Spent

Recently I spent some time angry with someone.  Oh, if you were to ask me the particulars of it now, I'm not even sure I could tell you.  But at the time it all seemed righteous and justified.  Doesn't it always?

My anger involved a lot of stewing and steaming.  It usually does.  But in the end I can't say it amounted to much more than wasted time: time in which I didn't notice the sunset, or catch the gentle spring breeze, or smell the roses, or spend a single, memorable moment with someone I love.

Justified or not, righteous or not, I let that anger go on and it wound up stealing a piece of my life away--a part of me that is gone forever.  

Oh, I'm pretty sure that one day my anger will come back.  It usually does.  Something will happen, or someone will say something and I'll be back in a stew.

But I'm hoping that next time I don't forget the roses.

"Don't let the sun set on your anger."

Thinking About Fred...

By now you've heard that the notorious Fred Phelps, deposed leader of Westboro Baptist Church, has died.  No death is good news, and I'm grateful that (for the most part) people are being kind and hopeful.  It is comforting to me that his vitriol seems to have died--or at least died down--with him.

But has it really?

Now that the source of so much venom has passed on, many have reflected that his words have died with him.  But I'm not so sure.  Do words ever really die?  And isn't saying that Fred Phelps' words have died with him simply a denial of the power in our own words?  After all, we all know the truth: words have power, and words can kill.  Our words can kill.

You see, God only knows who pulled the trigger or tied the noose or took the pills because they saw a sign, and that sign said to them "God hates me."  God only knows...

Let the lesson, then, never die.  And let us all be careful what we say...

"Set a watch before my mouth..."

Numero Uno

It's difficult, isn't it?  We get mixed messages, and so it's hard to know....

On the one hand, we are consumers.  And so at least according to what I've always heard, "the customer is always right."  That means I'm entitled to good service, to a friendly "hello" and respectful treatment.  Just like everyone else with money to spend, I deserve to be treated with dignity.  If not, well then, I'll spend my money elsewhere!

On the other hand, I wonder.  If it's only those with money to spend who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, that leaves out a growing number of people.  And I wonder what transformation might take place if those with no money were actually treated with dignity and respect, regardless of whether or not I think they deserve it.

On the one hand, it's all about the power of the consumer...and more power to us!  On the other hand, shouldn't it have something to do with what Jesus and the prophets called "loving our neighbor?"

I guess, in the end, it has to do with who we are listening to, and where our own hearts happen to be.

"For where your heart is, there your treasure will be too."

Have a terrific weekend!  If you like what you're reading, consider sharing it with others!  Connect them to Acorns via www.realacorns.blogspot.com.

Looks Good to Me!

What does God look like?  What (or whom?) do you think of when you think of God?

Have you ever noticed that when you think about God, most of the time you're thinking of yourself?  The character of God that comes to our minds is most often a reflection of ourselves.  So God thinks like we do and acts as we would and loves those we love and hates those we hate and, when push comes to shove, wouldn't you just know it...God is on OUR SIDE!

It is a challenge when we define God as some kind of unseen force or energy or entity or person who is the ultimate in benevolence, because it leaves us vulnerable.  With a God so clearly undefined, we're liable to impose on God whatever character or personality works for us, and God's limitless benevolence then becomes a mere reflection of our own limited self-love.  

So, what is the truth about God?  

The truth, or course, is that no one really knows--though I've a hunch there are those who've known, or at least come close to knowing.  To us they've left a legacy of assurance that no matter how certainly we believe that we have God all figured out, in that we are most certainly wrong.  They've also shown us that it is beyond our scope of duty to define God.  And if that leaves us all feeling a little uncomfortable, well, I suspect that's the point.  It keeps us on our toes.  It keeps us striving.  It forces us to step out from behind the protective walls of religion and into the light of reality.  

After all, there is one thing we do know of God...and that is that God isn't here to be figured out so much as to be experienced.

"No one has seen God."