If we are the body, am I the appendix?

If we are the body- am I the appendix?

When my cousin, Anita Hurst was little, probably about 6 years old, she had appendicitis and had to have her appendix removed. Her mom, sister and I were at the hospital visiting her when we heard a familiar voice down the hall, “Anita Hurst, please.” It was my dad trying to find Anita’s room for a visit. We waited for the nurse to give him the room number. Her response, “What for?” My dad was confused and repeated “Anita Hurst”. The nurse again answered oddly, “We don’t have those here. You’ll have to talk to someone at the funeral home.” Now it was clear…the laughs we had talking about that miscommunication…She thought he said “I need a hearse, please”….hahahahaha….

Well, that story has nothing to do with this note, except that it involved something about the appendix. I just thought it was too funny not to share…I am not a medical doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but from what I know, medicine has yet to determine the purpose of the appendix in our body. It just sort of hangs out attached to the large intestine. The only time we really know that we even have an appendix is when it gets inflamed and infected. Again, Doctors don’t really know how or why this happens either.

I thought about this as I listened to a sermon on the radio recently. Romans 12:3-8 says: For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

So I asked myself, “what body part am I?” Am I the appendix? Just hanging out, serving no purpose, watching all work take place and pass by and getting irritated if something accidentally gets lodged in my duct work…hmmm? Well, the good news is, none of us was created to be an appendix. Maybe God only made the appendix so that I could use this illustration…ha… now wouldn’t that be something…all that science gone to waste and the answer comes in a note on FB…OK…I don’t think that highly of myself, don’t worry. I do know that if the Bible says I am part of the body of Christ, (His church) while I’m on this earth, then I do have a purpose. Maybe I’m just the little toe in the body. But even the little toe has a purpose. Did you know that the little toe is the most important toe on your foot for balance? That’s right, people without a little toe have difficulty with balance…hmmm? I’d say it’s a pretty important part of the body, wouldn’t you? So whatever part of the body you are, as long as Christ is the head, you are very needed, important, and useful. Just don’t be the appendix, hanging out doing nothing until you get irritated.

The No Sin Zone

"Unrepentant sin leads to spiritual blindness that cannot distinguish between good and evil."

Sin is such an ugly word. Let’s take it out of our vocabulary. No I don’t mean we won’t sin anymore, let’s just take it out. Just don’t use the word. That’s what our society is trying to do and has been really since the dawn of time. Adam tried to wiggle his way out of sin by blaming Eve. And Eve, who sort of had a legitimate though weak argument, (IMO) blamed it on the serpent or Satan. I mean really, between winning a challenge with Satan and winning one with your wife….oh wait, what am I saying…Adam didn’t have a chance did he? ha

When my kids were little, we played “peek-a-boo”. We would cover our eyes and say “Where is ….?” And then move our hands from our eyes and say “Peek-a-boo”. Then we would teach them to do it. For toddlers, this is a fun game, but their little brains aren’t developed enough to realize that if they cover their eyes, we can still see them. They will stand in the middle of the room with their hands over their eyes, thinking they are invisible. As long as they can’t see anyone, they think no one can see them.

I think this is where we’ve come to in our society--playing peek-a-boo with sin. If no one sees me sin, then I’m not sinning. And better than that, not only am I not sinning, it’s not even sin. Kind of like the tree in the forest analogy I guess. You know, if a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there to hear, does it still make a sound? Always thought that was a weird question. But apply it here. A person might say, “If no one sees me sleep with 20 something (or more) women (or men), then it’s not wrong.” (My question: then why keep it secret?) UH…YES…the answer to both: the tree still makes a sound and yes, if no one sees me it’s still SIN! What’s so difficult about that? Unfortunately, the reverb from my sin will last a lot longer than the echo from the falling tree.

You know the old argument that people will throw up, (Biblically based don’t cha know)”judge not lest ye be judged” (there’s a difference between being judgmental and judging right from wrong) but OK. Then they’ll use the adulterous woman story. Remember, she was about to be stoned when Jesus said the famous words used by many who are caught or continue living a sinful lifestyle and want to feel justified, “You without sin, cast the first stone”. Awww man, that leaves me out. I certainly am with sin, every single day. But wait. What about the rest of the story? As expected, everyone put down his stone and left. The woman was left there with Jesus. Now this is the crucial part that everyone wants to forget. When she realized that she was not going to be stoned, Jesus said to her. “Go and sin NO MORE”. He didn’t say, “Go there’s NO MORE SIN”. Did he expect her to never sin again? No, what he meant was don’t live a life of sin without thinking of the consequences and repenting. Be thankful for the grace and mercy that was given you this day and because of that thankfulness, choose not to sin.

