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

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more