Joyful Transformation

This morning I was too tired to get up at 4:45 and work out. I figured I needed the sleep more than the sweat today. So while getting ready I had the rare opportunity to listen to Fox & Friends. This is my favorite morning show. It just entertains me while giving me the news. During the course of the program something was said that seemed contradictory coming from them, but they were just trying to give a “fair & balanced” approach.

I am not going to debate news networks and I am sure not going to debate politics but this morning the word “liberal” came to my mind. I know the word was used a lot during the last presidential election. Most of the time when we hear the word it is used in a negative way. My church is labeled “liberal” in the community we live in, however to anyone outside of rural Alabama we would be about as conservative as they come. I like to think of myself as liberal with my giving. I want to have friends who are liberal with compliments. I want to be someone who gives mercy as liberally to others as God has to me. So is liberal a good word or a bad word? Maybe we need to know all of the definitions before we can decide.

lib·er·al (l b r- l, l b r l)adj.
1.a Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
c. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
d. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
2. a. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
b. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.
4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.
5. a. Archaic. Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
b. Obsolete. Morally unrestrained; licentious.

So of all these definitions the only true negative one is #5b. Morally unrestrained. Many times people use #1B to an extreme but truly do you want to be know as someone who is not open to new ideas for progress? I don’t.

(Don't you hate the way that blogger does not let you indent freely? Sorry for the way the dictionary part looks...why can't it just copy the format???)

God has freely given grace and mercy to all of us. When we measure what we give back I wonder if he finds it acceptable. I don’t want to be the ungrateful servant.

Frankly, yesterday I was going to go back and delete the last part of my post, but by the time I got back to it there was already a comment (Thanks Greg!) . While I am still not ready to go into all my thoughts yet, I would like you to read this post by Neal. This really doesn’t speak to what is on my mind, but it runs somewhat parallel. I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy the liberal blessings of our Father.

# posted by Donna G : 5/09/2005 09:05:00 AM