My Children,
First let me say that I appreciate the fact that you are trying to do the right thing. I know you go to church and pray, and for that I say thank you.
There are a few things however that I need to discuss with you.
Do you remember when you decided to take your girlfriend to meet your parents? What did you tell your parents about your beloved? Did you tell them the negative things, like she didn't know how to cook or had dropped out of college? No, you told them how beautiful and smart and caring she was. You wanted to make a good first impression. You were so in love with your beloved that you could scream how great she was from the roof tops. You wanted everyone back home to meet her.
What if you had just told them the negative things? Do you think they would invite her for a visit? Do you think Uncle Charles and Cousin Mary would come to supper just to meet the one who would soon be a new member of the family? No. They would shy away from her. They would find excuses to miss supper.
Well, I am your beloved and this is what you are doing to me. Everyone is running away from me like I have a contagious disease. You think you have me all figured out, and for some reason, you find it necessary to tell everyone what a mean and heartless God I am.
I keep hearing you talk in church about how you want to bring everyone to God because I am so wonderful, yet you tell everyone who is different from you, that they are so wrong that I hate them and they are going to hell. Who died and made you God?
Also, I'm really tired of the line "love the sinner, hate the sin". In your simple black or white, all or nothing mentality, this is just not possible. You are too simple minded to be capable of this. You say, "I love the gay man, but I just hate his sin of homosexuality". Well if you love him so much, don't be afraid to hug him if he needs it, or to let him be a part of your church without you trying to make him feel like dirt. You say you love the poor and the widows. Than why is all my tithe money going to pay for new fancy choir robes instead of food for those in need? Why does you church building get bigger while your capacity for kindness gets smaller?
I have to tell you, you can come to church as often as you want and talk as loud as you want about being my child and loving me, but if you spend the rest of your week judging everyone else and being a jerk, do you really think they are going to believe you? You are spending so much time telling everyone else to do the right thing, that you forget to do it yourself.
Excuse me Mr. and Ms. Bible Thumper--do you recall the book that you bash over everyone's conscious, telling you to take the log out of your own eye before you even think about telling your brother about the splinter in his eye? Well, I've got news for you. That's a life-long job. You are going to be pulling and tugging at that log the rest of your life. You will never be perfect as long as you are human. Never.
So, I'll make you a deal. The day you become Mr. and Ms. Perfect, you can become Mr. and Ms Bible Thumper. Until then, please shut up.
Go ahead and act like a jerk if you want to. I gave you free will. If it makes you feel better about yourself putting everyone else down instead of examining yourself, have at it. But whatever you do, leave my name out of it. Thanks to you, the word Christian or religious means hateful and judgmental to a lot of people. Gee, thanks, that helps me out a lot.
One more thing before I go. I know you think that you've got me figured out. You think that just because you read your Bible or studied the world's religions, that you are an expert at figuring out who I am or what I am all about. Well, you haven't got a clue.
You guys can't even figure out that fighting over land or religions or what ever excuse you can come up with is just as childish as two kids fighting over a toy when there are hundreds of toys surrounding them. If you can't figure that out, how can I expect you to understand me?
You know, I'm a big guy and can take care of myself. I don't need your help. You are not my defenders, but I am yours. I want to protect you from hurt and pain and to bless you, but I'm a bit busy cleaning up the mess of broken hearts and destroyed lives you have caused in my name.
So, would you please STOP?? Its not your job to break people down so you can shove the love of God down their throats. Do you think that would have worked with your parents? "Hi Mom and Dad, Maria is a bit of a complainer, and she was fired from her last job because she stole all the pens and paperclips and she was kicked out of college for getting in a bar fight, but, gee I really want you to like her."
Do you see my point? I want you to bring people to me and let me take care of the rest. Not everyone will like me or accept me, but that's not your problem. I am the one who knows the heart of man, and right now, yours could use some work. You work on YOU being the kind of person YOU should be.
Maybe you are a bit out of practice because you've been on your soapbox so long instead of on your knees, so let me give you a hint on how to become a person I am proud to call my child.
Practice kindness. Even if you don't feel like it, do it anyway. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Simple things are all I am asking for. Smile at someone. Say, "I hope you have a good day" to the lady at the checkout counter. If you meet someone, and in your heart you start to judge them, shake their hand and talk to them. Don't walk the other way, or cross the street to get away from them.
I told you the secret to being the best godly kid you can be, but I think you missed it. "Do unto others as you have them do unto you". In other words, treat people the way you would want to be treated. If you start to act in a situation and you know you would never want someone to treat you that way, then do the opposite of what you planned. If you wanted to yell at them, hug them. In time, your heart will soften and only then I can work with it.
Until you can make those changes, do me a favor and don't try to take me home to meet your mom, dad, brothers, cousins, friends.... ANYBODY. Don't claim you are a christian, or even mention my name. Because as long as I am associated with you, I will never reach those who need to know me. I will never get to show them that I am a God of love. I will never be able to show them the way. They will keep their hearts closed and run the other way and never feel my blessings or my mercy.
Then how will you feel? Will it feel good to be "right" then? Will it matter that you never missed a church service or read your bible every day? Will it make a difference that you fought for all the causes that you thought mattered, while pushing away everyone that mattered to ME?
Maybe you will never understand, until the day you finally face me. Then, you can see for yourself the hurt in my eyes, the tears streaming down my face, the broken heart that wanted to reach out to all those people you hurt. Then you will know that it was you who pushed them away.
I hope you can live with that.
