Earnest Young Men and God's Sick Sense of Humour

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 06 February 2011 17:50:42

So the verses I didn’t have with me for the last post were OT Job 33:1 – 34:37, NT Matt 23:1 – 39 and Psalm 18:25 -36. Over the weekend I’ve been onto Job 35:1 – 40:2 (OT), Matt 24:1 – 25:13 (NT) and  Proverbs 54:1 -9 and Psalm 18: 37 – 42 (Odds and ends).

Yesterday the young man was continuing to get all earnest and do that entrenched thinking that young people can. In fact it reminded me very much of a young man I know who is very earnest and has, in fact, been known to cause pain through his words. I know this young man has a kind of cognitive dissonance going on. The way this young man tries to hold on to a certainty and simplicity he knows is actually far more complex often comes across as arrogance. When the young man in Job was saying, “Be assured that my words are not false; one perfect in knowledge is with you.” I could hear this guy saying them. What the young man in Job, and my acquaintance I think have going on is that they feel let down by older people who they see as compromising when they want to hold onto the truth without acknowledging all is not as black and white as they would like. If they acknowledged the complexity as older people do then they too would have to do what they regard as compromise themselves. This is difficult and explains why earnest young men should be treated with care, but also encouraged to face and deal with the issues giving them the dissonance.

Also in this reading the youngster gives an interesting insight into the issues that were around in OT times regarding homosexuality. 36:41 talks of  people who “Die in their youth, among male prostitutes of shrines.” This puts the focus on  the fact that within this culture male homosexual encounter was related to idol worship and so is not addressing faithful, loving relationships such as those we are debating today.

Today God intervenes and speaks The writer seems to be going in the God has a great but sick sense of humour vain. There are a couple of classic verses relating to wild donkeys and ostriches being part of creation. Suggestion re. the wild donkeys is that God enjoys watching the chaos they cause in towns. Re. the Ostrich it is a useless creature but it can run way faster than an intelligent man on a horse. So loving this book.

The New Testament readings here are complex. One of them related to the end times. Can’t go on too much here as the sermon I recently did on this is being submitted. Enough to say my theme of that was “keep calm and carry on”.

Today we were on to unknown times for the end of the world. Basic thing in this one is that just like boy scouts we need to be prepared but also not take things for granted. We might be surprised in the end to see who gets in and who gets left behind. Hypocrites are not going to be in. This is a bit challenging because it talks about some being in and others being out. It also talks about the end could come at any time. Personally, I find it all quite scary and uncomfortable. I want a fluffy God who saves everybody in the end and gives a happy ending. This doesn’t suggest it will be the case. Also there is a bit of paranoia in me that says, “heck, will I and those I really care about be prepared or will God judge me/ us to be a hypocrites”. This pure self-interest probably isn’t something I’m meant to admit....but it’s something that being honest, (which I’m trying to be in this exercise), I feel.