Ok...so I've had several random thougts/ideas/whatever rattling around my head the last few days, but I can't seem to take the time to sit down and develop them into coherent 'blogs'. So instead, I'll present three unrelated ideas now...underdeveloped but still powerful (I think). So here you go...
1 - The whole Chick-fil-A thing got me thinking about the future of our country, the dynamics of what we call 'family' and the Church. Regardless of anyone's personal beliefs, I think it's likely that the government will (at some point) overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and embrace some form of same-sex marriage. A crucial question, at that point, is how do Christians (and the Church as a whole) respond to same-sex couples? While several denominations have accepted ongoing homosexuality, it's difficult to reconcile it with the Bible. As it stands, if a heterosexual couple were living together and came to faith in Christ, they'd probably be encouraged to either get married, break off the relationship, or stop living together. But what if it's a same-sex couple that is legally married? Does the church encourage a divorce? And what if children are involved? I have no great answers...but I think we (Christians) are failing if we're not considering the implications of our changing society.
2 - I was reading a magazine the other day and a deep thought popped out at me from an unlikely source. Santi White (also known as Santigold) said this: "I think the current American Dream is to achieve fame, status and/or riches with the least possible effort or skill...pretty much to blow up quick by any means. It used to be about earning success through hard work and having the opportunity to learn the skills you need to become the best at what you do. I think there is a problem when we live in a society where the end justifies the means. That is a very dangerous concept—on so many levels. And in the process, we’re becoming a nation of idiots.”
Now it's easy to make this political, but I'm not going there. Instead, I'll tie it to something Sara and I have discussed recently. Most of us (at least those of us under 50) have been given WAY more than we've ever earned. I think that has created in us the idea that if we want something, then we should just be able to get it without any real work. I know I'm regularly guilty of that in the workplace, but even more so in my personal relationships. Fairly frequently, I don't even know what I really want until I'm pissed that it didn't happen...and yes, all of that is idiotic. How much better would we be as individuals, families and communities if we actually put thought into goals and then worked to meet those goals?
3 - This is pretty awesome, but requires a bit of confession on my part. So I don't really like praying most of the time. I 'know' that God is there for me, but I struggle on a real level with the concept that he actually interacts with us (or acts directly in response to our prayers). Reminds me of something our pastor says pretty regularly: "most Christians are educated way beyond their level of obedience."
So anyway, this morning I was making coffee before sitting down to 'spend some time with God.' So I'm in the kitchen talking to God about the fact that I really don't want to pray today...and yes, I recognize the irony of this scene. Basically, I said "It just feels like I'm talking to myself most of the time...why don't you ever answer? And don't tell me that you answer through the Bible, because that's BS." Anyway, I grab my cereal and cofee and sit down to read...and Romans 8:26 slapped me. It says "For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."
Seriously!?!
While this was a major punch in the gut, it also was amazingly comforting. While I may continue to struggle with prayer...I can rest in the fact that God's plan included the fact that I wouldn't always be able to pray like I should.
Ok...this is more of a book than I thought it would be, but there you go. Buh-bye now...
