Photo Credit: Robert S. Donovan via Compfight cc
I’ve started a new blog at www.droppingtheact.com. Check it out for the latest content.
Whew! Ok, I’m back! I’m just going to chalk last week (only 1 blog!) up to a fluke thing, move on, and quit beating myself up about it. I got a new computer (yay!) but was nearly off the grid for an entire week trying to get it up and running (boo!). Let’s just say technology is not always my friend!! But I’m using it now, and it’s fantastic!
Alright, enough of that…on with the blog….
Our culture is fascinated with fix-er-uppers. We love a good makeover. If you’re in doubt, just look at all of the shows on HGTV, or the home and personal makeover shows that have taken over primetime. Personally, I love to see a good transformation, and I love to watch a lot of those shows. So I understand the attraction. Culturally, we’ve become rehab junkies, (I’m pretty sure I ran across a blog the other day where a woman identified herself by that very moniker) going from project to project in search of the next Cinderella story. Or as my grandmother always liked to say, “trying to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear (a strange mental image for sure).”
While it makes for great television, sometimes it creeps into our lives and shows up as a desire to “fix” people. I’m not talking about a new haircut or pair of pants here. I’m talking about when we want to “fix” the sin we see in people’s lives.
Right after graduating from high school I worked in my church’s office as a receptionist. There were a group of ladies that organized bridal and baby showers for people in the church and, one day, one of the ladies came in and was sharing that they had been asked to throw a baby shower for a young unwed mother. I still cringe thinking about what was said next. “We just can’t do that,” she said with a hint of exasperation. “What kind of message would that send? We just don’t condone that behavior.”
This lady, as well-meaning as she was (and she really was a sweet lady, just a little misguided), was trying to “fix” a sin that she saw by setting up her own form of punishment. This was her avenue for expressing her disapproval. And she was using it. The trouble is: Jesus doesn’t ask us to “fix” sins. He invites us to come to him and then–here’s the kicker–he fixes the broken things in our lives. It really takes the pressure off. I’m not very good at fixing things anyways, but Jesus always knows just what to do.
I guess the reason I still get upset thinking about that story is because we missed an opportunity to show the love of Jesus. Instead, we made a young girl, who was in a really tough spot and could have used some people to surround her with love, feel rejected, shunned, and judged. All things that Jesus never does!
People are not DIY projects. We can’t “fix” them (nor are we expected to, and that goes for us too, thank goodness!). Only Jesus can. Let’s make sure we’re inviting people into his transforming presence. That’s the best place to get a makeover!
Erica Barthalow 