Cliche Christians

Christianity is one of those religions that has very cliche, overused phrases. To be honest, I am sick of them. I am not denying the truth behind them, because most of them are true (at least to an extent), but what I hate is how overused they are, and how often they are used without any thought. Some of these "pat" answers and phrases include, but are not limited to:
"God has a plan for you"
"Everything will work out"
"God loves you"
"Just Trust God!"
and finally, perhaps the most overused and most misunderstood, "Just keep praying!" (or a variation, "Pray about it"). There are hundreds more, feel free to comment and add more that you can think of, but you get the idea. It's frustrating that Christianity has devolved into catchphrases (as I mentioned in an earlier blog about Church Signs). I want to talk about the Prayer phrase in this blog..perhaps I will talk about another phrase another day, but today, it's all about prayer.
When I talk to people about my life, and tell them what's happening, most often at some point in the converstaion they will mention that they are praying for me and that I should keep praying. I think this is great advice, and I am touched that they would pray for me, but I think people miss the point of prayer. Should I pray about things in my life? Absolutely, no doubt about it, but, and here's the kicker, IF ALL I DO IS PRAY ABOUT IT, NOTHING WILL HAPPEN!!!. That's right, I just said that. Think about if for a minute, before you freak out and think that I am speaking out against prayer. I am all for prayer, but what I am speaking out against is ONLY prayer. Here's an example of what I am talking about:
Let's say I lose my job and am unemployed. If I sit at home, and pray to God and ask him to give me a job, but I never actually look for myself, then will I find a job? If I don't go online and search, or look through the classifieds, or hand out resumes, I will never find a job, no matter how hard I pray. When we pray, God expects us to act! Prayer requires some sort of action. God doesn't always answere our prayer is some miraculous way out of the blue (he does sometimes, but most of the time he doesn't work that way). So when someone tells me to pray about it, it bothers me...because I know that I need to pray, but I need advice about what to do WHILe I pray. Too often, people are so focused on praying and waiting for God to act, that they miss out on opportunities. Here is another anecdote, which you may have heard before:
A hige flood is sweeping through a city, and a man begins to pray. "God save me". A car drives by hsi house and offers to give him a ride, "No, God will save me", he says, and the car drives away. The waters rise, and the man moves to the top floor of his house, leaning out a window. A boat drives by and offers to give the man a ride, "No, God will save me", he says...and the boat drives off. The water rises again and the man is on his roof. A helicopter flies overhead, and offers the man a ride, "No God will save me", he says. The helicopter flies off and the man drowns. When he gets to heaven he asks God "Why didn't you save me?"...and God says, "I sent a car, a boat and a helipcoter...why didn't you escape with them?"
As ridiculous as this story is, it's truth hits closer to home than we would like to think. We get so caught up in praying for God to save us, that we fail to act for ourselves. Yes, God will help, but he wants us to work for ourselves as well. Don't overlook the car, boat or helicopter. Take action...yes, keep praying, but don't solely pray and then get angry when nothing happpens.
The book of James talks about Faith and Works...it's the same concept here. Just like we can't truly be Christians if we don't act like it, we can't truly Pray without action.
That's my opinion, you don't have to agree, but I hope that it does make you think. So before you give the cliche answers to someone, think about it first...what is this really saying? and is there anything else that you could say that isn't so common that it loses it's meaning?

