I need to be more like Jesus.
Don't we all.
Jesus taught radical truths and, as such, spend lots of time surrounded by those who didn't share his conviction...some who you may even call "ignorant". But He didn't focus so much on the ignorant attitudes of those with whom He came into contact with as much as He did His response to them.....mercy....understanding....grace.
MAN....couldn't we all use more of that.
I mean, even Peter....a guy that had been with Him since the beginning....was so content to continually screw up, doubt, and not get it....it makes you wonder "what chance do WE have?....if a disciple who SAW Jesus do this stuff and heard His words first-hand and still screwed up so royally...what chance do I stand?"
The answer is "none". It's all about Grace.
I had an opportunity this weekend to make a choice. A Proverbs-teaching, cut and dry, wisdom-or-foolishness choice. I both succeeded and failed.
Ivy got Chicken Pox. We have dozens of friends who do not subscribe to the typical unquestioned, lobbyist-influenced, health care system that totes shots and vaccinations as the be all and end all of disease prevention. Does modern medicine have some things right? sure. Do they have TONS of things that they grandstand about for their own selfish gain while putting millions of children at risk for future permanent negative consequences to their self-proclaimed "universal solutions"? ...absolutely.
So within that parameter lies the role of the informed parent, needing to make a decision.
Our decision is a simple one....Chicken Pox has been around forever....If one of our kids catches it...we'll let the others catch it, get "infected" and get it over with. We even went so far as to invite other families with young children over to contract the virus from our daughter in hopes that they could also get it "over with". We had many takers. Over this past weekend...close to dozen children circulated through our home....playing closely with Ivy...with parents in hopes of their kids catching the virus themselves....and they also "getting it over with".
I guess that I should have expected for this idea to be met with some resistance. Especially in this uninformed, Ignorant-reactionary, believe-what-you-are-told-on-the-internet culture. But I didn't.
We didn't receive TONS of resistance...but the resistance we DID get was from radically ignorant, uninformed, uneducated, sad sources. From parents who think that what WE are doing is absolutely crazy and irresponsible but yet don't spend 2 seconds researching and educating themselves on the scores of vaccines that are being injected into the bodies of THEIR children. No thought is given as to the need for these injections...their overall effectiveness, or the contents in them (if you've read this far and have a 2 year old child who has all of their vaccine shots....they've already been injected with aluminum, formaldehyde, MSG (the same stuff that's in Chinese food), human DNA (including that of aborted fetuses), Guinea Pig or Cow embryos.....shall I go on? Yet somehow....it's my wife and I who are the "irresponsible" ones for allowing our children to be exposed to a non-lethal (at least at their age) virus with which they'll be immune to for their whole lives instead of allowing modern medicine to inject their crud-laden ( and hugely controversial) "vaccine" into our child's bodies....which may or may not even work.
Here's the part where I get pissed. Here's where I fail.
Or at least it's the part where I used to get pissed. Now...I just get sad. here's the part where I grow.
I get sad at the ignorance of our culture....and not even just the secular culture. The Christian culture that we live in has become so uninformed and secularized....so many uninformed decisions are being made for Christian children. I want to scream. It's not just the vaccinations. It's the hours that parents allow their children to be influenced by Xbox or PSP....the days and days that they allow their children to be molded by a secular coach or dance instructor in the name of "building character" while, in reality, are being corrupted by worldliness. The shopping out of their parental responsibilities to train up their children. I want to claw my eyes out. But Christ showed grace....so must I. Grace that is Greater than all Our Sins. I don't nearly have the tolerance or capacity that Christ Had. But I don't need to.
I need to daily praise Him for the education and conviction that he has given me and my family....and pray for those who need it. His grace is the only reason for any vision or guidance that we receive. I'm certainly not perfect. I'm a selfish sinner in need of huge amounts of growth. In 10 years...I hope to look back on where I am now and see HUGE amounts of growth in the life of me and my family from where we are right now. It begins by understanding, and receiving His grace.
Would you this moment His Grace receive?
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Monday, September 12, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Not So Quiet Riot
"Well I'm an Axe Grinder...Piledriver,
Mother says that I never, never mind her."
