A few days ago, as my status update on Facebook, I wrote something like, "I think people are made like blended milkshakes, rather than compartmentalized Hungry Man dinners." Of course I didn't expect anyone to know what I meant by that; perhaps I hoped they might ask. But there is a problem with this expressed opinion because I feel like it's contrary to what God's Word might say. It's the difference between man's wisdom and God's truth. If I had more than 2 readers, I could open up a discussion about this. I did talk with a friend of mine about it a few days ago, but I think more discussion could be had.
But let's explore the metaphor a little bit further. If you blend vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, you get a chocolate shake. Once you have mixed your chocolate shake, you can't decide to only have the vanilla part. The vanilla and the chocolate are joined forever and can't be separated. So you'd better like chocolate, or at least tolerate it.
Man is body, soul, and spirit. (I could add mind as a component to this, but that probably falls under the category of soul.) The Word of God goes to great lengths to differentiate the flesh from the spirit. John 3:6 says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." We know that the human body perishes, but the soul and spirit live on. Galatians chapter 5:19-23 talks about the conflict between the works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit: "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you...those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
I am reminded of the Tori Amos song, "Pancake" in which she sings about her disillusionment with a religious zealot: "It seems like you and your tribe decided you'd rewrite the law: segregate the mind from body, from soul." Are we not the sum of our parts? And are not those parts inexorably intertwined? If you try to remove a man's religious faith, it's like trying to take the vanilla ice cream out of the milkshake. If you try to remove a man's sexuality, it is like trying to take the chocolate out of the milkshake. Friends, it is a chocolate shake, and a chocolate shake is what it will be. Right????????
Now, on to the next thing, which is also inspired by something that I posted on Facebook, and on Twitter. I said that I am looking for a good friend to spend the evening with in a log cabin and discuss weighty issues all night long. Also looking for a log cabin.
Why a log cabin? Well, it doesn't HAVE to be a log cabin. But I want it to be someplace that is sort of isolated and I don't want them to bring their cell phone...or if they do, I want them to keep it turned off. And I don't want TV, unless we might watch a movie for entertainment. But I don't want distractions. Whoever this friend is, I want it to just be him (or her) and I, just spending time together, talking, laughing, telling stories, and confiding in each other. It's not a romantic or sexual thing. It's a friendship thing, the kind I've always looked for in my life, but never quite attained.
Because making friends and keeping them has always been hard for me. There's something about me that is just enough off kilter that people reject me almost 100% of the time. Then there's the matter of me always trying too hard, or not hard enough. There is not much middle ground with me. But yeah, a movie or two, some games, a bottle of booze (optional), some music, prayer (if the other person is Christian) but mostly just talk without limit, without restrictions, without distractions. One on one.
This kind of dynamic is partially what I'm trying to write about in my new play, "para physin", and I admit that this might not really exist. I just want to be close to somebody, and the Christian chorus says, "be close to GOD" but sometimes you need to have someone you can see and hear, a friend who cannot judge you, and with whom you can be a little naughty in speech and gesture. Am I right? Can I get an AMEN?!?!?!?!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Who Loves You?
This entry was going to be called Confessions, but the old Alannah Myles song has been on my mind, and I will share why in a minute. (The song is on her 1989 self-titled album, which features her only hit, "Black Velvet".) But first I need to talk about confessions. In I John 1:9, it says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive them and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Jesus is our High Priest, so we don't need to confess to a human one. It is between us and God. But it is also important for believers to be honest with each other, and not have a lot of hidden things which amount to a double life. If those hidden things are accidentally revealed, the believer ends up looking like a liar and a hypocrite (even though we all sin and are all hypocrites to a certain extent). So I will talk about a few of the things that I struggle with, and a few things that I don't struggle with, things that I do which others may object to. And in doing this, I will show that I do not see myself as righteous or fit to judge anyone.
I drink. I am not an alcoholic but I enjoy drinking, and I enjoy it quite a lot. I mainly drink cocktails, not beer or wine. Some Christians think drinking is evil, even though Jesus turned water into wine. The apostle Paul does warn us in Ephesians 5:18 not to get drunk, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So it could be argued that getting drunk is sinful, but drinking is not. Now, I have gotten drunk on occasion. I have to say that it's rather difficult for me to do so, but I do try sometimes. Sometimes I just want to party and forget about life's difficulties. But really, what interests me most is mixology. I am fascinated by the tens of thousands of different drinks that can be made. I love to try new drinks. If I get a little buzz in the process, well............(I shrug).
