Skip to main content

Attitude

             “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

            “You shall have no other gods before me.

            “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

             “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Exodus 20:2-7)

 

            A little while ago, I decided I would lie down while the tomato paste was in the canner. It’s not unusual for me to pray for a short time while I’m resting, but today I seemed to be in an especially foul mood, probably because I wasn’t getting anywhere on the blog post I was working on, and several tasks I want to get done weren’t getting done.

            It's not unusual for me to go to God to complain or whine, but today seemed worse to me. I was going to God to be ugly. I wasn’t seeking anything from Him. I wasn’t taking heartache or a bruised spirit to Him for comfort, I was just being U.G.L.Y. – mean spirited, grouchy, and cranky. I know that God loves me, and we’re supposed to cast all our cares on Him. I get all that.

            But we’re talking about God, and how we (at least I) treat Him. When the priesthood was set up in Moses’ day, there were special garments the priests had to wear. Sometimes, they had to change their garments several times during some task,  When I was young, church clothes were the best clothes we had. Now, we seem to think that what we wear to church shouldn’t matter. God will be satisfied with whatever we decide (as if He has no choice.) And, after all, if we don’t bother dressing up then those who can’t afford to buy fancy clothes won’t feel out of place. Yes, there’s something positive in that. But what if behind those socially kind sentiments there’s something we aren’t quite so willing to admit? What if our concern for our fellow man is really a justification, but the real reason is that we don’t choose to show God any respect? Is the outfit or the attitude we wear when we approach God indicative of how much we value and love Him, or is it indicative of our disrespect?

            I’m talking about day-to-day, normal time with God, not the times when we run to Him in pain, fear, or even anger. And I’m loathe to suggest some sort of mind-numbing ritual that becomes a stumbling block in our relationship with Him. But, I find myself wondering whether we should deal with ourselves before we deal with God. I’ve done something like this in the past. There have been times when I imagined a little video game me, stomping my feet, shaking my fist, and screaming. After a short time, I’d stop to consider – had I acted silly enough for long enough to be civil? If I had, then I’d take up a conversation with God. If I hadn’t, the little video game me went through another temper tantrum. I think maybe she needs to make a comeback.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more