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blogging, culture, faith, insanitybytes, love, opinion, salt and light
Something I’ve discovered about myself on the internet is that I have a very short fuse when it comes to whiners. It’s somewhat amusing, I was never aware of this until recently, but you know that little twitch you start to get in your eyebrow, that 10 point rise in your blood pressure?
Yep, like that. That little signal that lets me know I’ve encountered a real whiner. My family has been well aware of my problem with whiners for a number of years now, but has never said a word beyond like, “like duh.”
All in good humor here, but this certainly does explain my sudden and swift lack of empathy when I encounter a whiner, something rather out of character for me.
You may wonder what in the world this has to do with being salt and light, so perhaps some background is in order. I frequently attempt to chat with people, sometimes about matters of faith. Every now and than I encounter someone down on the church, down on faith, believers mind you, who say things like “the church has been totally feminized,” or the “church has lost it’s salt,” or whatever. These things are not totally untrue, there are a myriad of problems within churches. Sometimes forgotten however, is that WE are the church.
In the bible the term for “whining” would be murmurings, as in people wandered around lost in the desert for 40 years because they were so busy murmuring. From reading that story I get the distinct impression that God is not impressed with our murmurings. Also, apparently He believes in the old adage, walk it off.
WE are the church. If “the church” has offended us, we don’t get to just sit on the sidelines and point fingers as if we ourselves are above being tainted by such things. This may sound harsh, but I am not talking about people who have experienced genuine spiritual abuse or those who just cannot find a home church, I am talking about those who endlessly whine about the horrors of other Christians who are obviously “doing it all wrong.”
I confess this issue I have with whiners because I don’t want this post to sound too harsh, but I grew up within militant atheism and was not allowed to read a bible. I could not go to church or worship. I literally had to pray in secret. Ever taken communion alone? That’s a real oxymoron.
People don’t always understand how privileged they are, how much freedom they have until they lose it. Every single time I walk into a church or even a bible study, I never forget where I came from, how blessed I am today to have the freedom to worship. It never leaves my mind, it is that burned into my brain. My faith has been a real struggle, so every time I see other Christians engage in worship or praise or prayer, it feels like Victory to me. I don’t even have to know you, I just need to see you, somewhere, anywhere, giving praise or praying. Heck, I’ve been known to follow cars down the road just becasue they have a “Jesus is Lord” bumper sticker on them. Those crosses people sometimes put up on their houses, those matter to me. My eyes never stop scanning and seeking evidence of people’s faith and every time I spot it, I think of Victory, Jesus Christ’s victory on the cross.
My own struggles are nothing compared to what some people in the world are going through right now. There are atrocities happening that I cannot even bear to think about. Even right here safely at home there are people suffering grief and loss and the storms of life that threaten to swallow us all up. None of us really get through life unscathed and none of us can do it alone.
Which brings me back to my plea for salt and light. Now perhaps more than ever we need every single person claiming Christ’s name to Let their light so shine before men…..
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16
Linda Lee said:
Good post.
What I hate the most about whining is when I hear it coming out of my own mouth.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Yes! But then I think of all the challenges some people face and to be complaining about trivial things just seems so silly.
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Linda Lee said:
Exactly.
My head is still reeling from a tragedy that happened late Thanksgiving night/early Friday morning to my granddaughter’s mom, which I did not find out about until yesterday. While I was standing in line for my first Black Friday sale, worrying about the ice storm and anxious about getting one of the super cheap laptops before they sold out, there was a fatal shooting in the Bangor, Maine apartment of my son’s ex girlfriend. Her new boyfriend was killed in front of her eyes, and another close friend was shot seven times.
They were throwing a party and somebody accused someone of flirting with someone else. Because of a stupid petty argument, one young man is dead, another young man is fighting for his life in ICU, two young men are in jail probably for the rest of their lives, and my granddaughter’s mother is deeply traumatized and will never be the same.
Every moment of every day, people all over the world are dealing with horrific tragedies, while we fret and whine about locking our keys in the car or missing out on a sale that would have saved us $7.95.
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insanitybytes22 said:
What a tragedy. I’m so sorry.
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Linda Lee said:
Sin. Selfishness. Jealousy. Hate. Greed. Going our own way and doing what seems right in our own eyes. That’s what it boils down to.
This is a sick and broken world, desperately in need of Salt and Light.
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anitvan said:
Ever taken communion alone?
IB, that took my breath away! No, I have never taken communion alone and I can’t even guess what that would be like. Sorta like communist China, I imagine.
I pray I never take for granted that I have the freedom to join with the communion of saints without fear.
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VocareMentor said:
“In the bible the term for “whining” would be murmurings . . . apparently He believes in the old adage, walk it off” – Excellent! – Good post.
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Denine Taylor said:
Once the Lord showed me that when we come into agreement with how terrible someone’s life is we are contributing to the breaking of their spirit. Its like saying, “your life is terrible, I am so sorry.” He showed me, I am to remember the power of GOD has the ability to free us from the darkest places. He has the power to restore and resurrect us back to life. No matter how bad things may appear in Christ we always have reason to hope. “The Joy of the Lord is our strength.”
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insanitybytes22 said:
Amen Denine, those are words of wisdom for sure! Pity tends to rob people of their power when we are supposed to be lifting them up.
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sheppaja said:
What can I say, but, Excellent word!
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ColorStorm said:
‘Atrocities that I care not to think about……’ Two eyebrows ms bytes.
Kinda puts the one eyebrow of murmuring to rest eh?
But this light you speak of………….even the smallest of the Lord’s wattage dispels a whole bunch of darkness. ‘He made the stars also………………’ Boom, but not as in big bang, but as boom, goodbye opinions of men..
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dvaal said:
Reblogged this on fiddledeedeebooks.
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insanitybytes22 said:
Thank you for the reblog.
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silenceofmind said:
A particularly vicious priest black balled me from doing church service in a huge urban dioceses.
WHAAAH!
Yet I continue to ply my charism for reading the Word of God in parish after parish of that very same diocese with the blessings of other priest who know a good thing when they see it.
WHAAAH!
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insanitybytes22 said:
That’s my kind of whining, Silence 😉
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Debbie L said:
Great post! I did grow up in a Christian household, but my dad’s struggle with alcoholism meant we went on and off, like hot and cold Christians. I so appreciate you never forgetting where you came from-and me neither! I’ve been on fire since the Lord restored my broken (and divorced) marriage. My husband and I both pray daily to be salt and light, starting within our family that lost touch with the Lord, and to everyone to Lord puts in our path….except when we’re whining about poor customer service! Ugh, we’re still so human…..
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insanitybytes22 said:
Thank you for your kind words. God is good indeed for restoring your marriage. Amen!
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