A Magical Evening...
We just returned from a short vacation in Orlando. We hit Universal Studios, Disney's Magic Kingdom, and Sea World in 3 consecutive days. We stayed at the (relatively new) Disney's Pop Century Resort - which is basically a Holiday Inn with Disney themes (and prices). A good time was had by all, but it really was a bit much to cram into 3 days there. We learned something important - after the drive down, and perhaps the first day at a theme park, we need to schedule an unstructured day to just sleep in and hang at the pool, or whatever.
The title of this post is based on the way every Disney phone call ended - "Have a magical...(insert time of day here)." Whatever...
I'd also like to respond to several who posted regarding my philosophical question. Yes, in the pure sense, kind vs. right is a false dichotomy. I would very much like to point out, however, that this is EXACTLY the problem in many instances with churches and how they treat other people. They may actually be right - though often they are just certain - but what they say and how they say it are so COMPLETELY VOID of the Spirit of Christ that it absolutely does not matter how right they are. I also see this attitude in interactions between my kids (never in myself, of course! (wink)). Being right takes precedence over being kind.
I do not see Christ act in this way to anyone, with the possible exception of the "religious leaders" of his time, though characterizing how he treated them as unkind is debatable. And though I would not be a "post-modern person" by any definition, I am a bit uncomfortable with many of the ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN answers my church heritage has provided over my lifetime. Yes, there are some things that are black-and-white. But there are far fewer of them than my tribe would like there to be. And most of them we have ignored - I truly do not think we follow Christ's example well with our resources. We spend WAY too much on buildings, not enough on poor and widows, for one example.
I'd love to know your thoughts on this.
The title of this post is based on the way every Disney phone call ended - "Have a magical...(insert time of day here)." Whatever...
I'd also like to respond to several who posted regarding my philosophical question. Yes, in the pure sense, kind vs. right is a false dichotomy. I would very much like to point out, however, that this is EXACTLY the problem in many instances with churches and how they treat other people. They may actually be right - though often they are just certain - but what they say and how they say it are so COMPLETELY VOID of the Spirit of Christ that it absolutely does not matter how right they are. I also see this attitude in interactions between my kids (never in myself, of course! (wink)). Being right takes precedence over being kind.
I do not see Christ act in this way to anyone, with the possible exception of the "religious leaders" of his time, though characterizing how he treated them as unkind is debatable. And though I would not be a "post-modern person" by any definition, I am a bit uncomfortable with many of the ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN answers my church heritage has provided over my lifetime. Yes, there are some things that are black-and-white. But there are far fewer of them than my tribe would like there to be. And most of them we have ignored - I truly do not think we follow Christ's example well with our resources. We spend WAY too much on buildings, not enough on poor and widows, for one example.
I'd love to know your thoughts on this.
posted by MichaelPolutta at 8:21 AM
4 Comments:
Yes, I agree that too often we (people in churches) think more things are "certain" than we ought and end up sacrificing kidness for what we perceive to be "right". I think the problem is that people do not have enough faith in God that they REALLY ARE forgiven and that Jesus' sacrifice REALLY DOES make them clean in the eyes of God, so they make up lots of rules to feel like they have something to do or not do to make them "righteous" instead of relying on God for their righteoesness. This method also makes them feel better because they can feel superior to other people who do not follow the rules. Different congregations (even, well, especially the C of C) have all sorts of division and animosity because the rules they have made up do not agree. However, I believe this is TOTALLY NOT how the Church (meaning ALL believers, not just our "tribe" as you say) is supposed to be. Paul says in Galatians chapter 5 (NIV):
(1)It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
(2)Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. (3)Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. (4)You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (5)But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. (6)For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.***
Yes, I know that this passage is specifically referring to circumcision, but I think that the same principle could apply to any number of ways that people try to be "justified by law" (although I guess that is debatable). Check out verse 4 again... "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." When people don't have enough faith in grace (they don't feel totally secure that their salvation is assured because of what Jesus did)--even if they don't realize that is what is going on--they start to create a new law for themselves, which would make Jesus' sacrifice useless in their lives (except to forgive them--well, I guess me too sometimes--for having so little faith). Rather, "It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free..."
Anyway, I think that is one major cause of people who think they are right not being nice to each other.
Oops! That should be "kindness" and "righteousness."
Michael: I enjoy reading your blog from time to time - sounds like the Spirit continues to transform your heart! Why is it that we choose things to distinguish ourselves from other Christians (and they feel excluded) and Jesus spent all his time helping people feel "included"? Our enemy is evil, not other people who are followers of Jesus. I can't put my energy into exclusion any longer - I'm tired and it isn't Christ like. In the meantime, Satan continues to use his schemes to twist truth - and secularism is one of his favorites! Take care, Michael and stay the course.
Mike. You're right!... and when you're right, you're right. and you're right.
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