-Kevin DuBrow, Quiet Riot (and yes, I had to look up his name.)
I usually keep this blog reserved for the simpler things...the goings on of the Leo family and what The Lord is teaching us. I usually keep it light and airy. Tonight, I feel like adding my 2 cents to some socio-political issues happening in our world right now.
Specifically: Rioting.
Riots are nothing new. if you Wikipedia "list of riots", you'll get info on hundreds of riots that have occurred both home and abroad, ranging from a hundred or so people to several thousand. Most are usually fueled by a quick political decision or as an immediate protest to an action performed by a governing body. And don't forget the nonsensical chaos ignited in a given region by the loss (or win) of a local sports team, most recently in Vancouver, after their Stanley Cup loss, although New England/Boston is certainly guilty in this vain as well.
Like I said, it's nothing new....and maybe it's just the increased media coverage and outlets available in our culture but, doesn't it seem like these things are popping up all over the place? And I'm not just talking about in countries tired of living under decades of political oppression and tyranny, but in self-proclaimed "modern" democratic cultures. All you need to do is look to Vancouver and London.
I feel like this world has a hair-trigger. I feel that, at any moment, something unpredictable could happen that would quickly incite chaos into a currently calm culture. I don't live in fear. At the same time, I don't have a great confidence in the restraint of the masses in the wake of a quick change to the status-quo.
Look at Katrina. It took only hours before chaos ensued and property/family protection was left in the hands of the individual home/business owner. In less than a 12 hour period, the main means of protection was not a 911 call but a shotgun in the hands of a landowner pointed at the temples of a would-be looter. When a culture deteriorates and chaos reigns, there are usually only a few who are motivated by the actual issue...the masses just want to break shit. Vancouver was no exception. Not that the die-hard Canucks fans were justified, but let's face it. Most of those out there were not pissed that their team lost a hockey game...they were out there because there was a free pass on chaos and they were going to take full advantage of that opportunity to create mayhem for mayhem's sake.
Imagine if President Obama was shot tonight. What would Boston or Worcester or Hartford look like tomorrow? I work 2 blocks off main St. and 2 blocks out of the Piedmont District in Worcester. I'd be killed on my way in to work tomorrow. It would be reminiscent of those white guys getting pulled out of cars and stomped during the L.A. riots....not because of who they were or what they stood for but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would be wonton chaos throughout most (if not all) urban/suburban areas tomorrow if Obama was shot tonight.
So what about it? What do we do? I'm all for raising awareness to the issues at hand. I'm all for educating the current culture to lift them beyond their animal instincts in the wake of a quick travesty or unjust ruling. I'm also all for being armed. Armed to the teeth. I'm in no way a doomsday survivalist nutcase but I do believe in protecting that what is important and irreplaceable....family.
The thought of a family member falling victim to the foolish aggression of an assailant...break in....robbery....riot, or otherwise makes me crazy. I believe fully in prayer and The Divine's hand hovering over all, and protecting us. I also feel as though a degree of that protection has been instilled and handed over to us as people. To stand educated, against the social upheaval of the idiotic. The bottom line is that...if push ever came to shove...I'm ready. My family is ready. Trained, armed, and ready. Most Americans sit and read of this stuff and always imagine it happening somewhere else to someone else. Those are exactly the people in New Orleans who watched their homes and businesses get ransacked while those who were educated and prepared stood their ground, drew a bead on the foreheads of their oppressors, fended off the stupidity of the masses, and are safe, healthy, and open for business today.
"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are safe."
-Luke 11:21 (NKJV)
Mother says that I never, never mind her."
-Kevin DuBrow, Quiet Riot (and yes, I had to look up his name.)
I usually keep this blog reserved for the simpler things...the goings on of the Leo family and what The Lord is teaching us. I usually keep it light and airy. Tonight, I feel like adding my 2 cents to some socio-political issues happening in our world right now.
Specifically: Rioting.