Hot Button Christianity

I'm currently reading a novel called "Deadline" by popular christian author Randy Alcorn. Now, I don't want to turn this blog into a book review, but I do want to talk a little bit about the content of this book. The story follows Jake, a general columnist for a major newspaper, as he tries to figure out the mysterious death of his friends. Sounds like a clever, page-turning thriller doesn't it? Well, it is an interesting story, and it would be even more so, if Alcorn didn't do his best to try and fit in all the "hot button issues" he can. The book takes on 3 distinct parts: 1) What is heaven going to be like (one of the characters goes to heaven, and the story often tells about the wonders he is seeing while there), 2) The murder investigation (the basic plot aspect of the story), and 3) what I like to call The Soapbox. I have no problem with the 2nd aspect...and for the most part the other 2 parts as well..I just don't like that Alcorn feels obligated (at least it seems that way) to included all of it as much as he possibly can. Let's start at the heaven part.
Heaven is one of those mysteries that we will never fully solve until the day we arrive there. I have no real problem with books, or people in general, talking about heaven and making speculations about what it will be like, but I don't like someone writing in a novel about what it WILL be like. Granted, Alcorn never does say that this is an accurate depiction of heaven, but it doesn't go out of its way to say that it is fictitious either. I wonder what heaven will be like, I have images in my head and I can't wait to see how innaccurate they really are, but I take offense to someone telling me "This is what heaven will be like"..because no one knows. This also brings me to those "I died and spent an hour in heaven" books. I don't want to diminish their actual accounts (assuming they are true), but I personally don't think that anyone needs to write a book about exactly what heaven will be like. There is a beautiful mystery to not knowing. It keeps us curious about what it will be like. These books take away the mystery, or at least part of it, and I think that it is wrong. Let's leave heaven as a mysterious place that will only be fully realized what that day comes. Continue to speculate, discuss with people ideas of what it may be like, but we shouldn't come right out and say "this is what it is".
This bring me to the 3rd point. The soapbox. I hate the fact that Christinity has become a Hot Button Issue religion. It seems that every Christian book, movie, or even any time a Christian is portrayed in hollywood or on the news, that they are pushing their opinions. I think values are very important, and when given the chance we need to share our values with one another, but since when did Jesus tell us to make signs about the evils of "pro-choice", or to humiliate the sinful acts of homosexuals. I know that many Christians don't give into these protests and picketing...but many do. And many of the others who don't protest outright, do go out of their way to push their opinions on others.
I remember, while I was at Bethany, one time in particular, that someone tried to push their opinions on me. It was during camp days, and I was sitting with one of my friends on the couches in the common area. Sitting with us was one of the camp directors. For some reason, we started talking about abortion. My friend said something about "I believe that most abortions are wrong, but I think that there are times when an abortion is ok"...all of a sudden, the camp director looked at my friend, and firmly and angrily said "Your wrong!". WHAT? really? You are going to shut that opinion down just like that? I can understand with you not agreeing, but to bluntly say that someone is wrong, especially about such a debatable issue is insane. I hate that among Christian circles you either believe these certain things, or you are WRONG. It seems that as a Christian, we have to believe that all abortions are wrong, sex outside of marriage is evil, homosexuals are doomed to hell, stem cell research is from the devil, and countless other major issues that we deal with on a daily basis. Now, I'm not coming out and saying that I disagree with these things, I'm not saying that I completely agree with them either, but since when did we take away free choice. Who are we to judge what someone believes? Now, I do believe that there are some things that are wrong, in which the world seems ok with, but why do Christians feel that it is their personal vendetta to convince everyone that they are wrong? What happened to the "love everyone" and "build relationships with one another", that we used to believe. We need to stop being so critical of people, and pushing our opinions on everyone. There are times and places to push our opinions, and when people ask what you think of something, by all means share it with all of your might...but when someone makes a small little opinion about something, don't go out of your way to tell them that they are wrong. Instead, tell them your opinion, in a friendly, non-threatening way, and have a healthy discussion. Who knows, you may even expand your opinion about something...change your mind even slightly.
So put down the signs, stop the protests, rip up the petitions...we need to start being the loving, accepting, tolerant (to an extent) religion that we were meant to be. Jesus himself ate with sinners, likely talked with homosexuals, prostitutes...all sorts of "evil" people...he didn't agree with what they did, but he didn't judge them either. he didnt burn their homes, or start a protest march. he loved them for who they were, and what potential they had. He shared his beliefs and opinions, but in a non-threatening way. Oddly enough, the most threatening he ever was, was against the "Christians" (I guess Jews, at the time), when he turned the tables in the temple and called out the Pharisees. Perhaps, instead of casting judgement, and forcing our opinions on those "outside", we need to do an inner, gut check first.

