We're All Pharisees

I don’t really know why this was on my mind, but once something is on my mind I gotta share it. There’s a phrase kinda stuck in my mind: “Don’t let your rules keep me from Jesus.” Okay, good, now it’s gonna be stuck in yours. My mission is accomplished. So, while that’s rolling around your brain, let me help you think about it a little. As always, please tell me if you think I’m wrong or if I’m missing something.

     So, what do I mean by saying “Don’t let your rules keep me from Jesus”? Well, think about it. What was the one thing that ticked Jesus off more than anything? It was the Pharisees. The religious people. They made their own group and lorded their “righteousness” over the common people. Their attitudes and their rules—starting to get it yet?—kept others from Christ.

     Okay, well, we don’t have Pharisees anymore. So, where am I going with this? You know what, I’m gonna do the unthinkable. I’m gonna just go ahead and say it: At one time or another, we are ALL Pharisees.

     Don’t stop reading yet. Let me say explain what I mean. We all have our own ideas on how this whole “Christianity” thing should go. There are certain places where we get together to “worship Jesus and learn more about Him.” It’s called church. But you have to fit the profile: in some places, that means suit and tie; in some it means casual; in some places, it’s OK to where skinny jeans and t-shirts, and in some it’s not. Then, there’s the HOW. Some places have hymnals and organs and an ornate pulpit, and the pastor sits on the right side of the stage while the music minister sits on the left. Some places have a small worship band with some half-wit singers thrown in for good measure. Then you have those weird Elevation Church people, with three or four guitarists and twenty above-decent singers. And don’t get me started on that preacher guy of theirs. He’s wayyyy to weird—and his pants are too tight, to boot!

     You see what I’m doing here? Each one of you reading this is looking down your nose at AT LEAST one of those three churches I’m describing. C’mon, admit it. And I bet I could tell you which one, just by knowing your birthday. But that would be using stereotypes, and I hate those.

     Alright, so where am I going with this? I wanna go back to my original statement: “Don’t let your rules keep me from Jesus.” See, rules are important things. There are laws that we follow in this country, and for good reason. And Jesus followed rules. They have a good purpose. If I went around having sex with every other girl I see, I’d be breaking an important rule, because I’d be hurting myself, the girls I’m with, and the girl I end up marrying—if I can even marry her, after all my mistakes. If I was to kill, say, Sander Williamson (gotta have a decent example, bro!) I would be breaking an important rule. Why? ‘Cuz I would be hurting my soul, and I would hurt his girlfriend, Sarah Kitzmann, and his wonderful family, and his friends—oh, and I would be hurting Sander, seeing as he’s now dead.

     Okay, so rules are important. They help us. But that only applies to rules with a reason. See, the Pharisees’ problem was that their rules weren’t based on a reason. They weren’t based on love. Jesus broke their rules gladly when it came down to the rule or to loving another human. And the same applies today. We—myself included—forget to LOVE. See, some rules are just extras—and they can definitely be good.

     Those (often elderly) people who worship with organs and choir robes, with their pastor using an ornate pulpit and the minister of music referring to hymn #204 (That’s “How Great Thou Art” for those of you keeping score at home), do that because God deserves fear and respect. They believe that, since that’s how they’ve worshipped God for so long, it’s how it should be done. And there are perks to their ways: the glorious tradition, the appeal of the fantastic hymns set down in ages past, and the grab-you-by-your-britches-and-throw-the-Word-at-you preachers they have. And, truth be told, the music in others churches hurts their ears.

     Now, those Elevation yahoos take to heart the saying “Come as you are.” They embrace the (modest) clothing choices of the day, they make loud and unruly music and put so much excellence into their worship, and their pastor goes out of his way to make things relevant today so that they can draw in the average Joe or Janet who isn’t drawn to tradition. Skinny jeans? That’s fine. Guitars? Turn ‘em to 11! Theirs is a mission to bring in unbelievers, and a lot of extra do’s and don’t’s won’t do it. They uphold the necessary rules—sex outside of marriage is hurtful, we shouldn’t hurt each other, and don’t be stealing our pens!

