it? How does God “judge” us? How does He determine if we go to heaven or hell? If Jeffrey Dahmer is in heaven where is Gandhi? Is he in hell? Why? That doesn’t seem right.

This troubled me a WHOLE lot until I realized how the passage above applied to me. By trying to answer these questions I was trying to be God.

That job is way above my pay grade.

Once I realized this it became clear that I was totally out of balance. I am not God. That is an arrogance that I hope I don’t fall into again in the future.

So I decided to let God be God. I would listen to Him for guidance as to how I can best do me. After all, doing me is enough work anyway right?

So whatever your vice may be, take a look at it. Be honest with yourself. Maybe the reason why you aren’t moving as fast as you like is because you are getting in your own way.

If you have my problem you might end up like this guy.

Shake It Like a Salt Shaker

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said. – Luke 7: 41-43

Jesus is having dinner at a Pharisees house. A “sinful” woman hears that he is there. She comes, kneels at Jesus’ feet weeping. She washes his feet with her tears and hair! Then she pours some expensive perfume on his feet.

Simon, the Pharisee thinks to himself that if Jesus really is a prophet then he must know what kind of woman she is. Then Jesus drops the bomb quoted above.

I’ve heard many a comedian talk about this idea a woman shakin’ it like a salt shaker in the club Saturday night coming to church the next morning hollering and praying louder than anyone. This weird juxtaposition of lifestyle and worship does seem pretty funny. But when we think about what Jesus said above, it makes a lot of sense.

I think that I’m a pretty good guy. Much like Simon the Pharisee I try to do my best to treat people well and be an overall good person. That’s a good thing. I too have looked down on folks who seem to be blatantly hypocritical. I’ve looked from the outside at their lives and compared it to what they say they believe and found the two to not match up.

But I was wrong to do that.

We have no idea where other people are on their path. Living a Godly life is a journey, not a destination. We don’t all of the sudden become “good people” or “righteous”. Each and every one of us is comprised of a set of choices, some good and some bad. It’s just that some of us have made choices that have been so damaging to ourselves and others that it is clear to them where they stand. They see very clearly that they are not good enough so they come rushing to God.

This too is a good thing.

So sure, maybe they don’t change overnight. We may see them in church hollering and carrying on while they are still struggling to get free from a lifestyle they have grown accustomed to.

But before we can change, we have to admit to ourselves that change is required. The sinful woman admitted that and through her actions showed Jesus that she believed he would forgive her.

And he did.

I wonder how many “good” people out there are like me and Simon; thinking that we can do it all on our own, thinking that good is good enough, looking at others and judging.

After all, I’ve spent my fair share of time shakin’ it at the club…

This is the underlying question in this story… Is “good” really good enough?

Food for thought.

(parental advisory for the clip below...which of course means kids have already seen it.)

Today’s Reading: Judges 19-21: Luke 7:31-50

A Tough Parable to Swallow

So I’ve talked about certain things as being “above my pay grade” right?

Here is a perfect example of what I am talking about.

Check out The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.

The general idea is that the landowner is God, the people are us, and the work is the work that God wants us to do for Him here in this world. The denarius is salvation.

So in the morning he hires some workers for a denarius. Then every several hours he hires more workers until the end of the day. All of the workers come to collect their money. He starts by giving the most recently hired workers a denarius. The original workers are like:

YES! We’re finsta get paid!

But to their surprise as he goes down the line of workers, the landowner pays everyone a denarius. The original workers are heated. I spent all day working in this hot sun and I’m getting paid the same as these Johnny come lately cats? For real?

That kinda sucks.

Then the landowner (God) says the following

"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' – Matthew 20: 13-15

Ewwww… I don’t like that.

Here is the extreme real world example: Jeffrey Dahmer.

Dude killed seventeen people.

SEVENTEEN!!!

It goes without saying that he probably was not a nice person.