Church Signs and Christian Movies

People who know me well know that, even though I am a Christian, I can't stand Christian movies. Ok, I can't say all Christian movies, but most of them. Despite what you may think, it's not the poor acting seen in most of them (although that does have a small part to do with it). In all honesty, it is the message of them that I can't stand. I know what you are all thinking...what? The message is the most important part. I politely have to disagree. Now, before I go much farther, I do want to say that this is my own opinion...there are people who think that Christian movies are great, and they are touched by them...if that is the case for you then that's great, I'm just writing about how I feel about things, because this is my blog and I can say what I want.
There is a reason I don't like the message of most Christian movies...it's a fake representation of what Christianity is. 95% of the Christian movies I have seen...perhaps even more, are all about someone hurting, or dealing with something, finding God and then everything is GREAT! But is that really how life is? Does your life become great when you find God? Does everything work out if you pray? No, it doesn't...not always. I don't want to say that these things never happen, because they do...but they don't always happen. That's what I don't like about Christian movies, if a non-Christian were to watch Christian movies, they would get the impression that if they turn to God, pray and ask God for something, they will get it and their life will be amazing.
I think of the movie Facing the Giants (I realize this is a popular, widely loved Christian movie, but once again I am saying that this is MY opinion, you don't have to share it). This movie is the epitomy of "God answeres Prayer". It's about an underdog football team, who makes it to a championship game. In the final 5 minutes of the movie, all of this occurs after someone prays: 1) The wind miraculously changes direction, and a field goal is succesfully kicked
2) A crippled father stands out of his wheel chair to cheer on his son
3) A barren woman finds out she is pregnant
Wow...after one prayer? If I were a non-Christian watching that, I would get the impression that life always works out as long as you pray. I may even come to God, with the expectation that when I pray for something, it will happen. And then I would be hugely disappointed when it doesn't happen.
Just once, i would love to see a Christian movie where nothing works out. Someone comes to God, but life is still hard. Prayers go unanswered. He suffers, cries, and yet still sticks with God. No resolution in the end of the movie...no happy ending, just a story of a man suffering, like Job. Where is that movie? It won't be made, because people want to sell Christianity, and that often makes if seem "easier" and "happier" than it really is. Too bad really.
I have also found, that lately, I have grown to hate Church signs. Not the simple "this is when out service is held...come join us" signs, but the "Catch-Phrase" church signs. Kristi and I often drive through Abbotsford, and read some of the church signs, and they are ridiculous. We shake our heads in disbelief. Things like, "God accepts Knee-Mail" or the most recent, ridiculous and confusing one, "Download your Worries. Upload your Time with God". What does that even mean?
To be frank, if your church needs a catchy tag-line to get people through your doors on a Sunday morning, you are doing something wrong. You wonder why people have a poor idea of what Christianity is. All they see on TV is a mockery (holier than thou people, religious zealots, Fox News right wingers, Religious terrorists)...and then what they see from the Church through silly signs, and Christian Movies isn't much better. People have no idea what Christianity really is anymore...it's really too bad.
So that is why I don't like Christian movies, and why i don't like church signs...or bumper stickers, or t-shirts for that matter. I think if Jesus was walking the earth today, and seeing all of the "marketing" that is happening for Christianity...he may just walk into our Christian book stores and begin turning the tables. Instead of spreading catchy slogans, start living out Christinity. Let's show people what it's about through our actions...not through our signs, movies and slogans. Let's get real people...Christianity is a relationship, not a beer commercial.

A Fair God?

So, recently, I had a conversation with a friend about whether God is fair or not. It seems like an interesting question...and something that should seem so simple right? of course God is fair. Of course, like most philosophical questions, it's a lot more difficult to answer than it first seems.
Now, I will tell you right away, that I do in fact believe that God is a fair God. Many people may disagree, and that is ok, and I understand why they believe that God is unfair. So...without further ado, let's get to the discussion.
People that believe that God is an unfair God often bring up the argument that "God is unfair because we deserve death, as sinners, and yet God loves us and brings us life". That is absolutely correct. We do deserve death, and we deserve punishment, and yet God doesn't always punish us in the ways we believe he should. Does that not make him unfair? Well...let's first look at the definition of fair. According to dictionary.com (I was too lazy to grab a real dictionary...I apologize), fair means, "free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice". To me, that sounds like a fair description of God, does it not? Does God have a bias? I don't think so. Is he dishonest? absolutely not. and he truly is a God of justice. So...according to that definition, God is fair. However, there are things that God does, that may seem unfair. For example, there is a parable in the bible about workers in a field. A farmer goes out looking for workers, and finds some. He offers to pay them a cartain wage (which they both agree on), and then they go to work. Later, the farmer goes to get more workers, and then later goes to get more. This continues until the farmer gathers some workers who work for the final hour, before the day is over. At the end of the day, all of the workers recieve the same amount of pay. The first workers are livid, they can't believe that they recieve the same amount as the workers who only worked for an hour. What the farmer did was seen as unfair. But was it really? Of course not, the workers and the farmer agreed on a set price, and that is the price that they received. Incredibly fair.
I think there are 2 reasons why people see God as unfair:
First of all, life is unfair and so therefore God seems unfair as well. I understand this reasoning. Bad things happen to good people. and good things happen to bad people...unfair! But it is accurate to associate God with the unfairness of life? Is unfair life and unfair God the same thing? I don't believe so. In life, people have choices to do certain things, and sometimes, their choices cause an unfair life for others. Not everything that happens is a direct result of God's Will. Yes, I just said that...and I'll let you catch your breath, because you are probably shocked. Do I beleive that God has an ultimate plan? Definately...I believe that He is in control, and that everything will work out according to his plan...however I believe that there are things that happen, that aren't part of the plan. Let's look at Adam and Eve. God gave them a choice, and ultimately I believe that God knew what they woudl choose...but his plan WASN'T for them to eat the forbidden fruit. His plan was for them to live in harmony with him in the garden, and unfortunatly that didn't happen. Later on, God destroys the world with a flood, saving only Noah and his family. Was that part of the plan? Of course not, but something had to be done, and so God did something that he didn't want to have to do. I would even go as far to say that Jesus wasn't part of the plan. If everything went according to plan, Jesus never would have had to come to Earth, because we all would have been living in perfection in the garden. God's plans were changed because of the action of man...now in the end we WILL live in harmony with God, but until then, the plans are changing and God's Will is being affected by man's actions (at times at least).
The Second reason people believe that God is unfair, is because they judge God on a human level. God does things that we don't understnad, and that humans would deem unfair. However, we all believe that God is perfect, and therefore everything he does is perfect. Can something be unfair and perfect? I don't belive so. We don't understand everything God does, and so we often just jump to the conclusion that he is unfair (both for the good and the bad). But God is truly the most fair of all; he is just on a level that is so fair and so perfect that we can't comprehend it or understand it.
So, according to me at least...someone who doesn't even come close to fully understanding everything, God is a fair God...but what do you think? I've given my opinion, now give yours.

