We are deep into the season of Lent and I can see palm leaves waving off in the distance. Yet, there are still things to learn, self-reflection to be done, prayers of repentance to be said. As our study on the Seven Deadly Sins continues, we slow down and take a few things in… literally. Sloth and Gluttony are the sins of the week and they can jump on our backs and weigh us down like a monkey looking for a permanent perch.
Sloth is known to some as a lazy animal who hangs from a tree limb and is quick to do… well, nothing. The sin of sloth resembles his character, with one important difference. A sloth is slow because he’s born that way. The sin of sloth slows us down because we allow it to. When we invite sloth into our lives, we not only do less, but we care less. What’s on God’s heart we ignore and what’s going on around us we turn a blind eye to. There are neighbors next door that haven’t had a decent meal in months, yet we continue to throw away leftovers. There are families who can’t afford to furnish their home or cloth their children each time they grow out of yet another size, yet we have cupboards and drawers over spilling with doubles and triples of this that and the other, as well as closets and drawers so over stuffed it’s hard to decide what to wear each day. And God simply asks, “Can’t you share some of that with those around you in need? Why do you think I’ve blessed you with so much?”
Jesus quickly reminds us: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25.34-36)
Then there’s that gluttony animal. Oh, the woes this sin brings into our lives! Not to mention the lives of our children. America is more overweight, obese, and out of shape than any other time in history… and that includes our kids and grandkids. Trust me, it’s not about vanity. It’s about life or death. At the rate we’re going, we could be the first generation ever who lives longer than our children. It’s that serious. Gluttony is about overconsumption, an appetite for destruction, and that doesn’t have to be just food. Some are gluttons with alcohol. Others inhale an incredible amount of cigarettes. Others overindulge in shopping, computer use, gambling, or even sex. Gluttony isn’t about food. Gluttony is about finding a new god and living for it. When we begin to live to eat rather than eat to live, you can bet gluttony has filled our bellies. When we begin paying more attention to our i-phone screen, than the face of our spouse, then gluttony has invaded our heart. And when we begin thinking about, diverting our money to, and relishing our time to anything that out-consumes the thoughts, money, or time we are giving to our Lord and Creator, well then… you can bet your gluttonous-bippy that you are dancing with the devil in a dangerous duet called gluttony.
Jesus clearly answered each time he was asked what was most important in life: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22.37-38)
If you’ve tried before to get that monkey off your back with no avail, call on the One who has authority over heaven and earth… and then get ready. We’ll be heading into Jerusalem soon. Pick up those palms and prepare to celebrate!!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Deadly What?
For those who follow Christ, we are in the middle of a season we call Lent. It is a season of preparation and self-reflection. Not counting Sundays (as they are mini-Easter celebrations year round), Lent lasts for 40 days, beginning with Ash Wednesday and running up to Easter. We start with Ash Wednesday because it reminds believers that we are only human, and fallen humans at that. We slow down long enough to think seriously about the ways we push ourselves away from God and then we ask God to forgive us. Because God is full of compassion and love, we are forgiven and called to “go and sin no more.” Before returning home, a pastor or priest places a cross of ash on our forehead to remind us we are “made from dust and to dust we shall return.” It is only God who rescues us from sin and death, reunites with us once again through Jesus, and offers the promise of everlasting life together. This year, my faith family wrote our sins on slips of paper and as we left the Worship Center, walked outside and dropped our slips into a burning fire. As we stood and watched each one turn from paper to ash, it was an amazing image of how God turns our sin from burning reality to nothing but ashes that are blown away in the wind.
Each Sunday throughout Lent, our faith community is looking inward at the sins we struggle with. Seven that stand out among all others have been referred to for generations as the “Seven Deadly Sins”. It’s quite a list, including lust, anger, pride, sloth, gluttony, envy, and greed. I must admit, I have struggled with the entire list from time to time. That’s what makes it so deadly. These sins can slip in and out of our lives in such sneaky ways, that many of us don’t even recognize them. But don’t get complacent. They’ll literally kill you!
Lust, for example, has taken many a Christ-follower to the depths of hell. Men have struggled with pornography, never realizing how they have taken away their own wives’ dignity. Too many guys see a little sneak peeking as totally harmless. Oh contraire, my friend! When the men in our lives are drawn to look at pictures of women in compromising or helpless poses, our society moves step by step away from the holiness and honor we were created on. Instead of being set apart for God to use in spectacular ways to love and change a world, we fall down a slippery slope of thinking our daily existence is wrapped around nothing more than self-centered gratification. Personal relationships become strained and guilt slithers up our legs and squeezes off true life and freedom to be who God created each of us to be.
I speak from experience. As a child who was sexually abused for more than ten years, I was surrounded by self-gratification. I can only wish that my perpetrators would have stopped at least once per year to bow before their God and ask earnestly, “Show me my heart, O God. Open the deepest, darkest crevices and remove all that distances me from you.” Instead, they continued in their own dark little world, reading pornography, taking lust-filled images into their very soul, and then allowing that darkness to direct their decisions to take the dignity away from another: a small and innocent child.
I speak to you women out there too. We get drawn into lust-filled cycles, as well. We are falsely told on every magazine cover that short skirts, low necklines, and 6 inch spike heels will make us a woman. Our nurturing spirits and compassionate hearts make us women. Don’t fall for the media driven crap we, and our daughters/granddaughters, are being handed in every check-out line across America. Feel free to turn the magazines around backward. Maybe the store owners will get the message and remove that smut from our, and our sons/grandsons, eye line.
Each Sunday throughout Lent, our faith community is looking inward at the sins we struggle with. Seven that stand out among all others have been referred to for generations as the “Seven Deadly Sins”. It’s quite a list, including lust, anger, pride, sloth, gluttony, envy, and greed. I must admit, I have struggled with the entire list from time to time. That’s what makes it so deadly. These sins can slip in and out of our lives in such sneaky ways, that many of us don’t even recognize them. But don’t get complacent. They’ll literally kill you!
Lust, for example, has taken many a Christ-follower to the depths of hell. Men have struggled with pornography, never realizing how they have taken away their own wives’ dignity. Too many guys see a little sneak peeking as totally harmless. Oh contraire, my friend! When the men in our lives are drawn to look at pictures of women in compromising or helpless poses, our society moves step by step away from the holiness and honor we were created on. Instead of being set apart for God to use in spectacular ways to love and change a world, we fall down a slippery slope of thinking our daily existence is wrapped around nothing more than self-centered gratification. Personal relationships become strained and guilt slithers up our legs and squeezes off true life and freedom to be who God created each of us to be.
I speak from experience. As a child who was sexually abused for more than ten years, I was surrounded by self-gratification. I can only wish that my perpetrators would have stopped at least once per year to bow before their God and ask earnestly, “Show me my heart, O God. Open the deepest, darkest crevices and remove all that distances me from you.” Instead, they continued in their own dark little world, reading pornography, taking lust-filled images into their very soul, and then allowing that darkness to direct their decisions to take the dignity away from another: a small and innocent child.
I speak to you women out there too. We get drawn into lust-filled cycles, as well. We are falsely told on every magazine cover that short skirts, low necklines, and 6 inch spike heels will make us a woman. Our nurturing spirits and compassionate hearts make us women. Don’t fall for the media driven crap we, and our daughters/granddaughters, are being handed in every check-out line across America. Feel free to turn the magazines around backward. Maybe the store owners will get the message and remove that smut from our, and our sons/grandsons, eye line.
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