But check this out… when he was in jail his father sent him some Christian materials and after viewing it he declared faith in Jesus and that he was a born again Christian.

SAY WHAT!?

This is something that bothered me for a long time. I live my life in faith in Jesus, trying to be the best person I can be, and I get the same reward as this clown?

That’s not fair.

But then I thought about it. What if I were in God’s position? What would I do? How generous would I be? How would I judge Jeffrey Dahmer? What is the criterion? Would that same criterion convict me, or my friends, or my family?

This whole judging thing is a tough job.

What I love about Jesus’ message is that the standard that we have to live up to is one of faith and love. We believe, and then that faith works through the instrument of love over time to transform us into a new, more loving person. And when we fall short we can be forgiven.

Why is it ok for me to be forgiven and not ok for Jeffrey?

These questions are more than difficult. They are impossible for our little minds.

It’s hard enough for us to know what’s going in on our own hearts and minds. Why would we think we can possibly know what was going on in Jeffrey’s heart when he was behind bars?

I’m not saying this to excuse dude. I’m not even saying that I think he is or is not in heaven.

I have no idea and odds are you don’t either.

What I am saying though is that I’m glad that I don’t have to make that decision.

Walking my own path is hard enough.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 23-24: Matthew 20: 1-16

A Prayer for Haiti

Today's Reading: Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9:18-38

Just like many of you I have been overwhelmed with surprise, disbelief and sadness at the news of the earthquake in Haiti; as well as the mounting news of its repercussions that have come pouring in over the last two days. The thought that there may be a hundred thousand deaths and countless more injured and displaced is mind blowing.

I have not been searching for purpose in this. Quite frankly I believe that searching for purpose behind something so large is biting off way more than my feeble mind can chew.

That’s way above my pay grade.

Rather, my focus has been on praying for the lives lost, the hungry, the displaced, and the families that have been touched by this tragedy. It was during one of these moments of prayer at work today that my friend Twitter shared with me Pat Robertson’s take on this matter…

Initially his take made me very angry. Who was he to make the statement that he made? I was offended as a Christian (by yet another deplorable representation) and as a person of African descent by his suggestion that a pact with the devil, rather than military savvy, is what was required for the enslaved folk in Haiti to wrestle their freedom from Napoleon’s grasp.

I felt that his racism and his stereotypically arrogant, “Christian” judgment made a fool of him and everything he claims to represent. And of course I shared this opinion with others.

But then I realized… I was no better than him. My judgment of him placed me in the same space that he occupied with his spiritual judgment of Haiti.

Not good… especially since I JUST finished talking about not judging. (Hey, be nice, I’m a work in process, definitely not a finished product.)

So I’m trying to take a step back; and instead of judging, show love. So… here’s my quick prayer for Haiti and the rest of us.

God,

I thank you for this day and the blessing that you have given to all of us. I thank you for the food we eat, the water we drink and the shelter from which I am typing this right now. I know that you are with all of those who are struggling in Haiti. You are with those who lost their homes and loved ones. You are with those who don’t know where their next meal or drink of water will come from. You are with those who didn’t know where they would sleep last night but some how found a way. Please comfort them and help them pass this difficult time with as much joy as they possibly can.

I ask that you touch the hearts and minds of all the people necessary to help put Haiti back together; and that from the ashes of this disaster will rise a profoundly stronger people, city and nation… a place made stronger by the love and action that will be necessary to create a new and improved home for the millions of folk who are searching for understanding and peace.

And help us here to learn and grow through the love that we share with our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Help us to continue to stay humble and work every day to be the best that we can be so that we are in the position to help when help is needed. And finally, thank you for preparing others to help us when we have needed it.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

Ways to help:

Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to Haiti. (the $5 will be on your next cell bill).

Or donate more at www.yele.org (Wyclef’s organization to help Haiti.)

Here are some more ways to help.

And if you can’t donate send prayers, well wishes, and good thoughts their way.