Legalism Revisited

It can be pretty exhausting and frustrating to try to live a moral life.  Frustration and sometimes apathy can grow in your heart if you let it. Living a life of faith can consume you and saddle you with obligation and responsibility.  Sometimes with all the time commitments and pressures of life, you may not know exactly where you are spiritually

You find yourself going through the motions, checking off those items that tend to make up a spiritual to do list, and then what? You still feel empty; that feeling of there's got to be more to this life.

My wife once said I didn't care about her spirituality, and frankly, at the time I didn't, why should I?  We both went to church that had a 2 hour morning service, a 2 hour evening service with afterglow time, Wednesday Bible study, small group, listened to Christian radio for the commute both ways, had Christian music playing at home (maybe too loud) all the time.  Additionally she was doing  a thing called BSF, I was doing a weekly mentoring, we both had daily quiet time, and on and on it went.  We're talking 30 hours a week for Jesus! We must have been spiritual giants right?

Nope! Mostly legalism and head knowledge.

Mary and Martha revisited

Nuke a Gay Baby Whale for Jesus

Five controversial topics that cause many to choose sides...It was a bumper sticker I had in the early 80's, however, someone thought I was serious and scraped it off.

We've all heard the biblical renderings of how Christ followers should be in, but not of, the world.  In a practical approach, how does that work? 

I consider myself a Christ follower for nearly three decades now.  Now, more than ever, I understand a little more the how and why of Christ being crucified and what Easter truly means.  We are called to be salt and light.  We are told to love God and love our neighbor and in doing so all the prior laws are not really needed theoretically as they are all met.  We are told the world will know we are Christ followers by our love for one another.

I use the word Christ follower rather than the more common and inflammatory name of Christian.  That derogatory term can and is used to mean anything...and nothing.  Just check out the use during the Crusades from the past and the current batch killing people in Africa under that "political" guise,  burning Korans, being vinegar rather than honey...

If you seriously search scripture and it's application, you quickly come to realize how to be in but not of.   What business is it of ours to bash any group? None of my business.  Imagine for a moment you are enjoying a "Double Double, Animal Style" at In and Out Burger, and a Vegan group approaches you, and tries to coerce you into court and sue you for eating meat prompting the case to go to the highest court. 

Here's the problem with that mentality; you never signed up to be Vegan and aren't held accountable to the Vegan standards of eating.  While they maybe noble in their way, it's not my way; I/we all have free will, right?  They don't really have the right to sue you or force you to obey the vegan way!  The same is true with "the world"  As a Christ follower, I have no business coercing you to the Christian way of life that you never signed up for.

I'm not called to save anyone; that's God's responsibility.  I'm only called to love, set an example like Christ did, love God.

Get it, got it, good.

Complacent

Ryan Matthews of the San Diego Chargers made a comment earlier this week that the reason the Chargers lost so many games this past season was because the team (he) had become complacent about Norm and the coaching staff.  Remember LT a few years ago couldn't play one game due to his little toe.  He was on my fantasy tem so I was a bit miffed; really, a little toe? Remember, it's the little toe that provides balance, allows for his signature stop on a dine cuts.  No matter how small you may think you are, you are very important and special.

Complacent is defined as a mark of self satisfaction accompanied by an unawareness of a deficiency or danger. In other words who cares or whatever.

We all go through times of complacency, for instance, I realized that I hadn't done a blog entry in months! I had intentions to do a couple a week, but things come up, and these do take some time to do.  The idea is, if I can do this and bless just a few people with each post, then it's worth it for me to pursue...So I checked stats and realized I had 4700+hits last week, and a spark went off inside. Lately I'm been living life as if it is population one...me.

So check out this 3 minute video- My Own Little World  http://youtu.be/M9Yasgzjc0w