Why sweat about swearing?
Dr. James Dobson relates the story of a family where the rule was nobody attended “R” rated movies. When 3 teens came to Dad to ask permission to see a rated “R” blockbuster, they laid out their case in terms of pros and cons. The cons: it contained 3 swear words, the only violence was a building exploding, and you actually could not see the couple in the movie having sex. The pros; it was a popular movie -- everyone was seeing it. It has a good story and plot, some great adventure and suspense, would probably be nominated for several awards. Many church members saw it and said it wasn’t very bad.
The father asked for a day to think about it before making his decision. The next evening, the father called his 3 teens into the living room. On the coffee table he had a plate of brownies. He told them he had decided that they would eat a brownie then he would let them go to the movie. But before they did, just like the movie, the brownies had pros and cons. The pros: they were made with the finest chocolate and walnuts. The brownies were moist and fresh with wonderful chocolate frosting on top. He had made these fantastic brownies using an award-winning recipe. And best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly by the hand of their own father.
The brownies only had one con. He included a little bit of a special ingredient-just a little bit of "dog droppings". But he had mixed the dough well -- they probably would not even be able to taste the extra ingredient, and he had baked it at 350 degrees so any bacteria or germs had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if any one of his children would eat the brownies he felt they would be able to see the movie with "just a little bit of smut" and not be affected. [http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/a-passion-for-purity-t-michael-crews-sermon-on-gods-forgiveness-98847.asp]
Okay, I think it’s time to let the hot air out of that inflated sense of purity.
Where the hell on Earth can you find someone or some group that is 100% pure? Church? HA!!!! Between people’s personal agendas, power struggles, facades, and image boosting, I think it’s amazing that sane people go there at all.
“Oh, but MY church isn’t like that...every member has purified their own heart, and our leadership is consistently pure of faith and action”
I have 3 words for you: rigid, controlling, and cult. [http://www.cultclinic.org/qa.html] Get the fuck out now while you still have internet access and time to read something of your own choosing.
I’ve said before, I have a lovely church community. I’ve actually recommended it to people. Is it “pure”? Is it 100% “safe and free of influence from the World”? Not a damned chance. We have gossipers. We have power-mongerers. We are all “sinners”.
How about as individuals? Well, again, take a good hard look in the mirror, and strip away the way we soften the blow of our wrongs. Be that honest. Ouch?
We’d like to think as Christians we get His forgiveness, and therefore a clean slate. But there IS no “clean slate”. We still carry our shit wherever we go. Look at divorce—second marriages are more likely to fail, even though people think that this “a new beginning” (aka “a clean slate”). If that were true, our second marriages would be MORE successful, not less.
Or addiction. When an addict finishes the twelve steps, are they “cured”? Nope. Addiction is for life. “Working the program” is for life.
Shit happens—we are all “contaminated”—by our past, our environment, by our self-imposed shit piles, shit dumped on us by others, or just plain—shit that happens. Can we just sit and wallow in that cesspool? Nope. "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? " [http://biblehub.com/romans/6-1.htm] Shit is for life, and we have to keep on sorting and composting it until the day of Judgement.
And sorry, swearing is part of sharing emotions. If you don't agree, check out my first blog post. [http://sandcastlefaith.weebly.com/blog-home/thou-shalt-not-take-the-lords-name-in-vain]
To me, the story above is example of the all-or-nothing thinking that we accept in the name of God. It’s pretending that as long as we have God, there is no shit. It is like finding shit, putting it in a mould, smothering it with icing and sprinkles, holding your nose, and calling it a brownie instead.
The brownies only had one con. He included a little bit of a special ingredient-just a little bit of "dog droppings". But he had mixed the dough well -- they probably would not even be able to taste the extra ingredient, and he had baked it at 350 degrees so any bacteria or germs had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if any one of his children would eat the brownies he felt they would be able to see the movie with "just a little bit of smut" and not be affected. [http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/a-passion-for-purity-t-michael-crews-sermon-on-gods-forgiveness-98847.asp]
Okay, I think it’s time to let the hot air out of that inflated sense of purity.
Where the hell on Earth can you find someone or some group that is 100% pure? Church? HA!!!! Between people’s personal agendas, power struggles, facades, and image boosting, I think it’s amazing that sane people go there at all.
“Oh, but MY church isn’t like that...every member has purified their own heart, and our leadership is consistently pure of faith and action”
I have 3 words for you: rigid, controlling, and cult. [http://www.cultclinic.org/qa.html] Get the fuck out now while you still have internet access and time to read something of your own choosing.
I’ve said before, I have a lovely church community. I’ve actually recommended it to people. Is it “pure”? Is it 100% “safe and free of influence from the World”? Not a damned chance. We have gossipers. We have power-mongerers. We are all “sinners”.
How about as individuals? Well, again, take a good hard look in the mirror, and strip away the way we soften the blow of our wrongs. Be that honest. Ouch?
We’d like to think as Christians we get His forgiveness, and therefore a clean slate. But there IS no “clean slate”. We still carry our shit wherever we go. Look at divorce—second marriages are more likely to fail, even though people think that this “a new beginning” (aka “a clean slate”). If that were true, our second marriages would be MORE successful, not less.
Or addiction. When an addict finishes the twelve steps, are they “cured”? Nope. Addiction is for life. “Working the program” is for life.
Shit happens—we are all “contaminated”—by our past, our environment, by our self-imposed shit piles, shit dumped on us by others, or just plain—shit that happens. Can we just sit and wallow in that cesspool? Nope. "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? " [http://biblehub.com/romans/6-1.htm] Shit is for life, and we have to keep on sorting and composting it until the day of Judgement.
And sorry, swearing is part of sharing emotions. If you don't agree, check out my first blog post. [http://sandcastlefaith.weebly.com/blog-home/thou-shalt-not-take-the-lords-name-in-vain]
To me, the story above is example of the all-or-nothing thinking that we accept in the name of God. It’s pretending that as long as we have God, there is no shit. It is like finding shit, putting it in a mould, smothering it with icing and sprinkles, holding your nose, and calling it a brownie instead.