July 31, 2007 by David.

Of all the things I hate the most in life, the one that tops the list is also the one I’m chiefly guilty of.

I say the church should focus on loving people. Yet, I speed past a homeless man asking for financial handouts. Hypocrite.

I say the church is failing to be relevant to today’s generation. Yet, I don’t spend much time figuring out who today’s generation is. Hypocrite.

I say a good father actively engages his children. Yet, I often come home only to collapse on the couch while my boys play elsewhere. Hypocrite.

I say a person needs to learn to forgive to move on in their lives. Yet, I’m not sure I’ve ever forgiven my father for being absent in my childhood. Hypocrite.

I say money doesn’t buy happiness. Yet, I often spend for the sheer thrill of spending and having the latest things. Hypocrite.

I encourage friends to take chances and to believe in themselves. Yet, I’m often self-deprecating and risk-averse. Hypocrite.

Wow - that last one was kind of self-referential, eh?

I’m thankful I have friends and family who look past my hypocrisy and love me anyway. And I’m glad I’m not perfect, as it gives me plenty of things to work on. Sometimes, though, I think I should just keep my mouth shut and not say anything at all. At least then, I’m not so much of a hypocrite.

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July 31, 2007 by David.

Anyone that knows me knows that I tend to take few things seriously. The opposite used to be true, however, and looking back - it really made me out to be a complete nut-case at times. Some would say I’m still the “nut-case,” but at least I’m not as serious now. Mostly. I think. Moving on…

I wonder if Christians are often aware of how silly we can sound to the average person. We often speak in high and lofty language that makes us either seem a) completely insane or b) arrogant AND completely insane. We use our own language - dubbed Christian-ese by some perceptive fellow - and we wonder why people often treat us with disdain. Let’s consider some examples, shall we?

Our savior, with whom we have a “relationship,” lived 2000 years ago but is still alive and never died (well, He did, but came back to life and didn’t die again). Oh yeah, he also walked on water - the same ones he calmed by speaking a few simple words. He is also alive “inside of me.” He’s my copilot (or pilot, depending on how lofty you want to be). He also brought a dead man back to life. His first miracle? He turned water to wine at a wedding (my non-Christian friends are really in favor of this one).
So, in other words, I have an intimate relationship with the invisible, water-walking, magic man. And He’s small enough to fit in my vascular organ. Um, yeah.

Truly, there are times when what we say is absolutely ridiculous sounding. I’m not saying it’s not true, it just sounds ridiculous. It really makes the saying “better seen than heard” resound loudly, which is kind of what I’m getting at.

Rather than speaking like a bunch of crazed “Waco-ish” lunatics who believe in magical mini-man-gods that can move mountains, we should let our lives speak for themselves. Our words can betray us and may not do justice to what we know to be truth. I can tell my children endlessly that I love them - but my hugs and quality time mean more than those words ever will.

The same is true of our faith. We can speak until the cows come home and never place a dent in someone’s thoughts about life and eternity. However, give them your love, compassion and time and we may just find that they’ll want to know the invisible, water-walking, magic man.

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