Delayed reactions, part 10

I feel the need to share some more scratching-my-head-and-going-what-the-heck-in-hindsight type of thoughts.

1) So, several of the people that I ran around with for a few years were politically moderate and now support government-run healthcare. (Please understand that I don't wish to spark any political debates right now; I'm just trying to process through some things therapywise in my head.) They support their ideas about healthcare because they experienced government healthcare firsthand while they were living overseas, and they liked it. However, they don't like America. Which is ironic, because lots of Americans were supporting them financially while they were serving as missionaries overseas. I'm still trying to understand how these people who want to "lead people to Jesus" in foreign lands think we Americans are stupid. They grew up in America; in fact, they're quite white. Perhaps they had bad experiences here. But why are they thumbing their noses at the land of the free and the home of the brave -- the land that is home to their financial supporters? That, to me, is stupid.

If you don't like where you live, move away. That's what I did. No offense if you live in West Texas, but I didn't like it there, so I moved away to a different part of the state as soon as a door of opportunity flung wide open. I'm much happier here. Life isn't perfect, and I have plenty of miseries to resolve, but I enjoy living here much better.

So, these people who I described a couple of paragraphs ago -- these people who used to counsel me and disciple me spiritually -- well, I really don't want to believe the things that they taught me anymore. Hmm. So, that means that reading a novel to temporarily escape your everyday life is OK. So, that means that expecting me to reach out to people ministrywise, even if I'm not reached out to ministrywise, is not OK. So, that means that standing by idly while people grabbed me, carried me out to a swimming pool, and playfully dunked me in, despite my loud protests, and despite the fact that I can't swim, was not OK. So, that means that we Americans are not stupid if we decide that government-run healthcare is a load of malarkey. So, me wanting to earn more money and being proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died to give that right to me -- that is OK. That doesn't make me stupid.

2) Years ago, I heard a missionary speak about how he sought God very seriously about whether or not he should pack up his entire family and move them overseas. His laidback expression of surrender was "God, whatever." He was basically saying, "God, please do whatever You want. God, please put me wherever You want me to be. God, please have Your way and just do whatever pleases You." I thought he had an awesome attitude.

So, when I adopted this attitude and shared it with a spiritually abusive mentor/friend, and I told her that I was like "God, whatever," she freaked out. I don't remember her exact words, but she was like "It's not whatever!" OK, OK. Sorry. Maybe your god is much more specific than mine. Maybe your god dots every i, crosses every t, and gives you 30 lashes every time you make a mistake. My God wants me to be pliable, so I'll be pliable. You know, whatever.

3) When I read the Bible, sometimes I form mental images to help me picture what's going on. (It's especially fun while reading through genealogies.) So, if you're reading a verse that talks about Pharisees talking to Jesus, or Jesus talking to Pharisees, then it's easy to form a mental picture of a group of Pharisees migrating around town together like a huge clique or maybe like one of those sororities that charge through college campuses and leave a perfume cloud behind them.

But I've learned that Pharisees don't always migrate around in a group like that, and they don't wear clothing that identifies them, like hats that say "PHARISEE CLUB" or anything like that. They look just like you and me. (I myself used to be one, and I hope I'm not one anymore.) You never know when you'll find one, but if you look hard enough, listen closely enough, and smell deeply enough, you'll locate one. Just look for the fruit flies.

One minute, a Pharisee will tell you you need to trust the Lord, and then next minute he'll throw a temper tantrum because he can't find what he's looking for at Walmart. One minute, a Pharisee will tell you that life is made up of people and how we have to love them, and then next minute he'll yell at a clerk across a crowded store, calling him a turkey in Hebrew so no one else can understand what he's saying. One minute, a Pharisee will tell you you have to "take the Bible at face value," and then next minute he'll tell you that the Holy Spirit stopped moving the way He moved in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 because the Bible is canonized now. One minute, a Pharisee will tell you that you're supposed to be a virgin when you get married, and then next minute she won't do anything when you catch two unmarried teenagers making out horizontally on a bed in her house. One minute, a Pharisee will gossip with you about somebody at church and criticize every teeny decision they make, and then next minute she'll hang out with them at church as if they were best buddies. One minute, a Pharisee will guilt-trip his family into gathering for a two-minute family devotional so they can read the Bible and pray together, and next minute he won't let your younger sibling give you some privacy when you're trying to read the Bible for yourself. One minute, a Pharisee will criticize a neighbor for mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning when they're supposed to be at church, and then next minute he'll knock loudly on the bathroom door and interrupt your Sunday shower to ask you how to mail something to a customer via FedEx. While you're in the shower. Nowhere near a computer. On a Sunday, when everyone in the house is supposed to be observing the Sabbath. FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, I WAS TRYING TO TAKE A SHOWER! LOG ON TO THE INTERNET AND DO THE RESEARCH YOURSELF!

Sigh. It felt good to type that.

So, Pharisees can be sneaky to identify, but they are identifiable indeed. And Jesus seemed to yell at them unabashedly. And He offered them a way out of their Phariseeism.

So, I'm proud to be an American citizen, but I'm even more excited about being a citizen of heaven. I like getting to know my Jesus who is full of grace and truth, who doesn't whitewash over everything or invent crippling new rules for every new life situation that comes along. He's the answer to whatever you need, period.