A Lesson from Mandela!

I just began reading a book called "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation". This is the story that inspired the recent movie Invictus (a movie I haven't seen yet, but definately want to see). I'm only at the third chapter, but this book has already inspired me. I have to be honesty, I don't know a lot about Nelson Mandela. I know that he was a prisoner for many years, and was president of South Africe...other than that, I'm pretty much in the dark. Already, however, I have become a major Mandela fan. My father-in-law raves about Mandela...he is his hero, and from reading only 2 chapters of this book, I can see why.

I could spend this entire blog raving about how great Mandela is, and I may do that once this book is complete, however instead I am going to use an instance of Mandela's life, and talk about what we can learn from it in our spiritual life.

While Mandela was imprisoned, he faced many challenges. Just like Martin Luther King Jr., he was loved by his black brothers, but hated and despised (or at the very least, misunderstood), by the white opressors. He could have been bitter, and angry, and he could have focused all of his energy on making life miserable for the white prison guards, who did their best to make life miserable for him, but he chose a higher road. Instead of hating his enemy, he got to know them. He read books about the Afrikaner (the white south africans who were opressing him) history, learned their language and got to know them as people, not enemies. If they loved rugby, he would learn about rugby. He learned about their families, and had conversations with them. So what happened? He won them over. They no longer saw him as a threat, but instead as a friend.

So what can we learn from this? Well, as a Christian, we face opression often. Sometimes is opression from the secular world, telling us that we have to be a certain way. Other times, its opressions from fellow Christians, telling us that we have to believe certain things and act a certain way. The important thing to remember, however, is to never see someone as an enemy. Yes, they believe different things than you do, and perhaps they do things that you find offensive, but you can make common ground, and you can win them over by being a friend. For missionaries, the hardest part isn't preaching the gospel; it's building up a relationship with someone to a level that they actually want to hear what you are saying.

I remember a few years ago when the Da Vinci Code was released, there was a huge division that formed. There were those people who read the book, LOVED the book and thought it was the most amazing thing ever. And then there were those people, those Christians, who thought that the book was the root of all evil. That it was the most putird, vile thing ever to be published. A small war broke out...people bashed one another, Christians released books talking about how wrong the Da Vinci Code was. So what did I do? I did what most Christians were scared to do...I read it. I read the book, and guess what? I enjoyed it. I thought it was one of the best pieces of fiction I'd ever read to be honest with you. Did I believe everything in it? Of course not, but at least I could now have a conversation with someone who had read it, and does believe everything in it. Had I have never read it, a conversation would have gone something like this:

Me: "Hi, i see you are reading the Da Vinci Code...That book is very wrong, in what it says about Jesus"

Them: "Oh...really? Have you read it?"

Me: "No. But I've heard it from really reliable sources...hey, where are you going? I was just telling you that..."

But now that I had read it, a conversation could actually happen. I could tell them that yes, i did read it, and actually enjoyed it, but here are few things that I thought were wrong in the book, and we could then have an educated discussion about it. The same thing has happened with the dawn of the Atheist books. Books such as "The God Delusion", and "God is Not Great". I have to admit, I have not read those ones yet, but I do intend to, but the principle is the same. Instead of arguing with someone, or seeing someone as an eney, you need to understand them, learn about them. Speak their language, talk about what they like, and actually learn about it (even if you don't like it at all). This goes beyond Christians befriending non-believers. People you normally would not associate with can become good friends. You may even learn to appreciate something you never would have dreamed of appreciating. So take a lesson from Mandela. Learn about your enemies, and those who are different from you. Relate to them on their level, and you can win them over. If everyone did this, then there would be much less violence, war, and intolerance today. It starts with you!

An Unwholesome Post

For those of you who know me really well, you should know that I enjoy debating. I love arguing with someone, and having a deep discussion about something, anything really. I've been known to argue about hockey ("Why Bertuzzi was unjustly labelled a goon", "Why Crosby is over-rated", "Why the Leafs will be the next Canadian team to win the cup"), to movies ("Johnny Depp is the best actor ever", "Syriana was the worst movie I have ever seen"), to Ethics ("Why abortion is sometimes ok", "Is homosexuality really as bad as we make it seem?"). But the one thing I love to argue most of, is philosphical ideas. I love to stir the pot, turn up the heat, and get things sizzlin. Sorry, I'm married to a chef, so those analogies just sort of poured out of me.

