Tis the Season

Just a few unrelated, disconnected thoughts for today.

1. The great news is that everyone's talking about Phil Robertson right on the brink of Christmas. This is the great news: that a rich Christian millionaire said something that offended a bunch of people and A&E responded in a way that offended a bunch of Christians.

Just a drip of sarcasm.

Sorry, but this isn't BIG news on my radar nor is it what ignites all my passions. It's predictable, is it not? Of course Phil would speak his mind and of course he would then be suspended. I've not seen a single episode of Duck Dynasty, but I've heard enough about it to conclude that these are not the shy, reticent types. These are "mind speaking' people. My small contribution to the whole thing would be that Phil should have chosen his words more carefully. If I had only two alternatives, I prefer a person who puts their foot in their mouth to a person who's a passive chicken. But if you're going to be listened to and not just heard, it might be a good idea to think about the permanency of what you put on the internet. See Ann Voskamp's latest post about it.  The subject matter itself is a touchy one. If you want to be heard, spark discussion, make an impression rather than just illicit reaction, then at least speak to the side of the matter that shows your compassion. Be sure that no one can accuse you of being a bigot. And you might say, "That's impossible. You'll be accused regardless." Even so, let your compassion speak louder than your ideology. Stand firm in your faith. Make your beliefs known, especially if you're asked about them point blank. But be even louder with a voice that reminds people you aren't just speaking in platitudes. You remember there are humans associated with all of these issues. And to the Christians I would say be less reactionary when a person who points to the Bible is suspended from cable TV. "Do not be surprised as though something strange were happening to you." -1 Peter 4:12 And remember "If the world hates you, it hated Him first." -John 15:18

2.  I took a quiz recently which can be found in the link at the bottom of this paragraph. This is a map that helps connect your dialect to where you're from. One of the questions asks about the pronunciation of the word "crayon." My 5 year old has been consistently calling these objects "crowns" to which I say, "No, sir. There are two syllables. CRAY-ONS we call them. Crowns are what people where when they're royal."
Click the link if you want to take the test. It's fast with just 25 questions. I, of course, got the answer I predicted. I'm a true southern girl and I do say "y'all" and I call them "lightning bugs" and not "fireflies." My hope is not to stamp out the southern dialect from my kids (or myself), but to simply teach them (and myself) correct pronunciation so they (and I) don't sound uneducated. It's one thing to have an accent. It's another thing to alter a word entirely or add syllables to words with only one syllable. The word REALTOR is not REAL-A-TOR. The word "POOL" has an "L" at the end of it. And there is no "X" in the word "ESPRESSO." And so forth.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?r=824208800800008010820020004000048821028001020l0100&_r=0

3. My last thought for today (and possibly for the year, as far as this blog is concerned) is that our sermons and our Bible studies may not do enough to address the Pharisees. Imagine if a Pharisee came to your church and heard about repentance and what it looks like. Jesus called the Pharisees white-washed tombs and a brood of vipers. He addressed their hearts. But if he had focused on their quiet times, their Bible memory, their Bible study attendance, and their morality, he would not have had anything pointed or piercing to say to them. They were excelling in these areas. In our day, so many people who go to church are also very moral people. They are properly engaged in all the culture wars and hating all the appropriate things like abortion and drunkenness. I, too, hate abortion and drunkenness. But I want to go beyond morality and living well. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That's the scariest verse in all the Bible to me. It petrifies me to consider God resisting me. I never see Jesus resisting the sinners and the immoral. I see him resist the "righteous." God resists the proud.

Some of the most spotless people I know are the last people who I'd call "humble." In fact, I went through a season where I almost became depressed thinking of how many good people I knew with lots and lots of convictions, but that also seemed so proud. They'd be the first to tell you that abortion was murder, but the last to defend their husband. They'd be the first to tell you that Obama has it all wrong, but that last to tell you not to hold a grudge toward someone. It seemed like their theology followed them everywhere except in their marriage or in their friendships. It seemed like their theology didn't follow them when it came to their decision to tell a lie, or to cut someone down, or to gossip, or be less than friendly. So I would think, "If I'm already stumbling, already struggling with guarding my words or being pure in heart or not being a murmurer and a gossip, then maybe trying to be "better" and more moral like those people will in fact make me worse!" Maybe I should go to church less and read my Bible less? It made me wonder what the Christian faith was all about and how can I really lay hold of it? How can I love God's word and live faithfully and not become proud? I admit I still sometimes tread  these issues in my mind. I pray that Psalm a lot that says, "Don't let me wander in sin too long." Because I know for me, it'll be in the wandering. It'll be in my irritability with my kids and gradually not even seeing that irritability for what it is. It'll be taking my husband for granted, gradually and over time. It'll be in that small seed of resentment to that person who hurt me and letting that seed grow into an oak. My stumbling won't come in a sudden drinking binge. It won't be in a night out gambling with friends. No. It'll be some area of hard heartedness. It'll be in a subtle and even subconscious decision to remain in the dark and not come to the Light. I want to be a Christian without being a Pharisee. I want to be a Christian who longs to come into the Light, not just in the culture wars, but in my own dark heart.

Faith kills pride. Faith breeds joy. Faith leans on Someone Else's understanding. Faith leans on God's understanding of you, of your future, and of others.  Faith walks around leaning. And that's a vulnerable place to be, but always, always a good one.

So those are my thoughts for today. Till next time!