(no subject)
Argh. Do you ever feel that it seems like that you seem to give people a permission slip to judge you and gossip about you? Since when did we get the OK for that one? There's something in the Christian bubble that says I have to be better than the other Christian so Christ will give us the magical gift of discernment so we can now judge people on even DEEPER levels. I'm totally down with the concept that God chastises those He loves. I'm in agreement that spiritual formation includes chastisement at some point. However, there is a GOOD POINT to that type of chastisement. Those who impose judgements without love are only emulating their abiliity that they are good at denying that they are vulnerable to the same hang ups as their neighbor. LOVE was the source. LOVE that motivated someone out of a clear and present prompting to intervene that their neighbor would be RESTORED to unity with GOD. I used to be the guy who would conciously say/think, "That's bad. You really shouldn't do that."
There is not a more unfulfilling way than living without peace (not a lack-of-conflict-peace but a fullness-of-grace peace) than that. It's when your motives are clearly to stuff yourself with your pride and then turn and try to look at God and say, "LOOK WHAT I DID FOR YOU!" That picture does remind me of the scene from "The Omen" when the nanny gets up in front of everyone on the house and shouts, "Damien, look! It's all for you Damien!" She then jumps off the building as the rope she's displaying hangs herself. Every time I sin through not having LOVE being the source of the act of chastisement I've come to understand the rope burns around my own neck come from myself. I wish we'd all look in the mirror once in a while. I'd think we'd then see the rope wrapped around our necks when we judge others and use our hands to take it off and utilize the purpose for the rope. Perhaps, we'd then come along someone and tie it across their chest and lift them up. Or maybe we'd find someone else and join our strands so we'd be sure not to fail in walking upright, never falling ourselves while lifting up others up around us. Just a thought...
There is not a more unfulfilling way than living without peace (not a lack-of-conflict-peace but a fullness-of-grace peace) than that. It's when your motives are clearly to stuff yourself with your pride and then turn and try to look at God and say, "LOOK WHAT I DID FOR YOU!" That picture does remind me of the scene from "The Omen" when the nanny gets up in front of everyone on the house and shouts, "Damien, look! It's all for you Damien!" She then jumps off the building as the rope she's displaying hangs herself. Every time I sin through not having LOVE being the source of the act of chastisement I've come to understand the rope burns around my own neck come from myself. I wish we'd all look in the mirror once in a while. I'd think we'd then see the rope wrapped around our necks when we judge others and use our hands to take it off and utilize the purpose for the rope. Perhaps, we'd then come along someone and tie it across their chest and lift them up. Or maybe we'd find someone else and join our strands so we'd be sure not to fail in walking upright, never falling ourselves while lifting up others up around us. Just a thought...