What I Should Have Said

I recently had a conversation about the gospel with someone who was objecting to the idea that God would send someone to hell simply for being born into a Jewish family or a Hindu family where their religious views were inherited from their family.

I tried to explain that all people know about God and were without excuse. I tried to explain that no one is perfect like God and therefore all were worthy of judgment.

I should have said, “How do you know God would send someone to hell simply for being born into the wrong family?” Or “Why do you believe God would send someone to hell simply for being born into the wrong family?”

This would question the limits of his knowledge and what he was willing to accept as authority.

You see, he was appealing to God’s love as the basis for his rejection of God’s sending people to hell.

But perhaps I should have argued that since God is love, and since he does send Jews and Hindus (and anyone who does not accept Christ as Savior) to hell, there must be a reason other than simply being born into a certain family. And he simply doesn’t know enough to know what that reason is.

Of course, I know that. But he is not yet prepared to see past his current point of reference.

And I know you can’t argue people into salvation. But you never know what God might use to open their minds to truth.

Pray for him. He has his first child on the way and is concerned about raising it (he doesn’t know what it is yet).

Maybe next time …

This and That

Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers traded an $81,000 a year job (plus a city-owned car) for $6000 in bribes. With people whose math skills (and character) see that trade as making sense, it is no wonder that the Detroit is deep trouble financially. I bet this scandal goes pretty deep. Look for KK to be back from TX before it’s all over. I don’t know that I have ever seen a ruder, more socially inept person than MonCon. Of course maybe calling the council president “Shrek” takes place in cities other than Detroit.

What good does it do to sentence a 71 year old man to 150 years in prison? Isn’t that a bit of style over substance? Why not twenty years or thirty? Perhaps it is the world of feel-goodism. We feel better about things even when they make no difference. It is the emotional pound of flesh we are after.

The Tigers are in first place, and I am predicting they will be there at the All-Star break. Don’t hold your breath for October baseball in Detroit though. Zumaya and Rodney are too scary for that. On the other hand, Verlander and Jackson are scary the other way. Hold on to your rally caps, and hope it doesn’t come down to late innings very often.

I like the Lion’s chance this year. I think they will be able to suit up with the best of them. They should be in every game right up until kick-off. There were some photos of mini-camp recently, and I thought they look tough. Some were even sweating.

Seriously, I think the Lions will be better than most people think. Don’t expect the 06 Tigers or the 09 Dolphins or Falcons. But look for 6-8 wins. And come December, remember you heard it here in June.

Interesting …

It is interesting how people publicly expose that they missed the point by writing a blog post about something that demonstrates they missed the point.

Hint: If you don’t get the point, at least shut your computer off so the whole world won’t know that you don’t get it. And by all means don’t follow up with more evidence that you missed the point.

Two in One Day

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett both died today.

What must it be like to come to the end of your life and enter eternity with that kind of resume?

Sanford and Sons

Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina has recently confessed publicly to an adulterous relationship with a married woman from Argentina. Several things strike me in reading the stories and watching the news conference.

First, I didn’t keep track, but it seemed that every time his family came up, his sons were mentioned first. Here’s news, Governor: Your sons are not the most important person in your family. Your wife is. The fact that your wife seemed to consistently come in second place may have been unintentional, but it may reveal more than you intended it to. And it may be the reason you did what you did. She was not important enough to you. And God certainly was not important enough to you. Dads, the most important thing you can do for your sons is to love their mother first, love her more than them, and love because of the gospel. (Same thing with you ladies.)

Second, Sanford says this relationship started eight years ago when he met this woman, and ironically was telling her she needed to stay with her husband for the sake of her two boys. Again, you see that Sanford has missed the point of staying in a marriage. And you also see why men and women should not talk to members of the opposite sex about their marital problems. Even the talk of such problems removes walls that should not be removed. Even pastors, or especially pastors, are not immune to this danger.

Third, emails (particularly private emails) with members of the opposite sex are generally a bad idea. Email should be transparent to your spouse or to other accountability partners. There is no reason for you to have an email account, a facebook page, or a myspace page (or any other social networking site) that your spouse does not know about and does not have complete access to  whenever they want it. Computers have made the world smaller and have invited more inappropriate intimacy. Computers make things easy to hide. Same thing with cell phones by the way. Keep it open and transparent.

Fourth, when you are involved in an immoral relationship, you don’t need to spend five days in Argentina to break it off. You can say, “We’re done, don’t ever contact me again,” without the cost of a plane ticket. You don’t need to do it in person. Pick up the phone with your spouse in the room, and call. It will take one minute and it will be transparent. Don’t drag it out. There are no need for explanations. You don’t need to talk it through. You need to be done and never, under any circumstances, have any contact with the person again, if possible. If it is a co-worker, it’s probably time to look for a new job. If it is a neighbor, it is probably time to move. Change your cell phone number if you need to. Harsh? Perhaps. But to do less is asking for a repeat.

If all you have done so far is exchange emails, then just stop. You don’t need to reply. Cancel your email account and be done. Don’t send an explanatory “break-up” email. Just stop. If you have progressed to phone calls or physical meetings, more will probably be necessary. Yes, you face the possible ire of a lovers-scorned, but that’s the consequences you invited when you made the choice. You made the bed (literally); and now you have to lie in it.

Fifth, realize that adultery and immorality is not ultimately about sex. It’s about the heart. When you fail to guard your heart, you will look for love in all in the wrong places. And you will usually find it.

And in the end, it will cost you everything you have, and more.

Spend some time regularly in Proverbs 5-7. Guard your heart with all diligence. And teach your sons not to collect the moral junk of this world and stack it around the yard and house of their mind. Teach them Proverbs 5-7, not just be word, but by life.

The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense;
He who would destroy himself does it.
Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out
(Proverbs 6:32-33)

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth. 
Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths. 
For many are the victims she has cast down,
And numerous are all her slain. 
Her house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death
(Proverbs 7:24-27)