Categories: uncategorized
Date: 26 October 2004 09:19:53
I've just deleted a vast rambling flow of text that would have made no sense to man nor beast. It was about a chat I had with someone I've known for years over this weekend, and how sad it made me. He is in a truly difficult situation, where he is being super-obedient to God in a way that I would question whether many of us could, and instead of using his faith to help and support him, he is merely using it to tie himself up in knots. Jesus, as far as he sees it, is a very strict headmaster with a nice line in sticks which he can use to beat himself up with.
It made me cry, go home and hug my husband and generally resolve to stop taking our wonderful life for granted. It also made me wonder how someone can transmute the Jesus who said "Cast thy burdens on me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light" , and in whose presence is fulness of joy, into a nasty vindictive little god with a scoresheet who won't heal in a particular situation because this man can't give up the one thing that seems to have been keeping him on an even keel for the last five years.
We all do it, though, don't we? We make our own guilty consciences play God for us all the time, albeit not in such an extreme way. We sing so many songs about surrendering everything that we think that we must actively give up the activities that keep us sane - because if we enjoy them, they must be sinful. I prayed with this chap, and we talked about Elijah, and how God sent one of his angels to take care of him at one point, because he was so tired and depressed by everything that he just needed some time out. Not sticks, not stones, not blame. Just love and caring. I hope he took that on board.. at least a tiny bit.
Maybe that makes more sense than all the rambling I just deleted. And maybe not. But it helped me - so thank you wibsite.