Fish are Friends, Not Food

I recently watched the movie The Fisher King. The movie is about a radio talk show host named Jack, played by Jeff Bridges. Jack is a jerk, as he makes fun of people that call in to his show and looks down on people with less money than him. After a series of unfortunate events, Jack finds himself living with his girlfriend, helping her run her dinky movie store and off the radio. Jack eventually ends up meeting a homeless man named Perry (Robin Williams), and finds that he is part of the reason that Perry is homeless.

At first, Jack helps Perry in order to help his guilty feelings. After a few half-hearted attempts, Jack winds up helping Perry for real. He doesn't help Perry to make himself feel better; he helps Perry because he truly cares about Perry. This is precisely how Christians are supposed to help people- because we care about the person we are helping.

Yet, we often come across differently. In the past week or two, I have had two completely unrelated people have messaged me simply with the phrase "fish are friends, not food." This quote from Finding Nemo has been told to me randomly and in jest, yet I cannot help but compare it to reading I have been doing lately.

My latest book is unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. It is, unlike some other books that I have read recently, more a research project's results than an in-depth analysis of one topic (such as love in Francis Chan's Crazy Love). Yet, this book has held some amazing insight into the minds of people my age, particularly those outside of the church. The book's focus is on young adults (ages 18-35) feel about Christianity, and what some common, negative, viewpoints are. Trust me: the kids do not feel good about Christianity.

You see, we are seen as the sharks to their fish. We hunt around for non-Christians, helping them only to trap them and lead them into our religion. We have little concern for their problems or viewpoints or political stance; ours is the only one that matters. Instead of being helpful because we care, we are helpful to help ourselves. We forget that sharks are fish, too.

I will be looking into each of the top six negative views of Christianity that a non-Christian feels toward the religion, and discussing how we can help turn this around. I will share my shortcomings, and any stories that I may have to add to the topic. Here's the schedule of when each post will be released by (some my arrive sooner, but never later):

March 04: Hypocritical
March 11: Conversion-Obsessed
March 15: Antihomosexual
March 18: Sheltered
March 25: Too Political
April 01: Judgmental

My hope for covering these topics in-depth, diving into what both the world and the Bible says about Christianity, will open eyes. I hope Christians will read these six posts and think about whether they are being perceived as one of these things, and if there is something in their life that needs to change. I hope someone who isn't connected to the Christian faith reads these posts and finds out that the negative thoughts in their head do not necessarily reflect the truth of God's good news. All in all, I just hope these posts get people thinking and talking about a real Christian faith, not a fake, unChristian one.

Feel free to tell everyone about these, and if you have any comments about the series or anything else you want to discuss with me, my contact info is on the sidebar. :)

You Could Be a Crater

I was reading Genesis 18 this morning. Oh, and by the way, I finished reading the Psalms a few days ago, all 150 of them. Many great lessons and praises, but I have been absent on this blog for the entire month of February (almost, as I posted last on the first...). The reason: I have been in a bit of a slump with my faith. I suppose we all have these times; after all, we are human, and cannot be perfect. The cold weather of winter gets me down every year, and it finally got to me when we turned our calenders to February. This seasonal depression has had me down most of the month thus far, and has affected not just my spiritual life, but my entire life. I've been disengaged at school and work, and quiet in temperament (which is not normal).

Fortunately, our great Father had just the cure for me: weather here in Kentucky has been nice for the past week (up until today, actually), and I feel that a week of warmth may have been a gift from above for myself and others battling a bit of the "winter blues." I feel re-energized and more focused on everything, and thus am returning today with some thoughts. Not much, but a bit to think on.

In Genesis 18, we see a conversation between God and Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish nation and God's people of the Old Testament. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are not far from the place when Abe has his tents set up, and his nephew, Lot, is actually living in Sodom. Yet, these twin cities were completely evil. We see in chapter 19 that the two angels that had been visiting Abraham in chap. 18 visit Lot, the men of Sodom all gathered outside Lot's house, screaming at Lot to give the two men over to the crowd so the crowd could, ehem, have sex with them. Yes, that's how whacked-out Sodom was.

