As I sat in the stylist's chair, the conversation gravitated to what part of town I lived in. From there, which neighborhood. I told her our house is for sale, as my family plans to move to Columbus, Ohio, in about a year. I told her I was going back to school. When asked what I was going to be studying, I said I was going to seminary. She seemed impressed. Then the conversation took the religious turn, which is okay by me... But then this conversation got on the whole "gay marriage – this country is losing its morals" train—then I wasn't so comfortable. I politely said that I think the real problem is that so many pastors and religious people expend so much energy denouncing gay marriage and similar issues, while staying silent on more-pressing ones. Like poverty. And homelessness. And the lack of education and clean water to around two billion people in the world.
And so this conversation was another needed step in my theological development.
I'm finding that I don't like drawing lines in the sand and picking sides. Or picking battles, for that matter. I'd rather rejoice that, through Jesus Christ, grace is given to all. I'd rather celebrate diversity and differing opinions. I'd rather work for justice with my hands, instead of my mouth.
The world is gray, my friends. It is not black and white. Everyone has scars and skeletons in their closet. Everybody is just trying to figure out life the best that they can. Yes, the world is falling apart...but this isn't a new thing. If you believe in good, then you probably believe in evil. Don't act surprised when man's corrupt ways pollute the world we live in. It'll be okay. Tomorrow's another day. And we all have the ability to do some good while we're here.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
A Not-So-Simple Challenge
A challenge:
Because if you think it's hard to live without a cell phone (or Facebook or e-mail or whatever), then imagine how hard it is for a heroine addict who has become physically dependent on the drug. Cause what I'm seeing in our culture is an addiction to handheld devices. When you see a parent at the playground or in a restaurant with their little child and they are constantly browsing their cell phone, that looks like addiction to me. And it occurred to me that we look down upon drug addicts in our society, while other addictions (texting while driving, for example) seem to be socially acceptable. Addiction is addiction, right? Is a drug addiction more detrimental to others than a texting driver?
Just something to think about. And I say this not as someone who claims exemption from this...I have plenty of addictions. And that's just the point.
- Choose to put your cell phone away for a week...do not use it. After that week, find someone who is a drug addict. Then say to them, "I understand what you're going through."
Because if you think it's hard to live without a cell phone (or Facebook or e-mail or whatever), then imagine how hard it is for a heroine addict who has become physically dependent on the drug. Cause what I'm seeing in our culture is an addiction to handheld devices. When you see a parent at the playground or in a restaurant with their little child and they are constantly browsing their cell phone, that looks like addiction to me. And it occurred to me that we look down upon drug addicts in our society, while other addictions (texting while driving, for example) seem to be socially acceptable. Addiction is addiction, right? Is a drug addiction more detrimental to others than a texting driver?
Just something to think about. And I say this not as someone who claims exemption from this...I have plenty of addictions. And that's just the point.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Different
I have to be careful how I write this. I'm not sure I want to influence anyone reading this, because then I really wouldn't be different anymore.
My wife and I have found that we are different. The way we live, the things we embrace...are all pretty different from most of our friends and neighbors. I don't think this was even intentional, but somewhere along the way we decided to stop getting cable TV. Then we started living by a strict budget so that we could get out of debt. (We even go so far as to take a calculator to the grocery store, just to make sure we don't overspend.) Then we chose to cut up our credit cards. We have cell phones, but we don't have a monthly plan with Verizon or AT&T...we use Tracfone, and we only turn our phones on if we absolutely have to. We rent our videos from the local library. We don't take lavish vacations. A fun date night might simply be a quiet dinner and a nice walk around the neighborhood. We like shopping at Goodwill and Half-Priced Books. Then we decided to put our house up for sale, in order to move so that I can go to seminary full time. And I'm not saying any of this to brag. In fact, when you find you are living differently, you need to kind of need to be quiet, because you're going to sound like a jerk if you don't.
Really, I don't know why I'm writing this. Mainly just to ponder why we, as a society, choose to follow the crowd or to stand and be different. Everyone around us seems to be running a hundred miles an hour, and—though we're plenty busy, too—we seem to prefer a slower, less-chaotic pace of life. News and media carry a lot of influence. If you don't have the latest phone...or if you don't know who the final five American Idol contestants are...or if you don't know exactly what storm caused damage in the south...then you must be out-of-touch. Really?
I say all this very humbly, because it's hard to live differently. It's hard to turn off the TV and pick up a book. It's hard to pack your lunch everyday instead of eating out. It's hard to not follow, but to make small choices that seem to go against the grain of culture. Do you ever choose to "not follow"? If so, what everyday things do you do differently?
My wife and I have found that we are different. The way we live, the things we embrace...are all pretty different from most of our friends and neighbors. I don't think this was even intentional, but somewhere along the way we decided to stop getting cable TV. Then we started living by a strict budget so that we could get out of debt. (We even go so far as to take a calculator to the grocery store, just to make sure we don't overspend.) Then we chose to cut up our credit cards. We have cell phones, but we don't have a monthly plan with Verizon or AT&T...we use Tracfone, and we only turn our phones on if we absolutely have to. We rent our videos from the local library. We don't take lavish vacations. A fun date night might simply be a quiet dinner and a nice walk around the neighborhood. We like shopping at Goodwill and Half-Priced Books. Then we decided to put our house up for sale, in order to move so that I can go to seminary full time. And I'm not saying any of this to brag. In fact, when you find you are living differently, you need to kind of need to be quiet, because you're going to sound like a jerk if you don't.
Really, I don't know why I'm writing this. Mainly just to ponder why we, as a society, choose to follow the crowd or to stand and be different. Everyone around us seems to be running a hundred miles an hour, and—though we're plenty busy, too—we seem to prefer a slower, less-chaotic pace of life. News and media carry a lot of influence. If you don't have the latest phone...or if you don't know who the final five American Idol contestants are...or if you don't know exactly what storm caused damage in the south...then you must be out-of-touch. Really?
I say all this very humbly, because it's hard to live differently. It's hard to turn off the TV and pick up a book. It's hard to pack your lunch everyday instead of eating out. It's hard to not follow, but to make small choices that seem to go against the grain of culture. Do you ever choose to "not follow"? If so, what everyday things do you do differently?
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