Heretic or Humor?

You know what I find vastly entertaining? Talking like all those preachers and church people I used to see on TV or at church camp (or, on occasion, at church).



It's fun to sound like a holy roller - you get to tell everybody else what to do and sound like you're all high, mighty, and close to God when you do it.



You can drop fun phrases like:

I've prayed on it, and God told me ________.
I have God's peace about it.
You're a sinner.
You should repent.
YOU need to get right with God.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Blasphemer!

All of this, of course, equates to the following:



Actually, let's have some more fun, shall we? Let's play the Say / Mean Game! (based on my experience, of course - from both sides of it.)

What you say:
I've prayed on it, and God told me ________.

What you mean:
I'm gonna play the God card so you can't argue.

What you say:
I have God's peace about it.

What you mean:
So I'm gonna do it regardless of what you say, whether I actually do or not.

What you say:
You're a sinner.

What you mean:
I'm better than you.

What you say:
You should repent.

What you mean:
Let's focus on you so I don't have to deal with me.

What you say:
YOU need to get right with God.

What you mean:
I'll let you know when you do.

What you say:
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

What you mean:
Don't hold me accountable.

What you say:
Blasphemer!

What you mean:
Look at the big God word I used.

You get the idea, right? It's basically hiding behind God to try to forward your own agenda. I can say this because I've done this a LOT, and I've often used God or His word to bolster my argument, especially when what I wanted just happened to jive with what scripture said. Now, never mind the fact that I was being an ass and using the Bible as a club (and feeling pretty darn good and self-righteous about it to boot) - I was right, and I had the Almighty Holy Word of God to prove it. Hallelujah!



Growing up I often heard (at church) that you can't really judge a person's heart or really know what their spiritual walk with God is like. I don't think I buy that anymore. I think you can judge a book by it's cover, meaning that I think that true commitment and a true, 100% open (fully known and fully loved) relationship with God is going to manifest itself somehow. It seems to me that you couldn't hide that sort of thing, even if you wanted to. I think that if folks are truly seeking that kind of relationship with God, you'll be able to see it plain as day, and hear it in their hearts and see it in their actions.

Look, man - I'm a sinner. I'm broken, fallen, struggling, and profoundly imperfect. I screw up a lot, and I make mistakes.

Pray on it? I probably haven't.

God's peace? I have a lot more than I used to, but I still have times when I'm this close to thinking I'm just not gonna make it.

Repent? I have to repent and turn away from (and sometimes fight my way away from) my own sinful every single day, man.

Get right with God? I think I'm as right with God as I'm gona get, though I still tend to ignore Him a lot of times, especially when things are going OK.

Casting the first stone? Hah - if that's the standard, I can never never pick up a rock again.

Blasphemer? I hope not, man.

I don't think I'm making fun of God at all - I do hope to point out the absurdity of some of the self-defeating behaviors and incredibly stupid stuff we do in His name, though, and how much hiding we, as His children, do behind His holy name to get what we want.

I don't have many answers at all, only what I know from what I've personally experienced in my own life and from what I've observed in the lives of others. I know how much healing God has brought me personally, so that's about 90% of what I have to go on. I hope that He's not done with me yet ('cause the Bible says He's not), because I know I still have a long way to go. I still have bad days, and I still have stress and anxiety and days where I struggle and days where I fail, but not near as many as I used to. I do know, however, based on my own experience that God is good, and He loves me, and He always will, no matter how badly I mess up. Most days, that's enough for me.

I'm not a Buddhist, but I get what they're going for anyway.


Hey - Buddhism has some good points, too.

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