During my time at Bethany College, some of my favourite moments were times when I would sit on the couches, and just begin debating and arguing with people. Sometimes I would legitimately disagree with someone, other times I would play the devils advocate, and secretly agree with them, but argue on behalf of a position that I don't condone or agree with. I loved it! Sometimes people would get fed up and leave, other times more people would join the discussion. I remember a few occasions when people were legitimately angry with me (those times I'm not proud of). Anyway, all this to say, that this blog of mine is intended to get people thinking. I don't want this to be a blog about what I'm doing with my life, although there will be aspects of that. I want this to be a blog about things I believe, and things that are possibly controversial. I want discussion. I want people to say what they think...whether agree with me, or completely disagree with me, just voice your opinion.

This post isn't really about how I love to argue....I just began with that to warn you that this post may offend some. I apologize in advance.

I've been thinking a lot lately about swearing. Ok, perhaps not a lot, but I have thought about it. I feel kind of ashamed to say this, but I have become a bit more loose with the tongue lately. I say things now, that I wouldn't have imagined I would have said a few years ago. Words that I thought were horrible and disgusting now exit from my lips. Does it have to do with music and movies that I watch and listen to? Perhaps partly, but not completely. Before I went to Bible School, I thought I knew a lot about the Bible. I translated everything as literal. I didn't believe that the bible would exageratte, or write 'legends'. Of course, now I see things differently. I beleive now that there may be things in the Bible that are stretched a little bit...as the culture in the day saw things differently than we do now. It was ok to smudge the numbers a bit, or to exagerate at times. I'm not saying that I don't believe the Bible is true, I'm just saying that a completely literal translation of the Bible could be dangerous. Anyway, that's for another post...I want to talk about the verse "Let no unwholesome talk come from your lips" (Ephesians 4:29).

I was told, growing up, that swearing was wrong. Anything remotely close to a swear was taboo...which is probably why as a kid, I remember being mortified that we would say 'ass' in church...even though we were referring to a donkey. This teaching was mainly because of the verse mentioned above..."Let no unwholesome talk come from your lips". But what exactly does that mean? Well, in my opinion, that doesn't necessarily include swears. What the verse is about is encouragement, and building one another up. In essence, what the verse is saying is "Don't say anything that is going to discourage, or tear someone down. Be uplifitng!". Can swears tear someone down? absolutely, and in those cases swearing is 100% wrong. But at the same time, can Scripture not tear someone down too? Hear me out on this one...I'm referring to Scripture used out of context, or Scripture that is used at an inappropriate time. For example, if someone is praying hard for something, and the opposite happens, and you were to go up to them and say "if you only have faith the size of a mustard seed, that mountain will move" (paraphrased), will that not discourage them, and tear them down? Did they not have faith before when they were praying? (Now I do want to say that there are times when people need to be torn down...if someone is extreemely cocky, or is misusing their power, then they need to be taken down a few notches, but that's not what I'm referring to here).

I beleive that there is a time and a place for swearing. In times of intense frustration, such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or other agonizing moments, then I feel a swear is not only justifiable, but encouraged. In my opinion, swearing isn't a sin. Is it appropriate? No, not usually...but a lot of things are rude and inappropriate but aren't sins (such as burping, or chewing with your mouth open). Yes, there is a limit to how much one should swear, but should we judge someone based solely on if they swear or not? I remember, as a kid, I would hear someone who claimed to be a Christian swear, and I would immediately think that they weren't a Christian at all, and would think of them as a heathen. Is that fair? No, of course not. There are a lot of influencial Christians who swear, and not just a little either. I think of Bono. Many may disagree, but Bono, in my opinion, is one of the most influencial and most radical Christians alive today. The things he stands for is amazing...his organizations, and passions are unbelievable...but he swears a lot. GASP! Does that make him any less of a Christian? No.

I honestly believe that Jesus swore. I know, "How dare you say that!"...I can hear the hate mail and the mumbles of blasphemy...but let me explain myself. I'm not saying that he made a habit of saying bad words...but I strongly believe that when Jesus walked into the temple, and saw the debacle going on inside, and he got angry and turned over the tables, that he said some words that were "innapropriate". I highly doubt that avoiding the taboo words were on his mind, when the house of God was being used in such profane ways. I truly, honestly believe he swore. It's not in the Bible, and I don't know for sure, but that is my opinion.

Wow, I'm just realizing that I am all over the map on this one, and not being very concise with this. All I'm trying to say is, perhaps swearing isn't as forbidden or sinful as we may think, provided as we are aware of our surroundings, are doing our best to not cause people to stumble, and focus on encouraging eachother and building one another up. That's my opinion...what's yours?

