Thursday, March 08, 2007
An inconvenient convenience
More Bible thumping. There's a poker term called "tilt".
That's a fair description of me lately. It started when I started asking people for guidance. I was pretty aggressive in my beliefs and could point to the source and not loose interpretations. I got some interesting answers. "You were never married", was the most upsetting. It's concerning to think that people did not accept my marriage in the first place. Or worse, they would accept me as a married man while I was married, but now that I'm not, they seem willing to give me "outs". That seems wishy washy and a convenient betryal of their beliefs. Maybe they don't know what they know.
The subject of salvation and eternity has also come up. "I think that if you're just good...yadda, yadda, yadda". Being good seems to have a lot to do with how a lot of people think we get to Heaven, but they come up pretty 1/2 handed when I ask for examples in the Bible. Yes, we need to be good, but not just to be good. We need the fruit of our works to come from our faith. It's the classic Ephesians 2:8,9 versus James 2:14 argument (Faith vs Works).
Another thing I heard was, "You're being too hard on yourself", "You're taking the Bible too literally", "A little religion is a good thing but don't go overboard" and "Don't get too far into this religion thing". Zoinks!
I don't want to sound "holier than thou", but I've been trying to at least get people to understand where I'm coming from. That's been an uphill battle in itself. And once I find people who are able to look only to the Bible and not lean on their own understandings/feelings, I get into the real question I'm battling with...
Spirit of the Law vs. Letter of the law.
(1:29 pm - K-LOVE online - Casting Crown's "Does anybody hear her" is playing)
Tilt - Playing more aggressively than usual because a player has become emotionally upset.
That's a fair description of me lately. It started when I started asking people for guidance. I was pretty aggressive in my beliefs and could point to the source and not loose interpretations. I got some interesting answers. "You were never married", was the most upsetting. It's concerning to think that people did not accept my marriage in the first place. Or worse, they would accept me as a married man while I was married, but now that I'm not, they seem willing to give me "outs". That seems wishy washy and a convenient betryal of their beliefs. Maybe they don't know what they know.
The subject of salvation and eternity has also come up. "I think that if you're just good...yadda, yadda, yadda". Being good seems to have a lot to do with how a lot of people think we get to Heaven, but they come up pretty 1/2 handed when I ask for examples in the Bible. Yes, we need to be good, but not just to be good. We need the fruit of our works to come from our faith. It's the classic Ephesians 2:8,9 versus James 2:14 argument (Faith vs Works).
Another thing I heard was, "You're being too hard on yourself", "You're taking the Bible too literally", "A little religion is a good thing but don't go overboard" and "Don't get too far into this religion thing". Zoinks!
I don't want to sound "holier than thou", but I've been trying to at least get people to understand where I'm coming from. That's been an uphill battle in itself. And once I find people who are able to look only to the Bible and not lean on their own understandings/feelings, I get into the real question I'm battling with...
Spirit of the Law vs. Letter of the law.
(1:29 pm - K-LOVE online - Casting Crown's "Does anybody hear her" is playing)
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#1. I don't think that people are being that way on purpose- it's just that in this day in age, this is just such a rare dilemma. Imagine: someone trying to really live by the Bible. And not only that, but they're trying to live by the Bible even when it's not convenient. That's almost unheard of. You are setting a precident for your generation. Most people wouldn't give it a second thought. They would do whatever was easier. It's a sad fact of life that most people in this day in age could give a kr@p about what the Bible says unless the Bible happens to say something that makes them look good. And when people don't know the answers, rather than admit that they don't know, they make something up so that they don't look stupid. The truth is: most people probablly don't know much about their own faith and they are ashamed about that. And in my opinion, it's better to not know and be ashamed than be proud of not knowing. Or be proud because they do know for that matter. I'm sure everyone you've talked to has good intentions. But not everyone has to have the answers. The bottom line is that this is your battle. And although people may try to help, they will never understand your experience. What's important to know is that there are a lot of people who support you and are praying for you. And God supports you. You are not alone. And through this trial and by your investigating and being vigilant in your faith, God's perfect will is already being done in your life.
I was being a little self-rightous. I'm starting to see the holes in people's faith, and I'm concerned. Your comment on the good intentions of people reminds me of what the road to Hell is paved with. I can't settle for loose interpretations of the Bible for guidance, but I did at least want to hear what other people had to say. Needless to say, I learned a lot about some people I knew.
#2. I thought you might think about that "road to Hell is paved with good intentions" thing. There are holes in everyone's faith, but no bigger or smaller than yours or mine. Everyone has their own journey and everyone participates in it only so much and it's never ever enough. Be careful that you don't get like I was a few years ago. Don't let others' lack of faith keep you from your own true path. When the devil sees you growing and becoming stronger, that's when he attacks you the most. He will make you forget that the only person's faith you should be questioning is your own. Don't let people see a "sinless" bitter man when they look at you. Let them see in you a freind. There is no such thing as a person without sin. So in order to accept people, you must accept sinful people. (See "Devil Gone Fishin'" in my blog.) *Don't let this situation become a reason to separate yourself from other people.* Remember this: This stretch of road that you are on right now is the straightest and narrowest that you have ever been on in your life.
I respectfully disagree. Everyone does not have holes the same size, and not everyone's "personal journeys" lead to Heaven. I don't have "my own true path", I have THE true path.
I'm a little too emotional to go Bible thumping on you right now, but I won't let my emotions get in the way of my love for people. I'll make every effort to be accepting, but when you suddenly realize that some of your family and friends are drowning, you really want to help them into THE boat. See: http://www.colinoproperties.com/blog/2006/02/ships-in-midst-of-sea.html
Funny, the next day's entry (2/25/2006) is about the very subject of remarriage.
God bless ya' real good.
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I'm a little too emotional to go Bible thumping on you right now, but I won't let my emotions get in the way of my love for people. I'll make every effort to be accepting, but when you suddenly realize that some of your family and friends are drowning, you really want to help them into THE boat. See: http://www.colinoproperties.com/blog/2006/02/ships-in-midst-of-sea.html
Funny, the next day's entry (2/25/2006) is about the very subject of remarriage.
God bless ya' real good.
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