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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Opus 2012-274, Agape/Chesed: Love Takes It’s Lumps

One of the hardest things for me to do is to “turn the other cheek.”  This is a clear teaching of the Bible.  Jesus went into quite a lengthy discussion of this principle.
(Matthew 5:38-41 KJV)  Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
This is hard in marriage.  It is hard at work.  It is hard driving in rush hour traffic.  It is hard.

Yet we are talking about one of the concepts that makes our open culture possible.  We always think we are in the right.  We always want the last word, the best price, and a little respect.  Only by giving up those expectations will our culture endure. 

Jesus noted that the old standard was “An eye for an eye,...”  What is wrong with that?  It never stops there.  When we go for payback we always grab for more.  If we, by some accident, actually get exactly what we lost, the other person feels like we took more.  This is the view of finite creatures locked into our perceptions and, too often, controlled by sin.  If each person demands a little more than they lost the simple bump in the hall will eventually escalate into nuclear war.  Love accepts it’s losses.

This has many applications from the ridiculous to the even more ridiculous.  I was just asked, “How many calories in a hot dog?”  My initial answer was going to be, “Turn over the package and read what it says.”  Instead I gave a number.  Little events like this determine if we are going to be run by pride or love.

homo unius libri

2 comments:

  1. I've always had a little trouble with turning the other cheek, partly because some folks will puch it for all it's worth, if they think they're getting by with something. I'm a little too much like my neighbor who says, "I'll turn my cheek once, but if he whacks me again, he's in a heapa trouble!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have more than a little trouble! I try to separate the matters of personal pride and issues of principle. There are times to stand up and be counted but not as many as we think.

      Grace and peace.

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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.