Would you thank the people for investing in your life and spirit?
Would you berate them for the mistakes they made?
Would you share a truth that you've "discovered" along the way?
Really, what would you say?
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
What Would You Say?
If you were given the chance to go back to your hometown and teach at your home church for a weekend, what would you say?
Friday, July 02, 2010
Deadly Sins Update
I was kidding about having the deadly sins printed on bracelets. So imagine my surprise when I ran across this display the other day.
They had the one for lust, too, but it was in its packaging. The sample must have been stolen.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Deadly Sin Knick Knacks
My youngest trotted out of Sunday school yesterday and showed me what she'd picked out of the prize box that day, a rubber wristband in red, white, and blue with the word PRIDE embossed in it.
"That's nice," I said, but something struck me funny about it. Isn't pride one of the seven deadly sins?
If she reached into the prize box again, would she pull out a different bracelet with a different word emblazoned on it? Can you imagine sending a 2nd grader home with a bracelet that read SLOTH or GREED or ENVY or even LUST?
At what point did we decide pride was not something that leads to destruction? I suspect it was sometime around my fourth grade year, when my teacher Pam (the first teacher who insisted we use her first name) had us sit in a circle on the floor with IALAC signs around our necks. IALAC, for those of you who missed school that day, stood for I AM LOVABLE AND CAPABLE.
PRIDE isn't the only sin that's taken a hit in the watering down department lately. Consider GLUTTONY. The more the better has been a big trend in America for generations. Gluttony seems to be a sin we revel in, even in churches. GREED has been recast as AMBITION, unless it's someone who's taking from us. You don't have to look very far back in Wall Street history to see where greed can lead in its extreme. It doesn't just hurt the people who are greedy, I'd say.
WRATH has been watered down, too, I think. I can't turn on the news without hearing 20 people say they're outraged. They don't look outraged, just annoyed, but the word sounds stronger and it sounds more newsworthy, so they use it. WRATH is the kind of anger that eats you from the inside and leaves you hollowed out of any joy.
The bracelet was a funny little reminder to reevaluate where I'm at in some of these areas, but my young'un is still wearing her bracelet with PRIDE.
"That's nice," I said, but something struck me funny about it. Isn't pride one of the seven deadly sins?
If she reached into the prize box again, would she pull out a different bracelet with a different word emblazoned on it? Can you imagine sending a 2nd grader home with a bracelet that read SLOTH or GREED or ENVY or even LUST?
At what point did we decide pride was not something that leads to destruction? I suspect it was sometime around my fourth grade year, when my teacher Pam (the first teacher who insisted we use her first name) had us sit in a circle on the floor with IALAC signs around our necks. IALAC, for those of you who missed school that day, stood for I AM LOVABLE AND CAPABLE.
PRIDE isn't the only sin that's taken a hit in the watering down department lately. Consider GLUTTONY. The more the better has been a big trend in America for generations. Gluttony seems to be a sin we revel in, even in churches. GREED has been recast as AMBITION, unless it's someone who's taking from us. You don't have to look very far back in Wall Street history to see where greed can lead in its extreme. It doesn't just hurt the people who are greedy, I'd say.
WRATH has been watered down, too, I think. I can't turn on the news without hearing 20 people say they're outraged. They don't look outraged, just annoyed, but the word sounds stronger and it sounds more newsworthy, so they use it. WRATH is the kind of anger that eats you from the inside and leaves you hollowed out of any joy.
The bracelet was a funny little reminder to reevaluate where I'm at in some of these areas, but my young'un is still wearing her bracelet with PRIDE.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Cancer Stinks
Cancer claimed the life of my husband's aunt this month. It's ravaging the body of his uncle right now. And it has returned to the body of a dear family friend.
A sign of the fall?
A sign of the times?
A reminder of the fragility of life?
Maybe. I don't know. But I know cancer stinks. An unseen enemy fighting the body from within.
It seems the invisible foe is the hardest to fight. It's true with cancer, but it's true with other things too - dissention, discontent, discord - When the body is attacked and weakened by its own members, it cannot thrive.
The first big lawsuit over rights for Christian music included the song "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love." Ironic, huh? Like cancer in the body of Christ, bent on destroying itself from within. Only in this case, we already know the cure.
A sign of the fall?
A sign of the times?
A reminder of the fragility of life?
Maybe. I don't know. But I know cancer stinks. An unseen enemy fighting the body from within.
It seems the invisible foe is the hardest to fight. It's true with cancer, but it's true with other things too - dissention, discontent, discord - When the body is attacked and weakened by its own members, it cannot thrive.
The first big lawsuit over rights for Christian music included the song "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love." Ironic, huh? Like cancer in the body of Christ, bent on destroying itself from within. Only in this case, we already know the cure.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)