Riots are nothing new. if you Wikipedia "list of riots", you'll get info on hundreds of riots that have occurred both home and abroad, ranging from a hundred or so people to several thousand. Most are usually fueled by a quick political decision or as an immediate protest to an action performed by a governing body. And don't forget the nonsensical chaos ignited in a given region by the loss (or win) of a local sports team, most recently in Vancouver, after their Stanley Cup loss, although New England/Boston is certainly guilty in this vain as well.
Like I said, it's nothing new....and maybe it's just the increased media coverage and outlets available in our culture but, doesn't it seem like these things are popping up all over the place? And I'm not just talking about in countries tired of living under decades of political oppression and tyranny, but in self-proclaimed "modern" democratic cultures. All you need to do is look to Vancouver and London.
I feel like this world has a hair-trigger. I feel that, at any moment, something unpredictable could happen that would quickly incite chaos into a currently calm culture. I don't live in fear. At the same time, I don't have a great confidence in the restraint of the masses in the wake of a quick change to the status-quo.
Look at Katrina. It took only hours before chaos ensued and property/family protection was left in the hands of the individual home/business owner. In less than a 12 hour period, the main means of protection was not a 911 call but a shotgun in the hands of a landowner pointed at the temples of a would-be looter. When a culture deteriorates and chaos reigns, there are usually only a few who are motivated by the actual issue...the masses just want to break shit. Vancouver was no exception. Not that the die-hard Canucks fans were justified, but let's face it. Most of those out there were not pissed that their team lost a hockey game...they were out there because there was a free pass on chaos and they were going to take full advantage of that opportunity to create mayhem for mayhem's sake.
Imagine if President Obama was shot tonight. What would Boston or Worcester or Hartford look like tomorrow? I work 2 blocks off main St. and 2 blocks out of the Piedmont District in Worcester. I'd be killed on my way in to work tomorrow. It would be reminiscent of those white guys getting pulled out of cars and stomped during the L.A. riots....not because of who they were or what they stood for but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would be wonton chaos throughout most (if not all) urban/suburban areas tomorrow if Obama was shot tonight.
So what about it? What do we do? I'm all for raising awareness to the issues at hand. I'm all for educating the current culture to lift them beyond their animal instincts in the wake of a quick travesty or unjust ruling. I'm also all for being armed. Armed to the teeth. I'm in no way a doomsday survivalist nutcase but I do believe in protecting that what is important and irreplaceable....family.
The thought of a family member falling victim to the foolish aggression of an assailant...break in....robbery....riot, or otherwise makes me crazy. I believe fully in prayer and The Divine's hand hovering over all, and protecting us. I also feel as though a degree of that protection has been instilled and handed over to us as people. To stand educated, against the social upheaval of the idiotic. The bottom line is that...if push ever came to shove...I'm ready. My family is ready. Trained, armed, and ready. Most Americans sit and read of this stuff and always imagine it happening somewhere else to someone else. Those are exactly the people in New Orleans who watched their homes and businesses get ransacked while those who were educated and prepared stood their ground, drew a bead on the foreheads of their oppressors, fended off the stupidity of the masses, and are safe, healthy, and open for business today.
"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are safe."
-Luke 11:21 (NKJV)
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Contextual Pornography
Context is a funny thing.
That's all I've got for a lead in...so I guess that I'll get right to it.
I find it very interesting that Christian women have revealing photos taken of themselves and post them online through various social media networks. I know I'm old fashioned....and I'm sure that will be abundantly clear by the end of this post....but hasn't something happened to decency and modesty over the years? They're virtually disappearing...in the name of "context"....let me explain...
A Christian woman (not "all" but many) has no problem posting a photo of herself in a bikini taken at the beach and stored in some social media photo album under the heading "Summer Vaca '10" or "Aruba with the Fam"...in this full body photo, the woman is wearing something that is covering about 9% of her body..and what is covered is skin tight...hardly anything left to the imagination. And this photo is not only tolerated by others in the same Christian circle, but peppered with comments like: "U look Beautiful" and "Wow...Hott". Now....imagine it in a different context.....
same woman, same pose, same amount of skin showing....BUT....instead of a bathing suit...it's underwear. And...instead of the photo being of her standing on the beach, she's lying on a bed....nothing about the visibility of her body has changed...but he context has...now...in those same Christian circles...this photo is disastrously inappropriate and vulgar.
