ok. before the story i need to confess that i SERIOUSLY wanted to flick a lady a bird yesterday. Boston traffic can do UGLY things to my sense of southern hospitality. how ugly, you ask? lets just say i didn’t care that she had a breathing machine! once i drove past her i said “MEAN!” really loudly, just to get it out. then i remembered this story:
The light turns yellow. He KNOWS he can make it through, but the car in front of him slows down and stops before the red. Dang. So, this guy starts YELLING and HONKING and CUSSING (or cursing, if you wanna be proper about it) at the car in front of him. He’s ALL fired up.
Then he hears a tap tap on his window and turns to see a police officer motioning for him to roll his window down. The cop asks him to get out of the car, cuffs him, and takes him to the slammer…
Eventually, the cop comes to the guy’s cell and apologizes: “Sir, we ran your records and your free to go. I’m sorry for this confusion. Let me explain. When I pulled up behind your car I saw the pro-life sticker and the First Church sticker and the shiny fish symbol on the back. Then I heard you honking and cursing and thought you’d stolen the car.”
Dr. Joe Stowell, former 18-year president of Moody Bible Institute and current president of Cornerstone University, spoke at our seminary chapel service recently. He opened his sermon with this story.
Then he talked about how today’s American Christians are having an identity crisis. We’ve forgotten who we are.
yes sir. amen. sometimes i forget who i am. i know.
How can we keep our identity in tact? How can Christians have a sense of holiness and righteousness ever before us? How can we keep our “brother ass” (to quote St. Francis’ less-than-affectionate reference to his body) in check?!?!?
“We’ve forgotten who we are.” Mmmm…. I know that is all too true in my own life, all too often.
I think there’s a fine line between keeping our holiness and righteousness ever before us and being plastic, fake Christians. It’s almost as though we shy away from the latter so much that it causes us to lose our identity at times.
I need to mull on this a while.
Honey…not to reflect upon the immoral part of this story but its actually flip the bird not flick the bird…just for future reference in proper insulting phrases.
Jillian: you forget that i’m from Georgia… we flip and flick and do whatever needs to be done!
Mandy, you actually drive in Boston! Far too many small streets.
When I started commuting on the highways I learned many new hand gestures and curses. I can’t think of many other activities that will raise blood pressure then commuting. I was always a very safe and courteous driver until I began my three hour commute to New Jersey. Then I broke every rule in the book
Well I can tell you this…if you flick your middle fingers on both hands at the same time it means hate or awful in ASL…if you flip your middle fingers it means something far worse
LOL! JILL: good to know! thanks for the clarification!!!
I have road rage, I usually use my horn. One time God put me in check and the one time I actually needed my horn it went out, no horn, seriously. I lived thankfully, so I think God has a sense of humor.
Ok this might not make much sense on first reading/contact but you asked how, so here goes….
Our Minds Rule our Bodies. Conscious Controlled thought is the LAST things we humans evolved in our oversized brains and only came after emotional thought and non-thought (reactive instinct – Fight or Flight).
Therefore, whenever we find ourselves in any given situation that can arouse emotion or instinct these two (more deeply embedded in our brain’s formation) invariably jump up and cause us to act BEFORE the logical and careful part of our brain has a chance to get into first gear – with me so far?
The ONLY way we can remain in constant Christ-like control of our limbs, fingers and mouth is to constantly practice the habit of holding in our Conscious mind an Observer, separate from everything that makes us who we (really) are and who just watches us in action – non-judgementally! We then need to set aside time in each and every day to rewind and witness ourselves doing what we do and then seeking to find all the little mental and emotional and instinctive and physical things connected with that ‘part’ of us we do not wish to have inside us anymore and with Chris’s help kill it all (lose YOUR life)- banish it forever from our body mind and soul.
It ain’t easy and it won’t happen overnight – but it’s the only way we can ever have the sort of life in Him you are seeking.
Until then you’ll be just like all the rest of us – trying, but with very little chance of success.
Feel free to ask about anything that was not clear above – happy to expand anytime
love <3
lovewill: Observer = Holy Spirit maybe? i love these thoughts….. great perspective. thank you!
You’re most welcome!
In John’s Gospel we are told the Holy Ghost is our Comforter Christ promises to send to all who believe in Him ( look it up – somewhere near the back i recall?
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The ‘observer i was describing is more a part of our ‘consciousness’ that is kept separate from everything else we are and who’se only roll is to accurately observe and recall our self ‘in action’ as it were so that we can replay it back with the intent of learning how certain situations cause our ego to rise up and gain control over us – against our own ‘free’ will.
This observer needs to be brought into ‘being’ in isolation from that ego or it will not be able to ‘see’ the things that make us ‘lose control’.
It’s a fairly radical notion but i believe it holds the key to our salvation from the ‘sins’ of our mind and body – the things that make us ‘unJesus-like’ in spite of our strong desire to be like Him.
It does not sound like it comes from scripture – but if you look – you will find! Just not quite in the terms i used.
Thanks for reading and listening – am impressed with your Spirit
love <3