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Christianity was supposed to be about becoming like Jesus. | |
We went in the wrong direction. |
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Christian Pioneer - eBook for Cell Phone Everything you Know is Wrong |
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| Relationships Avoiding depth to feel good A quote from Sartre is, “Hell is other people”. There is nothing that will come close to exposing our own selfishness as other people.  One might consider that after humans took a path away from God, he put a curse on the world so that life would not be easy. In doing so we would be forced together. In order to survive other people we would be forced to abandon some of the selfishness that got us into trouble in the first place.   Parents have to abandon some selfishness when they have children. However, marriage also requires the abandonment of some selfishness. Even lighter weight relationships such as talking about the previous night’s sports scores with the security guard when coming in to work can require one to sacrifice a few minutes of time.  We live in times of prosperity, comfort, and ease. We do not willingly surrender our comforts, time, or resources for the sake of others. As a result we have no desire to make the sort of personal sacrifice to cultivate deeper relationships.  An elderly woman was inquired of at a church by a visitor as to how she was doing financially. She admitted to having some difficulties. She had attended the church for 30 years and even her best friend did not know of her difficulties. This is a picture of the superficial level of church relationships today.  Christians can have an additional difficultly with relationships because of a denominational imprint. Our conversation is often halted and even an angry response can be triggered if one mentions a view that is not approved or might otherwise be seen as heresy. Instead of kindness for those whose level of learning is different, often one encounters a rebuff for violating approved speech. This can lead to self-censoring such that only safe or superficial topics are touched upon.  People are inclined to recoil from deeper relationships because it can deplete scarce resources such as time. One may have to accommodate markedly different personalities, and one might become obligated to future encounters equally demanding.  Reader’s Digest used to have a column called “interesting characters”. While perhaps still interesting to read about, no one has the time or wants to take the risk to actually spend with one.  This self-isolating result is beneficial to Satan as it keeps people from really getting to know each other, reduces the flow of information to mostly sources he controls, and keeps us from the maturity selflessness would facilitate. When families and village life were the norm for most humans, there were plenty of relationships. However, many were filled with hate, envy, lust, and greed. This is because we have always been selfish. A return to the past is not necessarily a solution to relationship difficulties. In fact the reduction in the number of and depth of relationships can even be seen as positive in contrast to painful relationships.  Relationships are hard because as humans we all have intrinsic selfishness to varying degrees, even and perhaps especially Christians. This selfishness is poison. However, in difficult times, we often suppress our selfishness because we need other people.  In modern society, there is less need for others and as a result, relationships. One finds relationships of all kinds becoming less substantial and even disappearing altogether.  We were created for relationships and there is that in us that poisons them. While the hazards of the natural environment can force us to give up some of our selfishness, the real solution is found when a Christian realizes that it is in best interest to willingly give up selfishness and walk by the Holy Spirit. One finds that temptations to selfishness begin to loose their attractiveness. For people who are not Christian as well as Christians who never took advantage of what is available to them, the intrinsic problem of relationships remains. Relationships can be longed for and yet be painful. Without Christ working to change us, we are left to try to tough it out with relationships.  Without trusting in Jesus, we do not have access to the power of God to change our life. In this case it is often just the power of self-control resulting in the contemplation of consequences that usually keep our behavior restrained.  A former POW of a German Luftstalag (Air Force prison camp) upon liberation by General Patton was excited to be able to have an opportunity to go out and kill some Germans before the war was over. POWs were rounded up by Patton and put back in the camp because Patton didn’t want to have to deal with the chaos.  A man in Gaza reportedly put a baby in an oven to burn to death while he raped the baby’s mother.  A list of human atrocities could go on and on. It is not just the millions killed by Stalin, Hitler, and Mao, but the one by one atrocities committed everyday by humans who are unable to contain their selfishness. The sad realization is that this evil is inside of each one of us. We may have a culture, habit, or social pressure that inhibits it, but it is our nature. The POW might seem partly vindicated for revenge, but giving free reign to hatred was the same problem the Gazan had. The reason “relationships” was put at the end of this book is because it is the only part of life that has any real value. Money, fame, power, prestige, intellect, talent, or accomplishment are all transient and even can be harmful. Satan sets the course of the world and does so to take us captive through our own lusts to build a world that he can take over. the only way out of this tightening noose is through the truth and that is found in Christ. Christ can still be found in spite of churches and religion.  |
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Information about Christianity and the Christian life. |
Pictures and views of our farm | Some of our animals | See some of the old-fashioned crafts we are trying to relearn | ||