believe them

When people show you who they are … believe them. You don’t have to hate them or shoot them or push them off a bridge, but you move forward knowing that you can no longer entrust yourself to them. They no longer belong in your “trustworthy” category. Sure, you can “trust” them to pick up your mail for you when you’re out of town or save your place in line at the King Burger, but you cannot “entrust” yourself to them. Your heart is not safe with them. They’ve proven that their agenda, or position — or better yet their will to power — is more valuable to them than you are. And should you ever threaten that agenda — or will to power — again, you will suffer a similar, or worse, backlash as you received the time before.

So, to quote the Bible for a shorter version: “Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.” Emphasis on the serpent part.

Or similar sentiments from The Who: “Don’t get fooled again!”

religion can really suck, too

“i put no stock in religion. by the word “religion” i have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of God. holiness is in right action, and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves, and goodness.”  — Hospitaler, in the movie “Kingdom of Heaven”

are you freakin’ kiddin’ me?

i know you’re wondering what’s up with the title of this blog. well, news flash. there’s something very wrong when abuse, lies, deceit, manipulation, betrayal and all sorts of other evil stuff thrives … in the church. yeah, yeah, yeah — i know how the church is made of people, and people aren’t perfect, and all that. but the church is supposed to be a refuge, a safe place, a healing place. well, not so much in my experience and the experience of many. the stuff we do to each other is simply amazing, isn’t it? Jesus said, what you do to/for the least of these [people] you do for Me. whoa! look out! i think we missed that!

well, fret not. i’m going to hook you up with the answer: worship … the worship of God, that is, and not men to whom we’ve given authority over ourselves in spiritual matters. that’s just idol worship. anything/anyone we worship other than God is considered an idol, and God doesn’t like that too much. in fact, in the old days His response to it involved some pretty harsh stuff — fire, brimstone, maybe some pestilence. not pretty, but effective. but we still do it — worship other stuff, that is. well, not me. not any more.

i’m looking for something new, something actually new, not a formula regurgitated from the past with new terminology, but something new and real … with the focus on worshiping God, and God alone. anybody with me?

but YOUR church does

ok, ok, so you say that YOUR church does worship God. ok then, tell me this: how many people attend when the main talking guy isn’t there? you know, the “lead pastor” or the “teaching pastor” or the “senior pastor” [old school], whichever. plenty of seats that morning, i’ll bet. or what if your favorite singer, “worship pastor,” “worship leader,” “lead worshiper” is “leading” in another room or perhaps at another “campus” that day [all cool churchy catch phrases are in quotes in case you aren't hip to the cool catchiness]; do you move over there? do you follow that guy/girl? or if the parking situation really sucks, do you go somewhere else altogether instead? a “maybe” to any of these? so that means you’re worshiping whom? just asking …