Tag: Christianity in America

My biggest Bumper Sticker pet peeve

You know that bumper sticker that says mean things about mean people? It’s been around for years. You know the one – it says, “Mean People S#!%.”

The first time I ever saw that sticker on the back of someone’s car I gave them a WIDE berth. Definitely did not want to get into their way for fear they might decide for some reason that I was mean and would then proceed to do me harm.

The funny thing was, the other day I mentioned to a neurotypical friend how oxymoronic I found that bumper sticker to be. My friend stopped, thought for a minute, and actually thought the bumper sticker was OK! Seriously?!

After I explained that saying someone, “s#$%s,” is mean (I really didn’t think something this obvious needed explaining!), my friend had to agree that the driver with the bumper sticker is now just as mean as the people this driver is supposedly trying to call out.

This bumper sticker helps bring home the reality of the verses in Matthew 5 where Jesus says to be good to those who are your enemies. Because if we are not, then we are just as despciable as them (hey, that’s two weeks in a row God has had me blog on that section of the Bible – hmmmm, God is up to something here…).

This interaction with my friend is a poster child for the social problems those of us with Asperger’s encounter. We are constantly confused by the double-standards that neurotypicals live by (e.g., thinking that it is not mean to say something mean about a mean person to everyone who drives by).

I believe that is one of the reasons God has allowed us Aspies to be around – we point out the obvious hypocrisies considered normal, acceptable behavior to everyone else.

However, before we Aspies become too high on ourselves, remember that even though we realize these hypocricies that are hidden to others, we are no better at living out the truth. Ironically, because of our extreme sensitivity and difficulty at doing more than one thing at a time (e.g., feeling angry and being able to think of the correct behovioral response at the same time), we spend more time being angry with people and more time treating them poorly than much of the general population.

Thank you God for using us to show others the truth of what you expect of us. Thank you for keeping us humbled by the limitations of our syndrome. Thank you that by relying on you, you can help us act in accordance to your will, when we can not on our own.

This is a Kingdom of Hearts

It seems that many Christians agree that the persecution of Christians in America is coming.

Several weeks ago a Christian friend and I were having lunch and got onto the subject of persecution. She told me how important she thinks it is for resistance fighters to have weapons in order to be effective. Something didn’t seem right about that thought, but not being someone who is good at thinking on my feet, I just listened quietly, deciding to ponder that idea later.

On my drive home I talked to God about her ideas, and this is what I believe he reminded me of.

The resistance fighters she was thinking of were people who were fighting for the earthly treasures of land or political rights. As Christians, we are not (or at least, should not be) fighting for land or any other earthly possession.

We should be fighting for people’s souls. We should be fighting for the truth to be heard and accepted.

If we truly believe the truth of God’s love for us, then our own lives and possessions are worth nothing to us, so dying and loss should be no big deal (terrifying to us as humans, though it may seem).

Therefore, the only thing we are fighting for is the souls of our friends and persecutors. So to kill the body of the one we are trying to reach is 100% counterproductive.

There may be people called to bear arms, but I don’t think so – I don’t remember anyone in the early church defending themselves against persecution.

Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:

 5Blessed are the meek,
      for they will inherit the earth. 
 7Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy. 
 9Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called sons of God.
 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

  38“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[g] 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 

 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you. “

Lord, those are difficult words. Please help us be  perfect as you are perfect.

Too Prudish?

I was just catching some late night tv – not because I like it, but it was what was on while I was up late working on a present for my mom for Mother’s Day. I wasn’t paying attention visually to the tv, but heard that an American movie poster was less risque than the Mexican version of the poster for the same movie. The comment was made that American audiences aren’t ready yet for such a risque poster. The comment was said in a way that made Americans sound immature, childish, behind the rest of the world.

Interestingly enough, America is still the leader of the world. But, also interestingly enough, the more that America “grows up” and becomes more “mature” in its entertainment tastes, the less of a world leader it has become. Remember, America was started mainly by people who wanted a more moral, ethical place to live than what they could find in their home countries. I believe that God blessed that desire and allowed us, even made us into the world power that we are – so that we could promote His good.

I must admit that America has not always, even from its very start, done what God wanted (slavery, massacre of Indians, and so much more),  but America’s heart was for God, so He was able to work with America and bring her closer to His ideal. The closer she became to His ideal, the more powerful she became.

But now America is drunk on her power, and thinks that she has become who she is on her own. She has forgotten how it was her devotion to a higher standard that brought her this far. She now regards God as something in her way to true freedom. It is sad to watch America falter, but it is not too late, and even if America falls, it is never too late for each individual person.

Please, realize that risque behavior is not mature, but the ultimate form of childishness. Please realize that getting rid of God is not freedom but the ultimate form of bondage. God gives us rules to protect us, and the strength to do things that will bring us ultimate happiness here and beyond. Without God, we are slaves to our natural desires – even as we see our lives being ruined, we are powerless to stop it, unless we call out to God.

Please, I would love to spend eternity with all of you – find real freedom! Not only will it help you, but it will allow your beloved land to be great, again, too!