Friday, January 27, 2006
What I was trying to say...
Sometimes the comments to my post convince me that I didn't explain myself very well. This started as a comment but grew long.... So in rebuttal to yesterday's post....
For the record, I don’t ask “why” when it can’t be answered. I don’t ask God why fish can’t live out of water and I can’t survive in it. I don’t ask him why I can’t grow into my weight or why I was born a girl. I realize when things just ARE.
But, if you are going to ask me to rotate my tires every 5,000 miles tell me why. If you are telling me to make two copies of something and place it in a certain box, tell me why. If you think it is vital to my salvation to come to church on Sunday night, or to always have pews that face forward, tell me why.
It may seem a waste of energy or like a dog chasing its tail to you, but I cannot throw my energy or my passion into something I don’t “get”. I think when we fail to ask ourselves if something makes sense or if it is still relevant we open the door to Satan. He loves it when we are “fat, dumb and happy”.
Sometimes as Val said, I am too inpatient to hear the answers, especially when I have already decided you are wrong…. But if you don’t feel strongly enough about something to defend and teach it {SG I had the SAME Algebra teacher!} then don’t try to insist that I do the same things.
{For the record Terri, I only obey the traffic laws that make sense. I run every red light in town in the mornings, and seldom EVER drive the speed limit….I just hold it under 100 mph.}
Anyway, I just didn't want you all thinking I was miserably running around trying to figure out why the sun comes up in the east or how TV works or why chocolate always gets on a white shirt...I just want you to be able to explain to me why things or practices are important for ME to do.
For the record, I don’t ask “why” when it can’t be answered. I don’t ask God why fish can’t live out of water and I can’t survive in it. I don’t ask him why I can’t grow into my weight or why I was born a girl. I realize when things just ARE.
But, if you are going to ask me to rotate my tires every 5,000 miles tell me why. If you are telling me to make two copies of something and place it in a certain box, tell me why. If you think it is vital to my salvation to come to church on Sunday night, or to always have pews that face forward, tell me why.
It may seem a waste of energy or like a dog chasing its tail to you, but I cannot throw my energy or my passion into something I don’t “get”. I think when we fail to ask ourselves if something makes sense or if it is still relevant we open the door to Satan. He loves it when we are “fat, dumb and happy”.
Sometimes as Val said, I am too inpatient to hear the answers, especially when I have already decided you are wrong…. But if you don’t feel strongly enough about something to defend and teach it {SG I had the SAME Algebra teacher!} then don’t try to insist that I do the same things.
{For the record Terri, I only obey the traffic laws that make sense. I run every red light in town in the mornings, and seldom EVER drive the speed limit….I just hold it under 100 mph.}
Anyway, I just didn't want you all thinking I was miserably running around trying to figure out why the sun comes up in the east or how TV works or why chocolate always gets on a white shirt...I just want you to be able to explain to me why things or practices are important for ME to do.
Comments:
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Good thoughts. Questioning authority is hailed as a sign of rebellion (think teenagers bucking the system), but if we accept things as they are and don't investigate the reasoning behind them, that can cause us to become stagnant in our faith and perhaps end up doing things we shouldn't or for the wrong reasons. I think you're right about Satan wanting to keep us "fat, dumb and happy". A Christian who searches the Scriptures for himself and seeks God's face, not relying soley on what he's fed from the pulpit, is threatening to Satan.
Acts 17:11 "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
I think we should question man's rules against God's to see if they match up. In that instance, asking 'why' in the context of "Why do we do this? Is it Scriptural" is good. But, like yesterday's comment, I don't want to ask God 'why' as much as 'how'.
"How do I.....?"
I think we should question man's rules against God's to see if they match up. In that instance, asking 'why' in the context of "Why do we do this? Is it Scriptural" is good. But, like yesterday's comment, I don't want to ask God 'why' as much as 'how'.
"How do I.....?"
Perhaps this is why I like you so much =-)! I didn't understand what you wrote yesterday--but I get this. And, like Lisa mentioned, since I have ALWAYS been like this--and it's gotten me into trouble more than once--I have always felt rebellious. Perhaps, it's not such a bad thing after all? I had continued to question anyway! I just want to know the way it REALLY is--and have a teachable heart!
As my dad use to tell me, "Yours is not to question why, yours is to just shut up and do it!"
So I just chose not to do things.
So I just chose not to do things.
Though I can not type well as of late, I got you yesterday and today. It bothers me that some are so unerved when asked "Why do we do it that way?" Seems to me that there should be a good reason, and if it is good enough to merit the practice, it should be easy to understand. I have a few "why?" questions for God but I know I might not understand his answer and I trust him. Man however still has to explain it to me...like the guy who invented Algebra...I have some questions for him!!!!
I can't conceive seeing "you" running around trying to figure out anything...but I can see you jumping in and taking action on a situation...like volunteering your husband to help you switch out washing machines for a friend and then switching them back...[remember?].
This may be an oversimplied comment, but we've got the instruction book and within those inspired pages are the "why", the "how" and the "who and what we're doing it for"...and if we don't read the instructions, then how will we know what God desires of us...
This may be an oversimplied comment, but we've got the instruction book and within those inspired pages are the "why", the "how" and the "who and what we're doing it for"...and if we don't read the instructions, then how will we know what God desires of us...
For a short time - many years ago - I was part of a band of young would-be thespians who traveled about, performing skits at church youth meetings. Our first skit was called "Warm-up."
Someone playing the "director" would have two or three of the others stand and communicate an emotion as a warm-up exercise before performing. "Give me anger," he or she would say; or "Show me contentment" ... and then the "director" and the "performer" would engage in a series of questions and answers, and the answers were given in a delivery that reflected anger or contentment or whatever emotion was requested:
Director: "What did you do?"
Performer: "What had to be done."
Director: "How did you do it?"
Performer: "With my own two hands."
Director: "How did you get there?"
Performer: "With my own two feet."
Director: "Why did you do it?"
Performer: "Because I wanted to."
The "director" would ask the last performer in the skit to "Give me love."
Then the performer, standing, would respond "What had to be done" by smiling broadly and lovingly; "With my own two hands" by outstretching them wide; "With my own two feet" by crossing them one over the other and "Because I wanted to" by slowing hanging his or her head ... like a man on a cross.
I think of that skit from time to time when the itch to know a lot of little "whys" is distracting me from a much more important "because."
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Someone playing the "director" would have two or three of the others stand and communicate an emotion as a warm-up exercise before performing. "Give me anger," he or she would say; or "Show me contentment" ... and then the "director" and the "performer" would engage in a series of questions and answers, and the answers were given in a delivery that reflected anger or contentment or whatever emotion was requested:
Director: "What did you do?"
Performer: "What had to be done."
Director: "How did you do it?"
Performer: "With my own two hands."
Director: "How did you get there?"
Performer: "With my own two feet."
Director: "Why did you do it?"
Performer: "Because I wanted to."
The "director" would ask the last performer in the skit to "Give me love."
Then the performer, standing, would respond "What had to be done" by smiling broadly and lovingly; "With my own two hands" by outstretching them wide; "With my own two feet" by crossing them one over the other and "Because I wanted to" by slowing hanging his or her head ... like a man on a cross.
I think of that skit from time to time when the itch to know a lot of little "whys" is distracting me from a much more important "because."
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