A Human Guinea Pig

Recently, I have been reading A.J. Jacobs new book "The Guinea Pig Diaries". A.J. Jacobs is the author of "The Year of Living Biblically" (where he...lived a year following every rule in the bible), and "The Know-It All" (where he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z). I haven't read either of those two books, however I would love to. Anyway, this book is about him doing a bunch of smaller experiments, such as outsourcing his entire life to India, posing nude in a magazine, being 100% completely honest with people (that chapter is title "I think you're fat"), and following George Washington's 110 rules. I'm not going to give a review on the book (it's very good...funny and insightful), instead I'm going to talk about some principles in the book, starting with the chapter on radical honesty.
Being completely honest. Sounds good right? Isn't that what we are called to do? Well, to some extent yes, however there are times when it is important to lie. The hilarious movie Liar Liar comes to mind, but there are moments when the truth has to be stretched a little bit. Such as when you are trying to give someone a surprise birthday party, or you see a hideuosly ugly baby. I'm not saying living a completely deceitful life is good, in fact the contrary. A.J. Jacobs, during this experiment, finds it incredibly difficult, and he never does get completely honest with people, however it does make him more aware of what he is saying, and to this day he tries to be much more honest. If someone asks him to go for coffee, instead of making excuses, he will be honest and say that he really doesn't want to go. For the most part, people respect that. I think we can learn a lot from being radically honest. In the book, he talks about how the radically honest movement states that you shouldn't even have a filter...just say what comes to mind. I think that is a bit much as filters keep us from saying things that will hurt someone else. But I do think that, when possible, honesty is the best policy. If you don't want to go somewhere, say it. If you have a problem with the food in a restaurant, admit it, don't just suffer and complain to yourself.
The other chapter I want to talk about a bit is the chapter about following George Washington's 110 rules. This chapter seems very similar to his year of living biblically experiment, except there are way more than 110 rules to follow in the Bible. Thsi chapter made me question the legalistic lifestyle many people have, and percieve Christians of having. Agnostics (such as A.J. Jacobs), Athiests, and people of other religions often see Christians as people who have lots of rules, no freedom and can have no fun. Even fellow Christians sometimes fall into that mindset. It's too bad, because Christianity doesn't rely on a legalistic lifestyle. Yes, there are lots of rules in the bible, but God doesn't expect us to follow every single one every single hour of the day. God knows that we are human...he created us. He knows that we sin, and that we will make mistakes. Does that mean we shouldn't even bother to follow the 'rules'? Of course not, but we shouldn't be so focused on the rules that we forget about the exceptions, or we lose the joy in life. Christianity should be a joyful relationship with Christ, not a harsh, boring life slaving ourselves to follow strict rules. Even Jesus himself breaks the rules. He heals on the Sabbath, he talks to and touches lepers. He forgives sins, he speaks to women. There are many things that Jesus does that the Pharisees (the strict followers of the Law) see as sinful. It's the reason why they wanted him to die (that and the fact that he claimed to be God). Rules are good. They keep people in line. They give people boundries that they need to try to stay between. But rules become bad, when they leave no room for error. In sports, athletes break the rules all the time, but they always get the opportunity to play again after serving their penalty. It is the same thing in Christianity. Yes, we should do our very best to follow God's commands, but know that when we mess up, he is always there to forgive. Also, don't be so focused on the legalism that you can't make exceptions. As Jesus healed on the Sabbath (which was classified as work, and was taboo), you too must choose between following strict rules and doing what is right sometimes.

Running With The Devil, and Preaching With Actions

I'm going to join the many thousands, and give my condolences to Haiti. It's an absolute terrible thing that happened. I could spend this entire blog telling you to go to Haiti, or send money, but I'm not going to do that. Not because I don't want you to do that, but because I am going to talk about another issue...actually, a few different issues. Let's begin with a man named Pat Robertson.

Pat Robertson is a televangelist, who I'm sure has a great intent, however some of the words he says makes me ashamed to be a follower of Christ. (I attempted to upload a video from Youtube, but I have no idea how to do it, so I'm going to describe it to you to the best of my ability). Right after the earthquake, Pat made this comment:

"The people of Haiti made a deal with the devil. They were under the rule of the British, and the pleaded with the Devil to save them. The Devil said "Ok", true story, and he freed them from opression. Ever since then the Haitians have had one issue after another".