     Okay, I wanna wrap this up. I’m sixteen, and I’ll tell you straight up—I’m with those crazy NewSpring and Elevation people: skinny jeans, loud music, and no King James Bibles! Why? Because it appeals to me, frankly. PERSONALLY, I find that atmosphere more appealing, and it definitely makes me feel closer to the love of God. IN MY OPINION. TO ME. And I can tell you, there is nowhere in the Bible where God says, “Thou shalt not wear red jeans” or “Thou shalt not use rock music during worship.” Trust me, I’ve looked. What it DOES say is dress modestly and respectfully, and what is respectful and modest to me may be different to you. What it DOES say is to come before God with joy and thanksgiving, so if I can find that with overdriven guitars, thundering bass, and huge drums—then please, don’t say “That’s not worship” or “You can’t worship like that” because it IS to me and it IS to God. David went through the streets of Jerusalem only in his underwear, screaming praise to God. If that’s acceptable to God—and it was—then how can a fully-clothed, orderly but loud “worship service” be wrong?

     Now, the LAST thing I want to do is to take that too far, because there IS value in the rules, in the order that some people prefer. I will never say, “You can’t worship like that.” What I WILL say, is this:

     “Don’t let YOUR rules keep me from Jesus.”

     Because it’s all about the heart. It’s all about love. It’s about you and your savior. Rules have their place: Jesus thrived on the rules, he lived them out to the last detail. But when the extra rules get in the way, then Jesus threw them out.

     God made us all different, because He wanted it that way. He likes it that way. And He made us to love Him, and since we’re different, we express that in different ways.

     So, what’s the moral of my little (okay, my very long and boring) spiel?

     Worship is worship, but it’s expressed in different ways. My grandparents worship differently than I do, and I worship differently than they do.

     And that’s okay, because it’s the same wonderful, awe-inspiring God we’re worshipping, and He likes it either way, I think.

Time to Get Political

Hey all. It's time for me to get political.
     I've been following the presidential race with great interest (even though I can't vote for another year and a half) because my American History class has spent a great deal of time on the American government--and especially the president.
     The President of the United States is charged to enforce and defend the laws of the United States, as set down by the Legislative and defined/applied by the Judicial. He is the Head of State, meaning he is the chief diplomat and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
     Now, let me begin by saying I am a proud, conservative Republican. I am pro-life, Christian, and Republican. (There goes another seventy-five percent of my readers.) Since I pay taxes and am a citizen, I take interest in my nation's politics. Especially those involving my freedoms, like my right to say what I feel and to excercise my religion as I feel led to.
     People always say "America is the greatest nation on earth." I don't believe that that's true any more. I believe we have the potential to be the greatest and to stay the greatest, but we have fallen when it comes to our morality. Just look around. Our society is floundering.

Now, do I believe either of our presidential candidates can turn it around? I missed the first debate, but have watched each since then. I entered undecided--leaning more towards Romney, since he's Republican. I lost interest in the race when Rick Santorum dropped out (I'd take a Catholic over a Mormon, seeing as Catholics are closer to Christianity than a cult like the Mormons), but the vice presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Romney's running mate Paul Ryan piqued my interest. The major theme I noticed in the debate was how often Biden attacked Romney/Ryan and shifted blame on other people. I started thinking, Isn't he supposed to be talking about Obama's plan for the next four years? What about the economy? Attacking Paul Ryan isn't a way to get college kids a job. So, I watched the town hall debate. It clinched my decision, if I had a vote.
     Barack Obama, as the God-allowed Chief of State of our country, still deserves our respect and loyalty, but he has lost my trust and support. The way he has handled this election--not even counting how he has handled this country in the last four years--has lost me. Always putting the blame on someone else. Always attacking Romney, his fellow countryman, instead of laying forth a positive plan to save this country. Add to that how he has lied about and slandered Romney often, and how he has lied about his own actions and words, and I don't believe that Obama needs another four years. I think it's time someone else had a chance.
     Does this mean I'm Pro-Romney? In a sense. I disagree with his faith, and he hasn't sold me when it comes to his policies. I agree with his foreign policy, but his economic and domestic policies must be proven to my nation.

So, to recap. I believe Obama has had his chance. His actions didn't cut it, so it's Romney's turn. But Romney has to prove himself.

There. Now, back to your daily lives of work, school, music, life, and love. Enjoy the blessing of the day God has given us!

- Garrett

The Story of Love and War - Christ and His Followers

     God.

     Sin.

     Two words that can never go together.

     That's the underlying premise behind every aspect of my faith. Of my life. See, I'm what we call a Christian. Uh-Oh. I think I just lost seventy-five percent of readers.

     Well, for those of you still interested enough to keep reading (not counting the people who know and love me and are reading this to support me), let me break down for you what that word "Christian" is all about. Then, you might see why I started this blog. Maybe you'll be interested enough to stay tuned. To listen. It's certainly my hope that my feeble words can impact someone in some way.