I use profanity. Not as much as I used to. This is actually something that I'm deliberately trying to cut way down on. For a long time, I justified using four-letter words all the time because...Well, because they're just words. Man invented them, and they can mean whatever we want them to mean. Their meanings are often subjective. Sometimes they mean absolutely nothing. When my brother and I were little, we made this written code whereby we could write messages to each other in secret, and no one would understand what we were saying. We chose what each symbol represented. The same is true of language. Somebody has actually invented the language of Klingon. They just decided that this sound means this word, and so forth. So in my mind, these human constructions which we call "foul language" didn't really mean much to me. I mean, it usually just means you're angry. It's just another way to express that emotion. But then I read there's something in the book of James about how both blessing and cursing should not spring from the same mouth, that this is just wrong. And the other thing about bad language is that if a non-believer hears a Christian talk like that, it discredits his witness. So while I do use the occasional curse word to express myself, I'm starting to try and be more careful. One thing I don't do is use the Lord's name in vain.
Movies, music, TV, books, plays and other forms of our culture contain loads of things that God likely does not approve of, and neither do many Christians. I'm not going to go into huge detail about this, cos it would take all night, but suffice to say I do see R-rated movies all the time. I don't like the sanitized distortion of so-called Christian cinema, where people don't talk and act like they do in real life. So to see violence and sex and bad language in a movie is just realism, and I'd rather see that than a distortion. Even the Bible documented bad things that people said and did. I find it strange that people are more offended by sex in the movies than violence. Certain depictions of violence I can't handle. I can't watch a mafia movie, for instance. Sex doesn't bother me, but then again, I've dabbled in pornography like most men. It doesn't happen often because, frankly, it's just not very satisfying, but once in a while sex on screen can be exciting. And as a writer, I have to admit I almost always have a sex scene written into my scripts.
I used to read a lot of horror novels, but not so much anymore. As I said, some violent imagery messes with my head in a bad way. But Dean Koontz is my current favorite author. Most people think he's horror, but he's not.
Perhaps the worst thing in pop culture that I indulge in is the music I listen to. Most of my favorite artists all seem to have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to God and Christianity. Some of them are really obnoxious in their vitriolic expressions of disapproval of my faith. Well, I usually end up just skipping those particular songs that deal with those things, but I do feel guilty sometimes for being such a fan of these artists. It's like the fact that House is my favorite TV show, and the title character is like my hero, but he is extremely anti-religious, not to mention numerous other sinful qualities.
I am self-centered. Even my pastor told me this, and I would have been angry at him if I had not realized that he spoke the truth. I'm lazy and selfish. Why is this? Well, again, I could take all night. It comes from feeling as though you're not getting everything that you need. It's about a deep hunger or yearning for something that you don't have, maybe never have had. For me, that is strong friendships and romantic relationships. My pastor went a step further and told me these were an idol, which I also knew. An idol is something in your life that you care about more than your relationship with God. So again, I could have been angry, but I knew it was true. What I did not know was how to fix the problem.
And here's where the Alannah Myles song comes in. "Who loves you, who you gonna run to?" she asks. "Who loves you, whatcha gonna do about it?" Wait, let me go back further: "I send a message to you. I close my eyes and hope it gets through...I wonder if you hear me tonight. Sometimes you're so far away. I wanna have you near me tonight. Do you belong to me?" Well, this is obviously about a romance between a man and a woman, but it resonates with me because it could also be God speaking to His people. We were created to have fellowship with Him. He knew us since before we were born, and for all that time, He had a plan for us. (See Psalm 139.) He knows our every thought and every move. And He wants our friendship, our love, our conversation. People will let you down. You will be lonely if you rely on people. I'm sitting at my computer on a Friday night writing this, and I wish more than I can express that I had some buddy to drink with tonight. You know, go to the upper room in the Scottish pub. But I don't have anyone to do that with, and I won't go alone. Yet, who's right here with me, and wherever I am? Who is actively interested in me at all times? I may be boring or ugly to those I desire. God loves me ALWAYS, and He does not stop. Where is your bread buttered? Who will die for you? Who already has?