Now, I don't want to say that this 'legend' didn't occur...but the fact is, none of us were there. This is apparantly something that happened during Napoleon's day, so how are we to know what is true. Secondly, even if this story is true and the Haitians made a deal with the devil...that is something that occured generations ago, none of the people that are affected by this earthquake were even close to being around when the deal was made. Thirdly, the Haitians were never a Christian nation. Why this is significant is because it would determine why they would have made a deal with the devil (if they in fact ever did). It's one thing for a Christian person to turn their back against God and begin serving the devil. That is blasphemy and heresy and is definately a major issue. The Haitians on the other hand, never served God, and don't even know the name of Jesus. How could they ask God to save them if they don't even know he exists? They can't. They call out to the one thing that they believe in, and ask him to save them. Is God judging them for this? Is God angry that they sold out to the devil? Honestly, I don't know. The fact is, I'm not predicting why this happened. I do know one thing, regardless of the reason, God is grieving right now. He hates to see people suffer, especially innocent poor people, which is the entire nation of Haiti. God isn't up in heaven happy that he judged these heathen devil worshipers. I believe he is crying, hurting that there is such pain. I don't even want to get into why this earthquake happend, all I'm trying to say is that this is not Judgement because of a generations ago pact with the devil (in my opinion anyway).

The second thing I want to talk about right now is mission work. I'm not an expert on missions, I've only ever done 2 cross culteral missions trips in my life, but I do still have an opinion about this. Before I start, i do want to say that this is likely controversial, and I am attempting not to offend people. This is my opinion, and you are free to have your own opinion about things. Anyway, there are many Christians who have the mindset of "Preach First, Serve Second". They believe that the very first thing that should be done is convert people, and then give them food, water and shelter. I say, that's bull---- (sorry). If you look at the life of Jesus, before he preached to people, he would heal them. There are many stories of lepers, sick people, paraplegics, who come to Jesus, and he heals them. He could preach to them for an hour, tell them that they need to follow him, but he doesn't. He heals them first. There are even times when he never preaches at all. If we are suppossed to be like Jesus, is this not an example of what our missions should be like? I'm not saying that the Haitians shouldn't hear the message of Christ, they definately need to hear it, however if a Christian were to go over to Haiti right now, stand on a street corner, and tell people that "Jesus Loves You, Turn to Jesus, He can save you",. I can guarantee you that harsh words would be said, and not many people would turn to God. On the other hand, if Christians went over to Haiti with no purpose but to just love, give food and shelter, I can guarantee you that Haitians would come to Christ. But even so, even if a Christian went to Haiti, gave food and shelter, and not on Haitian came to know Jesus, they still better fulfilled the mission of Christ than if they went to Haiti, preached to everyone and thousands came to Christ. All I'm saying is, "Serve First, Let God do the rest". Definately, as you serve, you can read scripture or tell them of God, but don't spend the whole time preaching the word that God loves them, well all the evidence that they see points to the fact that God hates them. Think about it. If your house burned down, and everything you owned was inside, including family and friends, and someone came up to you and said "I feel terrible, but God loves you", how would you react? Now, in the same scenario, if someone came up to you, didn't even say anything to you, but hugged you, and began rebuilding your home, how would you respond? In which instance is Christ most evident? Serve. Go out and give food, shelter and show love to the needy, the homeless, the poor and the innocent. Whether they are in Haiti, India, Mexico, or just down the street from you. Sorry if that stepped on people's toes...let me know if your opinion differs, or if you agree.

Outgrowing "Why?"

