Tuesday, May 09, 2006

I wonder what God thinks

Last week, I read with interest on a subject that both ~Deb and Dani were having concerning who is the hottest woman in show biz. ~Deb seemed to think Shakira was so hot, and Dani seemed to think Ellen Degeneres was the woman who moistened her panties. Okay, I am full of crap; it was actually a debate on homosexuality and Christianity. And actually, I did not read Dani's site – I just read her comments on ~Deb's site. Well, now CP and Kathi have gotten involved in the fray, and I was thinking that a good old-fashioned mud wrestling match would probably be best to settle this argument. I mean, biblically, it sort of seems appropriate in my twisted point-of-view.

Actually, this sort of reminds me about what was going on in Jesus' time. Well, I am not that old, but from what I remember from Sunday School, a lot of what Jesus was saying was, and I am paraphrasing here, "We have too darned many laws. Here is what is important – love should motivate everything we do." Okay, for those Bible-thumpers, I am talking about Matthew 22:36-40.

Matthew 22:36-40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love he Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.


Okay, I am no religious mastermind. Yeah, I read the Bible, and I understand some things. Some things I do not. After years of discernment, I feel content to make things simpler, not more complicated. In a nutshell, for me, I try to move closer to God, and when I do, I characterize that as "good." And when I move away from God, I characterize that as "bad", and things that help me move away from God I try and get rid of.

Case-in-point: someone once e-mailed me with something like "what are you wearing today?" Then I don't email the person ever again. I just don't. Any conversation with that person will move me away from God.

I have done some incredibly horrible stuff in my past, and I was moving away from God. Maybe being a little crude on this site does the same thing. I don't know. But I do know that I am faithful to my hubbie and I am more compassionate with others (you know, the love thy neighbor thing). Actually, what if I misinterpreted the Bible and thought "Love thy Neighbor" meant really lovin' thy neighbor! I mean, I can't have intercourse because of other "rules" but am I supposed to give neighbors good oral sex? Of course not.

I don't have any more incite than other people on the nature of God, but I love the phrase, "God's ways are not our ways" (or whatever that trite saying is). I wonder, for instance, if after death, serial killers, pedophiles and other degenerates may be enveloped in God's love like everybody else. Maybe God wants to see our reaction to this perceived injustice. I mean, Jesus died for our sins, all of our sins. Not just the "politically correct" sins.

I am not a big believer in "don't ever judge." I mean, if my friends could have compassionately said, "Leesa, you are screwing up your life," I may have listened. But instead, the friends who knew what I was doing were more interested in juicy details than to set me straight (thanks, friends). And in the past, I have judged others – I lovingly helped a friend get back on the path she strayed from. But I don't look at strangers shooting up in the street, and try and change them. I have no leverage.

One thing that disappoints me is when people are violating their own values, not because it hurts me but because it may hurt them. I had a Jewish friend once who would eat pork every time she was upset with herself. At the time, I did not know much about Judaism, so I did not know exactly how to classify her. She was probably not Orthodox, but I don't know if she was Conservative or Reform. It just bothered me that she seemed to perform self-destructive behavior when she didn't like herself. Okay, that was a random thought.

But going back to my judgment thought, it seems that people who say, "I have my stuff together so I am going to judge you now" are a little off-the-mark. I don't think Jesus meant, "Get your stuff together so you can bug the crap out of others" when he talked about the splinter in the eye. I am still working on my stuff, but when I see friends doing stupid stuff, I talk to them about it. And I am not talking about taking a second slice of cheesecake.

The good news is that, from my point-of-view, ~Deb and Dani are loved completely by God, that God would have made the universe for either one of these girls. This is a type of love that I cannot really comprehend. By heck, I cannot comprehend wireless telecommunications either. But I would rather have God's love than wireless. Even if the wireless doesn't drop calls. That's how special God's love is!

13 comments:

Grant said...

Oh, feck, another feckin' religious post. Dani, what are you doing to the Blogsphere?

I visited Dani's site once. Her most recent post had a link to a site with pictures of dead babies in an attempt to turn people against abortions. I left my two cents and said gross does not equal evil. She popped by my blog and called me a hypocrite, which is what she calls everyone who doesn't share her views of the Truth.

My point? I just wanna know what you're wearing today. :p

Edtime Stories said...

GREAT POST. I think we don't spend enough time talking about God. What is interesting is that we are told that God is one way. Recently someone I know likened God to the main charecter in the movie Slingblade. Specifically something a comedian said about the charecter Carl. "He is a nice guy, but he will kill you if he has to". Isn't that what God appears like so often in the Bible? Kind and compassionate and then kills people for minor infractions.

As for too many laws, that was one of the messages of Jesus. I think Jesus was simply trying to change the current practice of Judaism. He was not the only person at the time either who felt that Judaism had gotten out-of-hand. Even the great Rabbi Hillel who was alive around the same time said, when ask to recite the entire law while standing on one foot said "That which you find hateful don't do to others, all the rest is commentary".

I won't go into my vision of God here but thank you for broaching the subject.

Pittchick said...

This debate is quickly making its way around the blogosphere. I thought about joining the fray as well, but I'm going to enjoy my spectator status for now.
I popped over to Dani's site briefly today, and ran out just as quickly.
I find it troubling that she also home schools her kids. As a parent, she has every right to teach her children what she believes to be right, regardless of what other people think or believe, but by home-schooling her children, she's not even allowing them to be exposed to other ways of thinking. It's almost as if she never wants them to develop their own minds or be able to think freely for themselves.
I'm done now.

UnHoly Diver said...

Living smack dab in the middle of the Southern Bible Belt(in Jerry Falwell's hometown, even), I have been inundated over the last 46 years of my life with the religious right's "points of view". And as a result, I have turned away from religion in a big way. That said, I don't begrudge anyone's beliefs; just don't try and force them on me. You'll just end up seeing the back of my head as I walk away.

Leesa said...

grant: I am wearing a smile today.

ed: loved "That which you find hateful don't do to others, all the rest is commentary". And loved your two cents today.

dna: we all hold different beliefs. I was just expressing mine.

bruce: I understand.

all: I did have another post today.

MOAB said...

Leesa, we have Thompson House rules, and they aren't exactly the 10 comamdments, but they are easy simple rules for kids (and adults) to follow, and keep life easier for us all. I'll post them on my blogs, rather than put them on here and clutter your comments. But I think God really wants us to BE NICE. God likes us to be happy, and we're happiest when we're being nice to one another.

SuperMom said...

leesa, i just love your honesty and openness. God does fit into people's lives, but many of them do not want todiscover how. in mine, He allows me to cuss Him when i cannot fit a new starter into the minivan, and then praise Him when i am successful.

i love being a part of your blog community.

.......hubby of supermom

Leesa said...

monica: sage advise.

jef: thanks, sweetie!

supermom's hubby: thanks for being part of my blog community. I will try and tidy up!

Prata said...

And still...there is no need of god in order to be "good". Whatever it is you (not specifically you Leesa I mean "you" in the general sense of the word)may believe god is not a necessity...god is a choice. Kind of like an abortion. heheh

Leesa said...

prata: God is a choice. That's what makes Him so special!

Prata said...

I don't believe in god though. So I'm not sure how to take that. I don't choose to believe in god, I have nothing that compels me TO believe.

God is only a choice if you are aware spiritually of such a creature. Perhaps I should have been more wordy hehe. You can not choose something that doesn't exist for you. I'm just sayin'.

TequilaGuy said...

I will exalt you, my God the King.
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol yur name for ever end ever.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.

Psalm 145:1-3

Sam said...

Beautifully written post.