I drink. I am not an alcoholic but I enjoy drinking, and I enjoy it quite a lot. I mainly drink cocktails, not beer or wine. Some Christians think drinking is evil, even though Jesus turned water into wine. The apostle Paul does warn us in Ephesians 5:18 not to get drunk, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So it could be argued that getting drunk is sinful, but drinking is not. Now, I have gotten drunk on occasion. I have to say that it's rather difficult for me to do so, but I do try sometimes. Sometimes I just want to party and forget about life's difficulties. But really, what interests me most is mixology. I am fascinated by the tens of thousands of different drinks that can be made. I love to try new drinks. If I get a little buzz in the process, well............(I shrug).
I use profanity. Not as much as I used to. This is actually something that I'm deliberately trying to cut way down on. For a long time, I justified using four-letter words all the time because...Well, because they're just words. Man invented them, and they can mean whatever we want them to mean. Their meanings are often subjective. Sometimes they mean absolutely nothing. When my brother and I were little, we made this written code whereby we could write messages to each other in secret, and no one would understand what we were saying. We chose what each symbol represented. The same is true of language. Somebody has actually invented the language of Klingon. They just decided that this sound means this word, and so forth. So in my mind, these human constructions which we call "foul language" didn't really mean much to me. I mean, it usually just means you're angry. It's just another way to express that emotion. But then I read there's something in the book of James about how both blessing and cursing should not spring from the same mouth, that this is just wrong. And the other thing about bad language is that if a non-believer hears a Christian talk like that, it discredits his witness. So while I do use the occasional curse word to express myself, I'm starting to try and be more careful. One thing I don't do is use the Lord's name in vain.
Movies, music, TV, books, plays and other forms of our culture contain loads of things that God likely does not approve of, and neither do many Christians. I'm not going to go into huge detail about this, cos it would take all night, but suffice to say I do see R-rated movies all the time. I don't like the sanitized distortion of so-called Christian cinema, where people don't talk and act like they do in real life. So to see violence and sex and bad language in a movie is just realism, and I'd rather see that than a distortion. Even the Bible documented bad things that people said and did. I find it strange that people are more offended by sex in the movies than violence. Certain depictions of violence I can't handle. I can't watch a mafia movie, for instance. Sex doesn't bother me, but then again, I've dabbled in pornography like most men. It doesn't happen often because, frankly, it's just not very satisfying, but once in a while sex on screen can be exciting. And as a writer, I have to admit I almost always have a sex scene written into my scripts.
I used to read a lot of horror novels, but not so much anymore. As I said, some violent imagery messes with my head in a bad way. But Dean Koontz is my current favorite author. Most people think he's horror, but he's not.
Perhaps the worst thing in pop culture that I indulge in is the music I listen to. Most of my favorite artists all seem to have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to God and Christianity. Some of them are really obnoxious in their vitriolic expressions of disapproval of my faith. Well, I usually end up just skipping those particular songs that deal with those things, but I do feel guilty sometimes for being such a fan of these artists. It's like the fact that House is my favorite TV show, and the title character is like my hero, but he is extremely anti-religious, not to mention numerous other sinful qualities.
I am self-centered. Even my pastor told me this, and I would have been angry at him if I had not realized that he spoke the truth. I'm lazy and selfish. Why is this? Well, again, I could take all night. It comes from feeling as though you're not getting everything that you need. It's about a deep hunger or yearning for something that you don't have, maybe never have had. For me, that is strong friendships and romantic relationships. My pastor went a step further and told me these were an idol, which I also knew. An idol is something in your life that you care about more than your relationship with God. So again, I could have been angry, but I knew it was true. What I did not know was how to fix the problem.
And here's where the Alannah Myles song comes in. "Who loves you, who you gonna run to?" she asks. "Who loves you, whatcha gonna do about it?" Wait, let me go back further: "I send a message to you. I close my eyes and hope it gets through...I wonder if you hear me tonight. Sometimes you're so far away. I wanna have you near me tonight. Do you belong to me?" Well, this is obviously about a romance between a man and a woman, but it resonates with me because it could also be God speaking to His people. We were created to have fellowship with Him. He knew us since before we were born, and for all that time, He had a plan for us. (See Psalm 139.) He knows our every thought and every move. And He wants our friendship, our love, our conversation. People will let you down. You will be lonely if you rely on people. I'm sitting at my computer on a Friday night writing this, and I wish more than I can express that I had some buddy to drink with tonight. You know, go to the upper room in the Scottish pub. But I don't have anyone to do that with, and I won't go alone. Yet, who's right here with me, and wherever I am? Who is actively interested in me at all times? I may be boring or ugly to those I desire. God loves me ALWAYS, and He does not stop. Where is your bread buttered? Who will die for you? Who already has?
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