Dirty bath water:
- Christian denominational & theological divisions
- evil in our hearts, dressed to look smart in pews
- self-serving, proclaimed as protecting the truth
- traditions and unwillingness to change
- self-importance and hypocrisy
- keeping a safe distance from a troubled world
- sticking with people who are 'like us'.
Baby: Jesus!
Cleansed water:
- crossing the divides to bring Christian unity, under one Lord
- evil in our hearts, forgiven at the cross
- acknowledging Jesus as Lord, who is the Truth
- following wherever Jesus leads
- self-worth, bestowed at great cost on the cross
- working to bring peace to a troubled world
- loving those who are needy, in the name of Jesus.
Don't throw the baby out with the dirty bath water!
It is said that a frog will not jump out of a pot of water if the temperature of the water is raised so gradually that the frog doesn't notice. Despite nothing stopping the frog from jumping out, it will stay there and be boiled to death - so long as the change in water temperature is very, very gradual.
This doesn't just apply to frogs! People who exert power know they can make changes very slowly, confident that those affected will gradually acclimatise to the changing circumstances and not notice until it's too late. This often occurs in abusive relationships; politicians and managers also use it to gradually introduce unpopular measures.
But there are at least two ways in which this applies to us all.
First, as we grow up in our increasingly materialistic and consumerist society, we gradually adjust to living more and more depersonalised lives in an increasingly polluted world, with run-away global warming and a rapid depletion of species. While we mutter about the degradation of life, we make no serious change of course, and it's not difficult to foresee a 'boiled frog incident' of global proportions coming.
Secondly, we also grow accustomed to the devil's pervasive lies which promote deceit as truth, greed as good, selfishness as self esteem, sex as love and desires as rights - and we just go with the flow. We call it 'progress' or 'modernisation' and see nothing particularly dangerous about such ideas!
Despite nothing stopping us from going back to the Author of Life - who is ever ready to rescue us, through Jesus, from a very unpleasant end - we gradually acclimatise to increasingly deadly ideas and ways of life without ever noticing - until its too late, and we are boiled to death.
In fact, I understand that experiments with frogs have shown that the 'boiled frog' story is a myth* - frogs do jump out when the water temperature gets uncomfortably hot.
So, it turns out that it doesn't work with frogs. But it does work with many humans.
* see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog
How difficult it is to make and own a decision!
There are big decisions, difficult decisions, those where we cannot choose between options because both are good, dilemmas where neither option seems desirable and double-binds where the choices are irreconcilable...
So we take the easy route: we don't decide, we procrastinate and say we'll decide later. But of course, by not deciding, we are in fact making a decision, attempting to maintain the status quo - or at least that is our assumption.
Sometimes we decide against something, for example voting against a political party we dislike at an election rather than voting for what we think is best (at least in those countries where some form of democracy exists). It seems easier to choose not to do something, than to make a positive choice.
Or we can make very small decisions to change. For example we may forego a biscuit in an attempt to lose weight, but continue unchanged with our intake of chocolate and sugary drinks. It's easier to make the little decision than to take the big one.
Sometimes there are moments when we really do have to make a decision because the status quo is no longer possible - and then we are likely to get very stressed.
In fact, it seems very difficult to make a clear, significant, positive decision. It requires honesty about our circumstances and about ourselves. It also requires an act of faith: that our choice will work out for the good.
Certainly, to become a Christian is a life-changing decision, but one that many hesitate over until it's too late. Although the responsibility is ours, the devil seems keen to encourage our indecision!
---
I've written about decisions before, see:
Decisions, decisions, decisions and Micro-choices matter
Following a recent deluge in which some houses had been flooded, I heard the local politician saying on the radio that "they will do everything necessary to ensure this doesn't happen again". I'm sure he was well intentioned, but I'm also sure he had flood barriers and better warnings in mind, rather than addressing the root causes - changing planning regulations to preclude building housing on flood plains, or addressing the causes of climate change.
We go to great lengths to treat the symptoms, but won't address the root causes.
We will bankrupt the economy and enter recession, putting hundreds of thousands out of work, in order to save the big banks
... but we won't stop them gambling with other people's money.
We will tighten the benefits system and hamper the poor, increase tax on middle-income workers, and make public sector workers redundant
... but we won't tackle legal tax avoidance by the richest individuals or corporations
We will improve town-centre policing, train and employ more liver specialists, and introduce security measures at Accident & Emergency departments
... but we won't tighten alcohol licensing laws or ban it being sold below cost price.
In order to improve the nation's mental health, we will reorganise parts of the National Health Service, improve access to therapy and spend huge sums on researching new medications
... but we won't talk about the depersonalising impact of living a consumerist and materialistic lifestyle.
And in the personal sphere, we'll do anything to have peace. We learn meditation techniques, download the 50 most relaxing tunes, and reorganise our schedule in order to get a bit of 'me-time'
... but we won't put our lives into Jesus' hands.