    

     So, what do we mean when we say Christian? Well, to get nerdy, by breaking the word down into its two parts--"Christos" and "ian"--we find that it's still Greek to us all. Literally. It's Greek. The word "Christianos"--our word "Christian"--is Greek for "One of Christ."

     Well, that's clear as mud.

     I guess you kind of have to know who Christ is so you can understand what it means to be "of" him. Let's see, where to start... Well, Jesus Christ was born around 30 B.C. in a small little Middle Eastern country called Israel. He was the son of a carpenter named Joseph--sorta. See, before Jesus was born, an angel--stay with me here--appeared to Joseph's fiancee, Mary, and said she was pregnant by God. It was a son, and he was to be named "Jesus." However, he had another name: Immanuel. This Hebrew (Israeli) term literally meant "God with us" or "God among us."

     So, Jesus Christ was God's son. Why would God--or any god, if they exist--send His son to our dingy old planet? Well, when God created us, we screwed up and made it so that we could only have the barest relationship with Him--which is a problem, seeing as the very reason God made us was to have a relationship with Him. So, God came up with a plan and set it into motion with Mary and Joseph's son, Jesus.

     As Jesus grew up, the Bible says he never made mistakes. Not the kind of mistakes like forgetting to walk the dog or getting a question on a test wrong. I mean, he never "sinned." He never did something that was against the fundamental, ethical laws God had put into place at the beginning of Creation. So, Jesus had something we couldn't have--he had a relationship with God, because there was no sin holding him back.

     God's plan was this: 1) Send Son to earth, 2) Have Son live our lives, 3) Let Son destroy sin. Simple? Not so much, because the only way to destroy sin would be to sever its grip on humanity. And to do that, a sacrifice was necessary.

     Around 3 A.D., Romans executed Jesus Christ after some Jewish religious leaders got mad at Jesus because he was everything they were supposed to be and not. End of story.

     Or is it? 'Cuz, unless someone is going crazy, over five hundred people saw Jesus walking, talking, teaching, and performing miracles after he died. Wait a second. Oh yeah, he said that would happen. "I'll rise from the dead three days after I die," he said. And there were a lot of witnesses to prove it. So what does that mean? Well, most sane people who are honest with themselves realize that this feat was proof of who He was. He really was--is--God's Son.

 

     Okay, long story short: Jesus Christ is the Son of the Creator, who wants to have a relationship with us but can't because we aren't holy like He is. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, making Him holy, and when he came back from the dead he basically showed death who's boss. And He said that anyone who believes and follows Him will show death who's boss in the end, 'cuz we'll get to have that relationship with God--forever.

 

     Now, you know who Christ was. But what about -ian? No, not your friend Ian. I mean the Greek suffix "-ian," meaning "of." A Christian is someone who is "of" or "like" Christ. How did Jesus live? He lived perfectly. So how do we live? Well, we try to live like he did.

     Notice the word try. Although Christ broke sin's hold, he didn't get rid of sin. Not yet. It's not time for that. Now, we have the choice not to sin, and we try to keep that. But I can tell you this, it's a struggle everyday. You may be someone who looks at Christians and thinks "Goody two-shoes" (if anyone still says that), but it goes deeper than that.

 

     Think of this: a criminal is let out of prison. He does his best to uphold the law when he gets out, 'cuz he doesn't want to go back to prison--and to be honest, he wants to prove himself to the Judge. Well, there are hiccups along the way. Caught speeding. Fighting with someone in public. But the Judge looks down and says, "I know your heart is in the right place. Keep it that way."

 

     We Christians are far from perfect. But we're doing our best to become perfect by following Christ's example until the day we die. It's hard. If you join us, it'll be really, really hard. Believe me. But nothing of worth is easy, right?

 

 

 

Now you know who I am. Oh? You don't? Okay, okay. My name is Garrett. I'm a Christian living in South Carolina. I love my friends and family, and I love music. I play guitar, bass guitar, piano, and I sing; I also do some recording and mixing. I write books. I act. I work at Chick-Fil-A. I love to laugh and makes others laugh. And I love God, because without Him I wouldn't be here.

     The reason I started this blog is because I believe that God has asked me to tell His story to the world. To be poetic, it's the Story of Love and War. Life is about love, and it's about war. Loving God and loving others are the two reasons we're on this spinning mudball. But it's a war everyday--inside and out.

     I'll be posting sermons like I did above. I'll post song lyrics, and links to songs or videos or other blogs. I'll post Tweets, Facebook happenings, and other miscellania. I hope you'll stick around for the ride, because it's my hope and intention that you are impacted by something--anything--here.

 

It's the story of love war. Maybe it's time for you to find your part in it.

 

- Garrett