Or
There's thousands of photos of teenage (or younger)girls online (again, many in Christian circles) taken in a dance studio or during a recital while they are wearing tight, revealing leotards or skin-showing "Dance-wear" and no one thinks twice....It's regarded as "stunning" and "adorable". Take the same contextual scenario played out above, and you've got borderline child pornography charges on your hands.
Modesty is a dissolving virtue in our culture. This concept of contextually acceptable promiscuity baffles me. As with most of my dilemmas...I have no real answers, just a handful of thoughts and a bewildered mind. But..I guess that I can say....
There's tremendous pressure, in our culture, for a woman to look a certain way, dress a certain way, etc. The reality is that (especially for the younger women) many are doing this out of huge insecurities in order to gain acceptance in their social circle which is dominated by an army of idiotic, unskilled, disrespectful, poorly-parented boys.
I guess this is the closest that I've ever come in my blog to anything that could be described as a "rant". I'm sure that if I stared at this screen long enough...I'd just keep typing and typing on the subject...so I'll call it quits...While there's more that I'd probably like to say...the lion's share of my rant has been layed out. I guess, in the end....
I'm grateful for a modest wife. I'm grateful for the privilege of raising a little girl to be a virtuous, modest, young woman and eventually....wife. I pray for those who feel that they need to display themselves in such suggestive ways in order to boost their self esteem or be accepted into their social circles....or even more...
I especially pray for those who just think that it's innocent and o.k.
That's all I've got for a lead in...so I guess that I'll get right to it.
I find it very interesting that Christian women have revealing photos taken of themselves and post them online through various social media networks. I know I'm old fashioned....and I'm sure that will be abundantly clear by the end of this post....but hasn't something happened to decency and modesty over the years? They're virtually disappearing...in the name of "context"....let me explain...
A Christian woman (not "all" but many) has no problem posting a photo of herself in a bikini taken at the beach and stored in some social media photo album under the heading "Summer Vaca '10" or "Aruba with the Fam"...in this full body photo, the woman is wearing something that is covering about 9% of her body..and what is covered is skin tight...hardly anything left to the imagination. And this photo is not only tolerated by others in the same Christian circle, but peppered with comments like: "U look Beautiful" and "Wow...Hott". Now....imagine it in a different context.....
same woman, same pose, same amount of skin showing....BUT....instead of a bathing suit...it's underwear. And...instead of the photo being of her standing on the beach, she's lying on a bed....nothing about the visibility of her body has changed...but he context has...now...in those same Christian circles...this photo is disastrously inappropriate and vulgar.
Or
There's thousands of photos of teenage (or younger)girls online (again, many in Christian circles) taken in a dance studio or during a recital while they are wearing tight, revealing leotards or skin-showing "Dance-wear" and no one thinks twice....It's regarded as "stunning" and "adorable". Take the same contextual scenario played out above, and you've got borderline child pornography charges on your hands.
Modesty is a dissolving virtue in our culture. This concept of contextually acceptable promiscuity baffles me. As with most of my dilemmas...I have no real answers, just a handful of thoughts and a bewildered mind. But..I guess that I can say....
There's tremendous pressure, in our culture, for a woman to look a certain way, dress a certain way, etc. The reality is that (especially for the younger women) many are doing this out of huge insecurities in order to gain acceptance in their social circle which is dominated by an army of idiotic, unskilled, disrespectful, poorly-parented boys.
I guess this is the closest that I've ever come in my blog to anything that could be described as a "rant". I'm sure that if I stared at this screen long enough...I'd just keep typing and typing on the subject...so I'll call it quits...While there's more that I'd probably like to say...the lion's share of my rant has been layed out. I guess, in the end....
I'm grateful for a modest wife. I'm grateful for the privilege of raising a little girl to be a virtuous, modest, young woman and eventually....wife. I pray for those who feel that they need to display themselves in such suggestive ways in order to boost their self esteem or be accepted into their social circles....or even more...
I especially pray for those who just think that it's innocent and o.k.
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