Back in 18, God tells Abraham that He plans to wipe Sodom and Gomorrah off the face of the Earth. Yet, Abraham pleads for God to spare the cities, asking that if 50 righteous people are in Sodom, God would be willing to spare them. God agrees. As the conversation goes, Abraham talks God down from 50 to 10 righteous people to spare Sodom. Of course, Abe didn't change God's mind; God merely allowed Abraham to ask these questions in order to show a side of God that many do not see in this story: a merciful God.

Often, we view God, with respect to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, as the Destroyer of Evil, Justice of the World, etc. After all, the moral of the story is "do bad things, and eventually God will judge you and punish you." Yet, observe something with me. God gave Sodom a chance.

The angels went to Sodom to find the ten people that Abraham had offered. Immediately, as they arrived at Lot's house, they found three: Lot and his two daughters. We could count four, including Lot's wife, but she would eventually disobey the angel when Lot's family was leaving Sodom, and be destroyed. Regardless, it appears obvious by the sex-craved crowd that appeared at Lot's house that there was not another righteous family (it states that the whole population came to Lot's house) in Sodom. Lot tries to reason with them and talk them out of their actions, but the crowd would not listen. Thus, Lot and his family bailed, and God destroyed the people.

But God was willing to give them a shot. Of course, He knew there were only three people of righteousness in Sodom, but He still gave the people a shot to straighten up. Lot asked them to behave, but they refused. At their refusal, they were punished.

This relates directly to our lives. You see, we have all rebelled against God. Just like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, we have sinned against God. At some point, we all lied, stole or had some thought even that was against God's decrees. Just like any lawbreaker, we are guilty; just like any judge, God can punish us as He sees fit. Yet, God doesn't smite us immediately (at least usually, and I don't know of anyone that was taken out by God via column of fire); He gives us a chance to escape our fate.

Just as Lot tried to talk to the crowd, God gave us His Word. The way to avoid punishment is clear: believe in Christ as the Savior of the world and Son of God, and BOOM! You're spared. Isn't that amazing? I mean, when someone wrongs me, I just naturally want them punished. God has any form of punishment imaginable at His fingertips, and yet gives us an opportunity to escape it. Wow! What great mercy and love! God could stop any of our breaths, at any given time, and doesn't. We have the chance to accept that Christ has already taken our punishment, and escape the wrath of God.

Have you taken advantage of this chance? If so, when was the last time you directly thanked God for your second chance? If not, accept the saving power of Christ. Don't waste your one shot; this life is the only one you get to take advantage of God's mercy.

Feel free to leave any questions/statements in the comment slot below, or email me at thefreedbug@aol.com.

Update: New Book and CoD

Hey all! I hope you read my post this morning and are thinking of ways to show people love. That really is the point of this Christian religion, to be honest: love God, love people. That's it.

I've been saying this for a little while, but I really learned the value of loving God through Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. I know, that's back-to-back Chan books. What can I say; Chan and I are on the same page, more often than not. This book discusses being completely in love with a God that is already completely in love with us. How crazy is that?! God loves us, like a lot. This book challenges you to show your love back, and it's harder than it looks.


Also, I am going to stop doing country posts for awhile. I have been praying almost exclusively for Egypt and the Middle East this past week, and they are still heavy on my heart. The current regime is Muslim and hates Christianity; the challenging one is Muslim and hates Christianity. It's a lose-lose situation for the Church and the name of Christ. Keep the Middle East in your prayers; they need them desperately.

I am not doing country posts for a while mostly because I want to focus on more than just facts of a nation. I will continue praying for different countries all the time, and will give the list I am praying for, but do not have the time to write about them. I will instead be devoting more time to prayer and studying the Word, and therefore should be able to do deeper posts like this morning's more often. Keep the world in your prayers- they need it more than we know.

Currently praying for:

Egypt
Tunisia
Lebanon
Jordan
Cyprus
Iran
Iraq

Geeks, Freaks and...Gleeks?

