The I log onto Instagram, scroll past a picture of my friend's pan of delicious pumpkin rolls with a funny note attached, "Do not eat until Thanksgiving", and I smile. I scroll past another Instagram friend's bible verse. I read it, and am thankful for her many post of God's word. It's nice to feel his presence on my social media. Then a picture pops up in my feed, and I pause. It's my daughter posing for a picture taken by her new iPhone 6S Plus. I'm not sure what the "S" or the "plus" stand for other than a bit of extra money, but they are there tacked to the end of the phone's name on the box it came in. The captions under her selfie reads, "I got an iPhone 6s plus and I am so happy! Thanks @hannahsmom614 and James Howell a.k.a mom and dad for getting me this. I am certainly blessed!!!" I read that last line again, "...I am certainly blessed." For a moment it doesn't set well with me. To be honest, it still doesn't. Let me pause here because I don't want you all to think that I push my 12 year old to the brink of sanity with what is right and wrong every waking moment of the day. At least, I don't feel like I do. However, somewhere along the way Christians, myself included, have started watering down God on every possible level, and I am afraid I am passing this down to my daughter. This very post only confirms my fears.
Somehow the world has convinced us that we need to put God into a box confined by reason and most importantly intelligence. We, as Christians, want to at every turn justify why we believe in God. Oh that miracle...well, what if God did so and so, which makes your science correct, but also makes my God possible? I do this all the time. Why? I get so tickled at us humans; we are a funny bunch. We are all here on this Earth working so hard to prove we are superior. We are better than everyone else at our jobs, our marriages, parenting, hobbies, and the list goes on. Somewhere in this race, I have gotten caught up in the notion that my God has to run this race right along with me. When one of my very intelligent friends ask me if people of the bible were riding dinosaurs or how Noah built a boat the size of Florida my immediate response is to come up with some scientifically sound answer that justifies the creator of everything. Let that sink in for a moment. I, Jodie Howell, 34 year old mom/nurse with a mere bachelor’s degree from a local university am trying to justify the actions and spoken word of the creator of EVERYTHING. But, I play into this with people because... because they will think I am stupid for believing in something that can't be proven using their scientific reasoning. There is no hypothesis, experiment, or analysis that can prove my God to these people. All the research out there seems to do just the opposite at times. So, the conclusion must be that I am a moron. And, I don't like to be a moron. Who does? So, I tell myself to just nod and say something humorous like, "Hmmm. I don't know. He must have had a lot of patience and time to build a boat that big. I think people in his time lived to be like 600!" Then I smile and let them know that they've won the argument. They are the superior minded non-believer who has figured it all out. Why can't I just say, "Noah was working under the commission of God, and my God is great enough to produce a boat the size of the United States upon uttering the word "Ahoy"! I'm sure he would pick a more majestic word, but the point remains. He is God, and my faith should not waiver at someone who thinks they are so intellectually advanced that they no longer gaze about this planet and wonder. It's absolutely amazing. I read a quote recently, and it really gave me comfort. It read, "The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering. Idiots are always dead sure about everything they are doing in life." -Vasudev. I am not sure who this fella is, but I must agree with him. From my 34 years of experience this holds true. People who wonder realize their place in the universe, and more importantly they are comfortable with it. I personally know God is real in my life because I feel his presence. I feel is strongly. It is present when I experience peace amongst the madness that is life. And, that's enough proof for me. That is faith.
Back to the newest product of the most intellectually advanced of them all, the iPhone 6S (don't forget the plus)! By whatever means I have managed to water down my God's power and authority, I have also managed to water down his blessings. I love social media. I log on daily and enjoy stories from my friends and family members, who like me, love the Lord and are very thankful for his blessings. We get a new home, a new piece of jewelry, a new car, a relaxing week in front of blue waters, and we are #blessed. We are not just blessed, we are hashtag blessed. This is a blessing beyond anything we can articulate less a pound sign. Do you hear me fellow Christians? Let me be the first to tell you that I am one of the most #blessed people you will ever meet. I live in White Hall, AR right smack dab in the heart of the USA. The main stream discord with my religion has not yet reached my hometown, positioned comfortably in the Bible belt. Thankfully, we run just a beat behind mainstream. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until just this year that my local school district was threatened by the ACLU to stop our prayers before school sponsored events. I live in a beautiful home, my husband and I drive fairly new cars without any pesky engine issues. We have all the modern comforts one could hope for, and likely not live without, such as flat screen TVs, iPhones, pillow top mattresses, matching dinnerware, and hand towels. Funny story about hand towels and bathroom sink soap. This is something I did not realize you were supposed to have when I was younger. We never did in my childhood home, but we were lucky to have toothpaste and a toothbrush. Anywho, you can certainly see why hand towels fling me right outta the blessed bucket over into the #blessed one. Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "Jodie. This all does seem a bit blessed. What is your point?" Well, my point is this: What if being blessed had less to with your hand towels and more to do with what you have done for God. What if instead of considering an iPhone 6s Plus a blessing my daughter considered winning souls for Christ a blessing? What if we, as a family, felt the gratification of serving God equal to that of getting a new item or a bigger pay check? What if we mentioned the fact that we were Christians when it did not benefit us, instead of when it does? Because, right now to be a Christian where I live is a benefit. The title means you are a good trustworthy person, who is covered by God's grace. When good things happen to you, people "like" your #blessed post and think to themselves, "God takes care of his children." When something bad happens to you people are crushed, and assure you that this is merely God preparing you for better things ahead. After all, God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. But, soon I fear a time will come when being a Christian is going to mean something much different for the ones who proclaim it, right here in my little town. I fear that this will certainly happen in my daughter’s lifetime. I fear that she will not understand what it means to be "blessed", and because I have not taught her what that means she will question God's presence in her currently very comfortable life.
If my family woke up tomorrow in a shack with a dirt floor forced hide in a dark room to pray together, memorize the words of the bible because to carry one was unacceptable, and praise him in secret for fear of retribution would my daughter still feel blessed? Would the ability to just to call herself a child of God be enough? How much value have I, her mother, placed on this? Sure, I have said all the right things. We go to church on Sundays. Extra Points... She even goes on Wednesday nights for youth! We love to listen to K-Love. It is very uplifting as we drive in out temperature controlled car to various places. She learned the books of the bible and the Ten Commandments. She even has a bible app on that brand new phone! All of these things, very important. But, does she comprehend that above everything: the material things, the social things, the learning experiences, the praise times, the family bible studies; the one thing that she should consider a blessing is her relationship with God. If we woke up tomorrow with literally nothing outside of his love, would my 12 year old feel very blessed? Would I feel very blessed?
I realize there is nothing wrong with having material things. I cannot explain why God placed me here and another one of his children in a country where death is a possibility for serving him. But, I hope that I can help my daughter to really understand the power of the God we serve, and with that understanding an appreciation for the blessing of simply being his child.
No comments:
Post a Comment