Dad
First let me say that I appreciate the fact that you are trying to do the right thing. I know you go to church and pray, and for that I say thank you.
There are a few things however that I need to discuss with you.
Do you remember when you decided to take your girlfriend to meet your parents? What did you tell your parents about your beloved? Did you tell them the negative things, like she didn't know how to cook or had dropped out of college? No, you told them how beautiful and smart and caring she was. You wanted to make a good first impression. You were so in love with your beloved that you could scream how great she was from the roof tops. You wanted everyone back home to meet her.
What if you had just told them the negative things? Do you think they would invite her for a visit? Do you think Uncle Charles and Cousin Mary would come to supper just to meet the one who would soon be a new member of the family? No. They would shy away from her. They would find excuses to miss supper.
Well, I am your beloved and this is what you are doing to me. Everyone is running away from me like I have a contagious disease. You think you have me all figured out, and for some reason, you find it necessary to tell everyone what a mean and heartless God I am.
I keep hearing you talk in church about how you want to bring everyone to God because I am so wonderful, yet you tell everyone who is different from you, that they are so wrong that I hate them and they are going to hell. Who died and made you God?
Also, I'm really tired of the line "love the sinner, hate the sin". In your simple black or white, all or nothing mentality, this is just not possible. You are too simple minded to be capable of this. You say, "I love the gay man, but I just hate his sin of homosexuality". Well if you love him so much, don't be afraid to hug him if he needs it, or to let him be a part of your church without you trying to make him feel like dirt. You say you love the poor and the widows. Than why is all my tithe money going to pay for new fancy choir robes instead of food for those in need? Why does you church building get bigger while your capacity for kindness gets smaller?
I have to tell you, you can come to church as often as you want and talk as loud as you want about being my child and loving me, but if you spend the rest of your week judging everyone else and being a jerk, do you really think they are going to believe you? You are spending so much time telling everyone else to do the right thing, that you forget to do it yourself.
Excuse me Mr. and Ms. Bible Thumper--do you recall the book that you bash over everyone's conscious, telling you to take the log out of your own eye before you even think about telling your brother about the splinter in his eye? Well, I've got news for you. That's a life-long job. You are going to be pulling and tugging at that log the rest of your life. You will never be perfect as long as you are human. Never.
So, I'll make you a deal. The day you become Mr. and Ms. Perfect, you can become Mr. and Ms Bible Thumper. Until then, please shut up.
Go ahead and act like a jerk if you want to. I gave you free will. If it makes you feel better about yourself putting everyone else down instead of examining yourself, have at it. But whatever you do, leave my name out of it. Thanks to you, the word Christian or religious means hateful and judgmental to a lot of people. Gee, thanks, that helps me out a lot.
One more thing before I go. I know you think that you've got me figured out. You think that just because you read your Bible or studied the world's religions, that you are an expert at figuring out who I am or what I am all about. Well, you haven't got a clue.
You guys can't even figure out that fighting over land or religions or what ever excuse you can come up with is just as childish as two kids fighting over a toy when there are hundreds of toys surrounding them. If you can't figure that out, how can I expect you to understand me?
You know, I'm a big guy and can take care of myself. I don't need your help. You are not my defenders, but I am yours. I want to protect you from hurt and pain and to bless you, but I'm a bit busy cleaning up the mess of broken hearts and destroyed lives you have caused in my name.
So, would you please STOP?? Its not your job to break people down so you can shove the love of God down their throats. Do you think that would have worked with your parents? "Hi Mom and Dad, Maria is a bit of a complainer, and she was fired from her last job because she stole all the pens and paperclips and she was kicked out of college for getting in a bar fight, but, gee I really want you to like her."
Do you see my point? I want you to bring people to me and let me take care of the rest. Not everyone will like me or accept me, but that's not your problem. I am the one who knows the heart of man, and right now, yours could use some work. You work on YOU being the kind of person YOU should be.
Maybe you are a bit out of practice because you've been on your soapbox so long instead of on your knees, so let me give you a hint on how to become a person I am proud to call my child.
Practice kindness. Even if you don't feel like it, do it anyway. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Simple things are all I am asking for. Smile at someone. Say, "I hope you have a good day" to the lady at the checkout counter. If you meet someone, and in your heart you start to judge them, shake their hand and talk to them. Don't walk the other way, or cross the street to get away from them.
I told you the secret to being the best godly kid you can be, but I think you missed it. "Do unto others as you have them do unto you". In other words, treat people the way you would want to be treated. If you start to act in a situation and you know you would never want someone to treat you that way, then do the opposite of what you planned. If you wanted to yell at them, hug them. In time, your heart will soften and only then I can work with it.
Until you can make those changes, do me a favor and don't try to take me home to meet your mom, dad, brothers, cousins, friends.... ANYBODY. Don't claim you are a christian, or even mention my name. Because as long as I am associated with you, I will never reach those who need to know me. I will never get to show them that I am a God of love. I will never be able to show them the way. They will keep their hearts closed and run the other way and never feel my blessings or my mercy.
Then how will you feel? Will it feel good to be "right" then? Will it matter that you never missed a church service or read your bible every day? Will it make a difference that you fought for all the causes that you thought mattered, while pushing away everyone that mattered to ME?
Maybe you will never understand, until the day you finally face me. Then, you can see for yourself the hurt in my eyes, the tears streaming down my face, the broken heart that wanted to reach out to all those people you hurt. Then you will know that it was you who pushed them away.
I hope you can live with that.
Dad
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