With All Due Respect

By starting with the phrase "With all due respect," it doesn't give me the right to say whatever I want! There is nothing about this in the Geneva Convention, you can look it up! Yes, this is just silly, but I hear similar phrases just before someone "word-pukes" all over me.

Word-puke. We've all experienced it and we've all done it. It's when we speak the truth without running it through the filter of love. Or, it's when we speak about someone else in some way that casts them in bad light. Or, it could be a bold face lie about someone. No matter what kind of puke it is, we still want to clean up afterwards.

In order to feel better about our puke we use softer words to describe it: it wasn't puke, it was just spitup. It wasn't gossip, I was just venting. I didn't mean for you to be hurt, I was just sayin'. Whatever you choose to call it, it's still word-puke.

I understand and embrace the importance of processing with someone, but most of the time that processing is not filtered through the Love Filter. Healthy processing should be done with one person who is wise, mature, and godly. If we choose this person carefully, there is really no reason to process with someone else - unless we're fishing for a particular response!

Pastor Danny Garrido once said, "If we treated gossip like we do adultery, gossip wouldn't be a problem in the church." I would add that adultery is a problem, but gossip and word-puke are bigger problems.

I had the opportunity to sit down with some friends who were wondering where we stood. As we spoke I thought, this is healthy. We're clearing the air about an issue between us without including anyone else. We were able to understand each other and see the misunderstanding clearly. If we had spoken to others prior to the conversation, it could have resulted in a false or negative perception by someone outside the conversation.

Have you ever seen someone cast in bad light? They look pale, sickly, old, or even sinister. Lighting can change our perception of a person. What if we cast everyone in the Light - the Sun of Righteousness? If we viewed people through a lens or filter of grace and love, how much better would situations and people look?

Proverbs 6:16

God, Comfort and Self

I went on a hike yesterday - or a walk, depending upon who you talk to. During the hike with a good friend, we began to discuss how many people don't like themselves. Many people are unwilling to spend a few hours by themselves, or alone with their thoughts. Some are just uncomfortable being alone.

I am an extrovert - I gain energy from being around people. It drains me to be by myself for extended periods of time. But, over the past few years, I have learned the value of solitude. I have learned how to hear God in the silence. In so doing, I have figured out that I am not an appalling person to hang out with.

Is there any spiritual significance to this?

Is one's willingness and comfort with themselves directly proportional to one's comfort with God? If so, should we be comfortable with God?

If we are so comfortable with God, do we really understand His holiness, grandeur, awesomeness (awefulness), and majesty? If we are uncomfortable being alone, do we grasp the love, grace, wonder, and beauty of God as a loving God who calls us His friend?

This is not intended to be a well-thought post - but rather a dialogue with myself that I thought might stimulate some thought in others as well.

Why Write?

I was telling a friend of mine that I had a book in me that wanted to come out. He asked me some very pointed questions that caused me to think.
"Have you started writing?"
"If you have something to say, why are you waiting for a publisher?"
"Why not start with a blog?"
I used to blog, but it didn't seem like anyone was listening...but is that why I write? Do we write to have someone listen, or do we write because we have something to say?
I had another friend comment that the people in a congregation of a church want to hear from their pastor during the week. But, is that a reason to write? Is that why the authors of the Bible wrote? Why did they write? What was the compelling force that coerced them into writing? Did they know that it would be the most read document of all time? Is that why they wrote?
I would suggest that when one feels they have something to say, whether anyone will listen or not, they should write. Especially, if the message they feel their message is from God. I am not suggesting that God is giving any new revelation to mankind, but I am suggesting that God continues to reveal Himself through mankind. We need to be willing to be His voice in a world crying for wisdom, insight, understanding and compassion.
So why do I write?
I write to say that which God has laid upon my heart and mind. I believe I have the Mind of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. I believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. I believe God still speaks through His people. I believe that the people of God must boldly proclaim the Message of Hope - the very person of Jesus Christ. I write, not because I expect anyone to read, listen or pay attention. I write because I have something to say.