As kids, one of the first questions we learn how to ask, and then ask over, and over again is, why. It's a short question, but often it is the hardest to answer. When we are kids, we ask why for everything. "Why can't I stay up later?", "Why do I have to eat my vegetables?", "Why can't I hit my sister?"...over and over again. And then, when we received an answer, like, "you can't stay up late because you need to get a good sleep so that you can have a lot of fun tommorrow"...we would respond once again with "Why?". As annoying as this practice is, it's human nature to know why things happen. Unfortunately, as we get older, we tend to stop asking why. We tend to just go with the flow, not really sure why things are happening, but too embarrassed to ask about it. The other unfortunate thing is, that the things that would make us ask why, are much bigger and more important, and yet we think it is childish, or worse yet, un-Christian to ask why, especially of God. Well, I have news for you...it's ok to ask God why.
God want's to hear from us. We are his children, and he cares for us. Like a parent answers all of the child's "Why?" questions, God too, wants us to ask him. Fortunately for us, he never gets sick of hearing ut...unfortunately for us, he doesn't always answer it. At least, not the way we want.
In my life, I have had a lot of why questions to ask God. Some of them, have been answered, others haven't been yet, and some never will be fully answered. Those are the most frustrating ones, the ones that will never be fully answered...and we know that, and have to continue living our lives, asking the question "Why?" anyway. For me, those unanswered questions are about death. Why did Nate (Kristi's brother), have to die? Why did Paul (Kristi and My good friend) have to die? They were so young, had so much life left to live. GOD WHY!? I'll never know. I won't wake up one day and have the answer. Instead, I get up every day, watch Kristi and her family struggle, knowing that their brother, son, husband, isn't coming back. It's hard to watch, really hard to watch, and there's nothing I can do. It's the same with my friend Paul. I see his picture on our fridge every day, and remember the good times we had together, in the short time that I knew him...and I ask "Why?". And all I hear is silence. Talk about frustrating!
The important thing isn't that we get the answers. The important thing is to ask the question. If you think of all the great hero's in the Bible, they all asked why? Ok, well maybe not all of them, but a lot of them did. Moses asked "Why me?" when he was at the burning bush, Abraham asked "Why don't I have a son?", before Sarah became pregnant. Even Jesus asked, "Why have you forsaken me?" as he hung on the cross. Why is a great question, one that needs to be asked, regardless of whether we will get the answer.
I don't know what's happening in your life right now. I don't know if things are going good, going bad, sort of "meh" (as the kids say), or what. But I do know, that we can always talk to God, and always ask him why? I remember when I was 13, living in Ontario. I found out that my family would be moving to Manitoba. I was angry, frustrated and confused. I spent months, every night crying out to God, asking why. It wasn't until I finally got to Manitoba, met the people, found amazing friends, that I got a glimpse of why, and it was good. The answer to Why isn't always good though. Another story, while I was at Bethany College, I auditioned every year for the Bethany Players (the travelling drama team). And every year, I made it to the final cut, but didn't make the team. In my mind, I was the best actor there (which wasn't true...but I wasn't the most humble of people), so I asked why. To this day, i still don't know the complete answer, but I do know that God wanted me to grow in a different way. It hurt a lot. I still remember the pain of not seeing my name on that list, but it was for a reason.
So I encourage you...ask why. When things are good, or when things are bad, ask God why. He may tell you right away, or he may never tell you, but things happen for a reason, and unless we ask, we will never find out why.

Celebrity Failures

First of all, I want to apologize to both of my readers for not blogging in a few days. And by a few days I mean 5 months. Sorry. Ok, now on to the blog:
For Christmas, my lovely wife Kristi gave me Theoren Fleury's biography. For those of you non-sports people, Theo Fleury was a hockey player who grew up in Russel Manitoba, played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers (but spent most of his time with the Flames). He was also a part of the Gold Medal 2002 Salt Lake City hockey team. Anyway, his career was marred with drugs and alcohol, and he eventually had to quit hockey a few years ago (although he attempted to make a comeback this season, but the Flames didn't resign him). The book has been a major eye-opener for me. During his career, people called him a crackhead, an alcoholic, whatever cruel things they could think ok. People only saw his flaws. What most people didn't know, was that when he was 13, he was sexually abused by his hockey coach...and it lasted for a few years. It was only with the release of his biography that he actually admitted this abuse. Now, I'm not saying that this aweful event gives him permission to use drugs and alcohol, but it does put things a bit more into perspective. People like to judge. It's a part of our culture. We especially love to judge celebrities, because we think that they should be perfect. The problem is, they aren't perfect. Unfortunately for them, when they mess up, they have paparazzi and fans all over the place watching their every move. When we mess up, usually we are either by ourselves or with close friends who won't judge us as harshly. I'm not saying that celebrities should be free to live a life of sin, but I think it is wrong of us to judge them...as it is wrong of us to judge anyone.
This past year has been yet another year of celebrities messing up for the public to ridicule and scorn. Chris Brown alledgedly assaulting Rihanna, Kanye West's Teen Choice Award/Taylor Swift debaucle, Tiger Woods affair...the list goes on. While what these people did (or alledgedly did) is wrong, who are we to judge. We get such a high from tearing people down a couple notches, when we deserve to be brought down a few notches too. We all mess up, we all sin, and we all make mistakes. Luckily, most people don't bring all of our flaws out for the world to see. Leave the judging to the one who created us...God. Let him be the one to judge us for our faults, because he's the only one who truly knows our hearts, and who is holy enough to judge. Instead of trashing these celebrities, pray for them. Instead of gossiping about your friend, or enemy, who messed up, forgive them. Encourage them to turn their life around, in a non-judgmental way...because when we judge...we will end up being judged by God as well, perhaps even more harshly.
Oh, and a final note...this past year marked the passing of Michael Jackson. I was not his biggest fan, howver I did enjoy most of his music. Anyway, i just want to say that, even though he lived a life that was bizarre, and was perceived to be a wacko, he was a person just like all of us...and he was also loved by his family and by God. People who make jokes about him, or who say that they are glad he is dead are not showing the love of God. I'm not saying you need to encourage his lifestyle, or condone what he did (if he even did the stuff he was accused of), but think of his family. How would you feel if your son, father, brother, husband was killed and all you heard were people saying that he was a psycho and deserved to die? It would tear you up inside. Please, instead of spreading hateful jokes and saying hurtful comments, at least pray for his family that God would give them peace. Thanks...and that was my turn on the soapbox.