Pearls before Swine
Matthew 7:6New King James Version (NKJV)
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."
Today was the annual Homecoming service at my mom's church, the church I was raised in. For those of you who know anything about Christianity, this is a Church of Christ. Some Churches of Christ are progressive, others much less so, and there is a growing schism in a denomination that once called for unity between all denominations. Mom's church is one of the conservative Churches of Christ. During their homecoming event, people who are former members who've moved elsewhere, or people who haven't attended in a while, are invited back for a gospel meeting and a potluck dinner. I usually attend, in spite of my having technically been disfellowshipped years ago when I was their main song leader; a concerned member of the church found out that my sexuality wasn't cut from the officially sanctioned cloth and I was ousted immediately, forbidden from participating in any of the functions of the church. I used to really like singing, and I still do, but these days many of the old hymns leave a bad taste in my mouth.
The food was excellent, the sermon not so much. Last year, we had a different guest speaker and his talk was well thought out, well planned, charismatically delivered, very intelligent in ways that impressed me enough to drop the grudge I'd been holding against the church publicly. For a while, I attended the Wednesday night classes and shared my wisdom and insight with the congregants. But my differences of doctrine became too stressful for me to continue attending.
This morning when I came in, the morning lesson in the adult class was thoughtful enough to catch my interest. The sermon itself, however, was a stern reminder that I was wasting my time. I could easily argue most of his points in other directions. His delivery was enthusiastic, but in a way that grated on me. The whole experience was a drag. Bear in mind here that I really enjoy listening to people's thoughts on spiritual matters. This guy had the letter of the word, but not the spirit of it.
It had some benefit though.
It made me realize that I'm wasting my time.
My time and my talents are wasted in this place. I finally get the meaning of the verse at the header of this page. My perspective is so different that I stand almost no chance of effecting any real good, or of gaining anything worthwhile from expending my time and resources in that place. A good meal is about all I can expect to accomplish, and bringing some smiles to some faces.
That alone may be worth going back once a year. But I no longer feel any guilt or obligation for not being able to shine more light for people who are too benighted to see it as anything but a threat at worst, at best, a little wisdom, most often, misguided false teaching.
I'll be better able to recognize the signs next time.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."
Today was the annual Homecoming service at my mom's church, the church I was raised in. For those of you who know anything about Christianity, this is a Church of Christ. Some Churches of Christ are progressive, others much less so, and there is a growing schism in a denomination that once called for unity between all denominations. Mom's church is one of the conservative Churches of Christ. During their homecoming event, people who are former members who've moved elsewhere, or people who haven't attended in a while, are invited back for a gospel meeting and a potluck dinner. I usually attend, in spite of my having technically been disfellowshipped years ago when I was their main song leader; a concerned member of the church found out that my sexuality wasn't cut from the officially sanctioned cloth and I was ousted immediately, forbidden from participating in any of the functions of the church. I used to really like singing, and I still do, but these days many of the old hymns leave a bad taste in my mouth.
The food was excellent, the sermon not so much. Last year, we had a different guest speaker and his talk was well thought out, well planned, charismatically delivered, very intelligent in ways that impressed me enough to drop the grudge I'd been holding against the church publicly. For a while, I attended the Wednesday night classes and shared my wisdom and insight with the congregants. But my differences of doctrine became too stressful for me to continue attending.
This morning when I came in, the morning lesson in the adult class was thoughtful enough to catch my interest. The sermon itself, however, was a stern reminder that I was wasting my time. I could easily argue most of his points in other directions. His delivery was enthusiastic, but in a way that grated on me. The whole experience was a drag. Bear in mind here that I really enjoy listening to people's thoughts on spiritual matters. This guy had the letter of the word, but not the spirit of it.
It had some benefit though.
It made me realize that I'm wasting my time.
My time and my talents are wasted in this place. I finally get the meaning of the verse at the header of this page. My perspective is so different that I stand almost no chance of effecting any real good, or of gaining anything worthwhile from expending my time and resources in that place. A good meal is about all I can expect to accomplish, and bringing some smiles to some faces.
That alone may be worth going back once a year. But I no longer feel any guilt or obligation for not being able to shine more light for people who are too benighted to see it as anything but a threat at worst, at best, a little wisdom, most often, misguided false teaching.
I'll be better able to recognize the signs next time.