We'll do anything to give life meaning. We work hard for years to gain promotion to earn more money to buy more things to seek fulfilment
... but we won't accept the Lord, the author of life.
How often we'll do anything ... everything ... except the one needed thing.
In these days when different religions jostle for space it's difficult to know quite where to turn or which to trust.
The atheists and humanists are more and more vociferous, and sometimes seem as militant as those at the other extreme. But they may have a point about God not existing; it's difficult to know.
The Christians keep disagreeing - protestants vs catholics, evangelicals vs liberals, Church of England vs Church of England. Who knows whether any group is right? But perhaps God does exist; it's difficult to know.
Then there are the Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Confucianists, and many others - each different, each with sincere believers. One God or many gods? A human God, a monkey god, or a god within? It's difficult to know.
Then there are those who are 'vaguely spiritual but not religious' - anything from reflecting in quiet spaces to believing in crystals and tree-hugging. Have they just taken bits and pieces from other religions or cultivated their own particular idea, and so ended up with a personalised 'pick and mix' blend - a religion specifically tailored to each one? It's difficult to know!
But which is true or do they all lead to the same end? That's the trouble: it's difficult to know…
Here are some questions that may help you to decide and come to know:
- Is it of human or divine origin? We can admire and learn from human wisdom, but a religion requires something 'other' and greater. To worship (rather than admire) a human being is perverse.
- Is it based in history or in myth? Myths can be beautiful, bring a sense of wisdom and have many levels of meaning; we can learn about ourselves, others and the world from myths. But that is not the same as worshipping a God quite beyond the human realm.
- Is it based on following behavioural rules that need to be obeyed, or is there a living relationship with God? Following rules is a reassuringly familiar process, though can often lead to disillusionment. But then we have come down to a simple matter of human effort, rather than knowing God.
- Are you looking at a culture or a religion? The two often overlap but are not the same. A religion involves giving one's life in the service of a higher power; a culture means behaving in ways that are familiar within a community.
- What happens to those who decide to stop believing? Disagreement and disapproval from other believers is one thing, but if there is coercion, threats or force to continue 'believing', then you can be sure that this is not about belief but about social pressure or power.
Here are some things that may appear useful guides, but I doubt they really are:
- What does science say? Scientific investigation can tell us many useful things, but in the realm of spiritual beliefs it has no way of knowing or making any useful comment.
- Are the followers sincere? This is not a good way of deciding what is true, as the followers of all religions are sincere (in the main), otherwise they would stop believing! You cannot distinguish religions on the basis of their believers' sincerity.
- Does the religion have a lot of believers? Although most of the great world religions have millions, even billions of followers, they differ in such fundamental ways that they are incompatible; they cannot all be right.
And that last point also tells us that they are definitely not all leading to the same end!
At this time of year we all like the familiar, warm feeling of Christmas - carol singers with candles, mince pies and mulled wine, nine lessons and carols, a Christmas tree with baubles and tinsel and enticing presents beneath. Somehow it is cozy and safe, reminding us of childhood excitement, snowmen and sledges, followed by hot chocolate.
If only that were the message of Christianity at Christmas!
I'm all for the things above - a time to pause from the bustle of life and re-connect with family and give gifts. But actually I'm very glad that this is not the message of Christianity! For it is also somehow irrelevant to the rather harsher realities of most of life, which includes financial struggles, unemployment, rejections, broken relationships and anxiety. If Christianity has anything useful to offer, it must be relevant to real life.
Perhaps that is why the Christian celebration of Christmas is about God coming into the world as a baby, born in poverty in a muddy shed, welcomed by a few and ignored by the majority, and the family's flight as refugees into exile as the despot ruler massacred children in an attempt to kill the baby.*
Umm, not much tinsel there ... and yet the Love of God revealed.
I hope you have a loving, safe and peaceful Christmas.
* You can read about it yourself in the Bible, in Matthew Chapter 2
In my last post I talked about how difficult it is to know in the present when it is time to stop doing something - though we can all see with hindsight when we should have stopped. This post is on a similar, though slightly different theme: about giving up.
We don't like giving up. We are trained to persevere, to try harder, to keep working until we - hopefully - overcome. And, conversely, no-one wants to be seen as a 'quitter'!
But there are some times when it really is wise to give up!
When something cannot be accomplished, known or understood, to keep on trying leaves us immobilised, stuck, in limbo.
I think of people who cannot get over some terrible event because they cannot answer 'why?'; I think of people stuck following some significant injustice, but powerless to change the outcome; I think of people unable to move forward following a break-up or major rejection that they cannot reverse.
In these circumstances, giving up is the beginning of moving forward; it is the start of moving forward and living again.
Not everything can be known, not everything accomplished. When we have reached an impasse, despite our best efforts, there comes a time to give up, to let go. Here, the only - and best - human answer is "we don't know", or "I have tried but cannot do it".
But for Christians, this is also about knowing it is time to put the matter back into God's faithful hands - where it belongs - knowing that He does know, is just, and is loving.