That’s what we’re to do. God is not the giant Killjoy in the sky. He is not looking down on us like a huge “whack-a-mole” game waiting for us to pop our little heads up with a huge sin on top of it so he can bonk us and knock us back down into our dark little hole. That is not God.

Don’t get me wrong. God detests sin. He will not tolerate it, because he is just, but he is slow to anger and great in mercy. That’s something to be thankful for. My thankfulness is shown by seeking ways to NOT sin and asking forgiveness when I do.

I’m not trying to be “Suzy Saintly” here. Believe me when I say, I don’t have time to judge other people’s sinful behavior when I’ve got enough of my own. If we just followed Psalm 139:23-24, none of us would have to time to consider what other people are doing or not doing. I’m just saying, fess up. Don’t try to dress up sin in ribbon and lace and call it a party dress when it’s not. We have the power to be in the “No-sin Zone” when we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Not the “there is no sin zone” but the “No I-don’t-have-to-live–in-sin-zone”.

There are other words that are used to disguise sin. Here are a few that I’ve heard. See if you can come up with more.

Adultery – an Affair

Embezzlement – misappropriation of funds

Lying – embellishing the truth, white lie, “style”,

Fornication – living together, hooking up, young and in love

Gossip – News, journalistic license, 1^st amendment right, prayer request

Slander – news, journalistic license, 1^st amendment right, prayer request, style

Isaiah 41:12 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud, the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. Come back to me, for I protect you.

Psalm 19:8 -The Lord’s precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord’s commands are pure and give insight for life.

Proverbs 21:12 All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motives.

Proverbs 3:7 - Do not be wise in your own estimation; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 26:12 - Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Psalm 36:1-9 An evil man is rebellious to the core. He does not fear God, for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin. The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;he does not care about doing what is wise and right.He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil. O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky; your faithfulness to the clouds. Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea; you preserve mankind and the animal kingdom. How precious is your loyal love, O God! The human race finds shelter under your wings. They are filled with food from your house, and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies. For you are the one who gives and sustains life.

....And Whirled Peas

…And WHIRLED PEAS

I’ve been confused and at times amused listening to the rhetoric swirling around the current administration’s plans for fiscal and military recovery and/or reconciliation. It reminds me of the movie “Miss Congeniality”.

You may recall, Sandra Bullock, as Gracie Hart, an undercover FBI agent sent to foil a plot to destroy the Miss United States Pageant. One of my favorite scenes is when Gracie is asked the question, “What is the one most important thing our society needs?

Her answer comes from her background in law enforcement rather than the traditional answer given by a life-long pageant contestant.

Gracie Hart: That would be... harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan.

As everyone sort of sits there she realizes her mistake and finishes with:

Gracie Hart: And world peace!

Everyone claps, ooohs and aahhhs…It’s hilarious.

This is the way I believe this administration is trying to run our country—like a contestant in a beauty pageant. Maybe they won’t win, but if they can just get the congeniality award, that’ll be an accomplishment. Let’s make everyone happy (or at least whoever we’re talking to at the moment). Let’s quit fighting people no matter how they may want to kill us. Peace at all costs. Let’s just say “yes” to all requests for buildings on hallowed ground or people who want to live here illegally. Don’t have a job? Don’t worry about it….we’ll pay for it for as long as you need. As long as everyone likes us and thinks we’re nice, we’re a winner…right?

Unfortunately, Miss Congeniality rarely “wins” the pageant. Not saying I think that’s right. I would much rather have someone who’s known for being nice and caring represent our country than someone who’s all about outer beauty, but that’s not reality and being the leader of the free world is not a beauty pageant.

So why the title “Whirled Peas”? Well, it’s sort of a word association game so go with me for a minute here…Miss Congeniality talked about world peace. I recently saw a bumper sticker that says, “Visualize Whirled Peas” (play on words for world peace) and if you’re a mom or dad who’s ever fed your baby peas, you know that there’s probably nothing more disgusting looking or tasting. Better yet, let the baby feed himself. Don’t even think about the diaper duty afterwards. So when I think of the way our administration is attempting world peace, I think of that bumper sticker that says “Visualize Whirled Peas”.

It seems to me that the way we’re going about trying to make everyone happy, by giving all the freebies we’re losing freedom rather than gaining. When you take away a person’s reason to work and reason to fight for what’s right, you’ve essentially made them a slave. So instead of having world peace, you end up with whirled peas, or in other words a big mess.