Hey world. My roommate posted this to his facespace the other day and it resonated with me. As you know, I'm a fan of Don Miller. In his book, Blue Like Jazz (which sorry, I keep harping on about), he and his friends at Reed college in Oregon put together a "confession booth" wherein, rather than people coming in and confessing to them, they confess to the people, apologizing for the terrible things they've done, the terrible things Christians over history have done, the way Christians fail in their daily lives and end up as hypocrites. This is a modern, poetry-jam version of what I imagine Don saying to people. In fact, it recounts several things he does mention saying in his book. Anyway, this guy Chris Tse is pretty great.
Warning, he uses language many would term, and in fact one comment-poster labeled, "non-Christian" (ie the f-word). This comment-poster questions Chris Tse's identity as a Christian because of the use of this one word and the way he describes the failings of the Christian church. The comment poster said we should pray for Chris Tse to know Christ. To me, it is blatantly obvious that this poet is Christian, is expressing his raw anger and sadness and repentance for the things he and others have done in the name of Christ. I think we need to be careful to use "prayer" as a form of pity. It seems at face value that this poster pities the poet and is using the term "pray for him" to condemn the poet. Let's not use "prayer" to slight someone, but to lift them up. And let's refrain from judging. ( I know, hypocritical I am--judging this comment-poster to an extent). Anywho, let us lift one another up and bear with one another in love.
Sweet, enjoy the video friends. I hope it finds some relevance with you.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Funk and Jazz
Today I woke up in a funk. You know, the days when you feel like you've been nice for long enough and the things you tend to put up with and think, well that's just how it is, become intensely annoying and you don't feel like faking it anymore. Yep, that was today. But I got up and headed off the Starbucks with Bible and journal in tow to continue my reading of 1 Corinthians. I started reading 1 Corinthians because my pastor said it would be a good idea. It was. But today I was in 1 Corinthians 13, you know, the famous chapter about love. Needless to say, I was not in the mood. I wanted to have love and for the words Paul wrote a long time ago to sink into my soul. But my funk persisted and I couldn't get into it.
I went to church and heard a good message that was about peace and the joy of the Lord, and I asked God to give that peace and joy to me. It didn't come right away. The funk persisted through lunch and I decided to go home because I would only be a detriment to others in this state. So I came home, put on my pajamas and hopped under my comforter with Blue Like Jazz.
I've been working through Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz since about June of 2009, reading bits in spurts, trying to process through it and read it with a more critical eye than I did in high school when I thought it was extremely poignant. Truth is, it's not too much that's new, but Don Miller presents it like a real person. That's what makes it good.
Anyway, I picked it up today and read his two chapters on Love. I think they're the best in the book, especially the one about loving others. In the book, Don (I call him Don because he's a person and I think if we met, we'd be on a first name basis) talks about how discourse on love is rife with economic metaphor; we value people, we invest in people, some relationships are bankrupt. In short, we treat love like money, giving it to those we support or approve of and withholding it from those we don't like. It's funny, because I was just journaling about interfaith groups and how I feel that if I participated in one, I'd be supporting something I didn't believe in. I'd be giving my time and energy to something and thus validating it.
But love is not money.
God does not withhold love to teach lessons or to support something that falls into strict boundaries. God lavishes love on us. Knowing this, that I use love like money and that it's not ok, has freed me, just like it did for Don. I want to replace my economic metaphor with a magnet metaphor. A magnet just sits where it is placed and attracts things, because of the natural force it puts out. (Ok, I'm not a scientist, I don't really know how magnets work except on a basic level, so if this is off, just look at it metaphorically like I am.) And magnets draw things from somewhere else. Well, I want God's love to pour out of me like a force in a magnet, so people are drawn from the mire toward healing. I want the freedom to treat anyone and everyone like they're my best friend. I don't want to withhold love anymore in hopes of changing something about someone. See, it's not my responsibility to change people. God takes care of that. It's my responsibility to express love and approval, a love that brings people out of the mire toward and into healing--just like God did and is doing in me.
I went to church and heard a good message that was about peace and the joy of the Lord, and I asked God to give that peace and joy to me. It didn't come right away. The funk persisted through lunch and I decided to go home because I would only be a detriment to others in this state. So I came home, put on my pajamas and hopped under my comforter with Blue Like Jazz.
I've been working through Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz since about June of 2009, reading bits in spurts, trying to process through it and read it with a more critical eye than I did in high school when I thought it was extremely poignant. Truth is, it's not too much that's new, but Don Miller presents it like a real person. That's what makes it good.
Anyway, I picked it up today and read his two chapters on Love. I think they're the best in the book, especially the one about loving others. In the book, Don (I call him Don because he's a person and I think if we met, we'd be on a first name basis) talks about how discourse on love is rife with economic metaphor; we value people, we invest in people, some relationships are bankrupt. In short, we treat love like money, giving it to those we support or approve of and withholding it from those we don't like. It's funny, because I was just journaling about interfaith groups and how I feel that if I participated in one, I'd be supporting something I didn't believe in. I'd be giving my time and energy to something and thus validating it.
But love is not money.
God does not withhold love to teach lessons or to support something that falls into strict boundaries. God lavishes love on us. Knowing this, that I use love like money and that it's not ok, has freed me, just like it did for Don. I want to replace my economic metaphor with a magnet metaphor. A magnet just sits where it is placed and attracts things, because of the natural force it puts out. (Ok, I'm not a scientist, I don't really know how magnets work except on a basic level, so if this is off, just look at it metaphorically like I am.) And magnets draw things from somewhere else. Well, I want God's love to pour out of me like a force in a magnet, so people are drawn from the mire toward healing. I want the freedom to treat anyone and everyone like they're my best friend. I don't want to withhold love anymore in hopes of changing something about someone. See, it's not my responsibility to change people. God takes care of that. It's my responsibility to express love and approval, a love that brings people out of the mire toward and into healing--just like God did and is doing in me.
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