I will begin today by saying that I have a confession to make: I am a newly-converted Glee fan. I know, I know; it's kind of lame. I avoided watching it for quite some time, but as an avid music fan, I could only resist for so long. And while I do not condone several themes that the show portrays, I cannot help but be sucked in to the story lines. After all, it was just this time last year that I was a high schooler, experiencing the same issues that the show covers. Yet, I think there is something more that explains Glee's success: America loves outcasts.

Just look at the television industry. Our more highly rated shows include The Big Bang Theory (about a bunch of nerdy physicists), The Office (about a group of misfit office workers), and Two and a Half Men (about two moronic brothers that seemingly fail in every aspect of life).

Our sports interests are also similar. Granted, the powerhouse teams have the most consistent followings, but it is the underdog story that really gets America going. Stories like: a post-Katrina New Orleans Saints NFL team making a run and winning the Super Bowl, the recent success of two low-budget, historically losing MLB teams in the Rays and Rangers, and George Mason, the little school that could, making a run against the big boys of March Madness and getting to a Final Four.

Even movies reflect our obsession with the down-trodden. Just this year, some of Hollywood's biggest movies included main characters like a narcissistic computer nerd that became a billionaire (The Social Network), a washed-up boxer with a completely dysfunctional home life (The Fighter), and a pair of idiots (and their dog) in a car, going cross-country (Due Date).

Everywhere you look, America loves the outcast. This theme permeates all forms of entertainment that we enjoy. Yet, curiously, we flip when it comes to real life. You see, Americans love to watch shows and follow teams that are unusual, but put the misfit in front of us, and we will walk on past. Just think: we all have known a Mark Zuckerburg at some point in our lives. Granted, none of our Marks founded Facebook, but still, they were nerds. Brilliant, unique nerds. And instead of accepting their nerdiness and enjoying their presence, many of us (and I'm guilty of this) have chosen to ignore the outcast in favor of the "cooler" people.

This isn't just a high school issue, though. The workplace is loaded with weirdos and freaks that you do not want to be associated with. They are different from you, look worse than you, and have less money than you. Yet, this isn't even the saddest place that this rejection occurs. It also happens in churches.

Recently, I read in one of Francis Chan's books (if you do not know who Francis Chan is, scroll down the page until you find the video 'Just Stop and Think') that he had a former gang member attend his church at one time. The guy was all tatted up and scary looking, yet he came on in. However, after a few Sundays, the guy quit coming. Concerned, Francis calls the guy up to see why he had quit attending. The response is heartbreaking and should resonate in the inner core of every single Christian: "I thought church would be more like a gang, a family, instead of just a group of people on Sunday mornings." He said that a gang was more accepting and loving than a church. I don't know about you, but that concept breaks my heart.

I have seen things like this with my very eyes: people have come into churches and been ignored. It happens in every church. Even within the body of Christ, we still reject the outcasts, more often than not. The truth is, though, that this is beyond un-Biblical.

"5 Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of Heaven is theirs." -Matthew 5:3, HCSB

This verse was the first words of Jesus's famous "Sermon on the Mount." In this sermon, as many Christians know, Jesus laid out may different ways to conduct your life. Yet, the first words we have of this sermon are: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Love the outcasts.

Jesus showed this over and over again: he loved thieves, prostitutes, lepers (a skin disease that traditionally made you exiled to a life alone), and homeless beggars. His own disciples were an array of different blue-collar, working-class people: tax men, fisherman, and other no bodies. Jesus didn't come to hang out with the rich and cool people; instead,

"28...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" -Matthew 20:28, HCSB

Jesus came to serve and help the people that need help the most. He came and showed love to the people that need love the most. He told us directly,

"39 Love your neighbor as yourself." -Matthew 22:39, HCSB

That verse does not say to love your cool neighbor, the neighbor that isn't weird, the neighbor that is like you; it says to love your neighbor. We are called to love everyone just as Christ does. So my challenge to you is this: make a conscious effort to love the unlovable. The people that everyone else rejects. The freaks and geeks. These are the people that need Christ's love the most, and it is our duty to share it with them.