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Posts Tagged ‘forgiveness’

HONEST TO GOD #1 …a river without banks…

03 Oct

HONEST TO GOD
From time to time, I’d like to use my blog as a venue to share my own personal theological and political thoughts. If you’re not interested in these posts (and who would blame you!) please feel free to ignore those classified as “Honest to God.” And if you have questions or suggestions, please comment…discussion can be fun and enlightening.

HONEST TO GOD #1
…a river without banks…

A proverbial saying declares that “a river without banks is a swamp.” The image is quite vivid I suppose, for those who live near the Mississippi River and who have seen their farmland turned into a swamp by demolished levies.

Some might consider my progressively liberal theology to be a murky, muddy swamp-like spiritual pool. But I still have some banks alongside my theological river; but they’re further apart than they were in my younger years. My banks have been established by lifetime of struggles and conflicts…they are definitely not some sort of denominationally built canal.

I’ve listed here, a few of my banks. I invite you to read them, and to consider if they might be similar to yours. I also invite you to comment upon them. I’m not claiming to be “right,” so you just might make a comment that causes me to reconsider my stance.

Anyway…these things I believe:
• God loves all people, without exception.
• To follow God’s example we must forgiving and show mercy to others.
• Social justice and civil rights matter.
• God still speaks through the Bible, through other literary works, through people and through nature.
• War is not the solution to international conflicts.
• What we believe, is less important than how we treat others.

I don’t claim to be right…I’m just trying to be HONEST TO GOD.

 
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Remains #2

18 Jul

…the most hated woman in America…

Casey Anthony was released from jail two days ago. As she left the jail, she needed the protective custody of two law enforcement officers, who thought they needed the protection of the full swat gear they wore.

It seems obvious that Casey Anthony is currently “the most hated woman in America.” Officers say she has received numerous death threats…at least 7 of which they consider to be sincere. Her close relatives have disowned her, and her distant relatives have advised her to get plastic surgery to disguise her appearance. Others have encouraged her to change her name and leave the country.

It really doesn’t matter how I feel about the verdict. It’s unimportant whether I believe the reports and speculations. I’m not even in a position to voice my opinion of our judicial system, though my opinions are quite strong.

But most importantly, I’m not in a position to become judge and jury of any other human being. I too have committed more than my share of damage in this world. Were it not for the grace and forgiveness of God, shown through God’s people, I would not have survived.

I know how it feels to have the mercy of God wash over your soul. And having experienced that rebirth, that cleansing, that open embrace…I could never deny that gift to another.

 
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Posted in New Life

 

…the dirt doesn’t care…

15 Jul

For the first time in years, we’ve got some good dirt at our place! We had it delivered…I forget how much, but I know it was several yards more than we really needed. I discovered we’d ordered too much when I set out trying to carry and spread the rich top soil to the top of the hill…where we’d ridiculously decided to plant our garden. Anyway, we’ve got good dirt.

It’s good dirt, but to be honest, it’s rather apathetic. You see, the dirt just doesn’t care.

If I plant zucchini or squash seeds, the dirt will grow zucchini or squash. The dirt really doesn’t care. If I plant poison sumac seeds, the dirt will grow poison sumac. The dirt is like that…it really doesn’t care what seeds I plant.

The land will return whatever is planted, watered and nurtured. If I sow zucchini, I reap zucchini. If I sow sumac, I reap sumac. (This is starting to sound almost Biblical!)

My mind is somewhat like the dirt, and please don’t carry this analogy too far. My mind is somewhat like the dirt, in that it too tends to produce whatever is planted and nurtured. In fact, my mind (and yours) is more incredibly fertile than any available topsoil.

But like the apathetic dirt, our minds don’t care what gets planted. If we plant sadness, fear and anger; then sadness, fear and anger will grow. If we plant joy and forgiveness, joy and forgiveness will grow.

I’m starting to learn how to control my emotions. When the darker, more poisonous moods start to surface…I realize my need to immediately plant some better seeds. I’m trying to remember that “the dirt doesn’t care.”

 
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Posted in New Life

 

…the truth about venom…

06 Aug

Hatred seems to have gotten a stranglehold on our current society. The inbox of my email account is assaulted daily with political opinions that are almost always colored with hatred. The senders apparently find it nearly impossible to state their political opinions without also espousing hatred for those of differing political bents.

Judging from my recent emails, it’s difficult to know which groups in America are the most hated…immigrants, gays, lesbians, ecologists, unemployed, welfare recipients, Hispanics, Muslims, bankers, or politicians? It seems that nearly every societal problem can be traced directly back to one of these hated groups.

An elderly friend of mine recently pontificated, “My venom is more poisonous to me than it is to my victims.”

We need to realize that our hateful feelings are more poisonous to us than they are toward those we hate. Our painful memories are more poisonous to us than they are to those who’ve wronged us. Our racism is more poisonous to us than to those we’re prejudiced against.

Our venom is more poisonous to us than it is to our victims.

 
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…no shame on me Daddy!

07 Jun

When my son was just a little guy, he spilled his milk…which caused me to frown disapprovingly.  But before I could make any verbal reproach, he pleaded, “No shame on me Daddy!”

I had apparently gotten accustomed to using the words, “Shame on you.”  No parent should ever use that phrase…no teacher, no friend, no body.  

Those of us who have struggled to recover from addictions have had to grasp the difference between shame and guilt.  This difference determines our ability to ask for…and to accept forgiveness. 

Simply put, I am ashamed of who I am…but I’m guilty of what I’ve done. 

To be ashamed of who I am would be to say that God created a flawed, worthless and useless human being.   Personally, I don’t think God works like that!  I should have no shame for being who I am. 

Still, I am guilty of many things.  I have made bad choices, I’ve said things I shouldn’t have said, I’ve done things I shouldn’t have done, and I’ve been in places I shouldn’t have been.  For all these mistakes…I am guilty.

But to be ashamed is an entirely different matter.  I should never be ashamed of who God created.  No, my son was right on target…”no shame on me, Daddy…no shame on me.”

 
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Posted in New Life