When You’re Down…
11/07/2005
Poetic songwriter Michael Knott wrote in his song, “Make Me Feel Good” “When you’re down, no one wants you around…” Sadly, those words ring ever so true. Truer than most other things I have heard through this life – especially through the past months.
Why am I surprised that people who claim love and everlasting friendship when life is sailing along smoothly are hard to locate when times hit hard?
I’m still confused by those who have become MIA during this dark season. I am even more astounded by those who have stepped up to show love and compassion through my dark hours.
What am I learning? That it is really true that those who have gone through and acknowledge hardship are the same people who freely offer encouragement and grace to others. The stingiest with compassion are those who have everything or fail to remember what it is like to struggle.
Word to the ignorant: being a Christian does not make one’s problems fade away. Being a Christian does not mean you have the definitive answer for other’s lives. Being a Christian does not excuse you from sounding like one of Job’s friends!
I have met Job’s friends over the past year and sadly they all seem to hold office in the contemporary church.
I can’t help but wonder if some of this path is to help me understand the position of those who are angry at the modern church. I used to focus upon the anger people aimed at Jesus. My own experience points to the people who call themselves children of God as the culprits in the anger factor. I may be wrong but I really think at this moment that the anger people levy at God, Jesus, the Angels, and the Church is truly anger at treatment they have received from the black hearts of many of the Saints of the Lord.
My friend Mark is angry. He says he is angry with God but when pressed, he recounts stories of treatment he received from his sister and her Christian friends in response to him being homosexual.
As I live and hear stories of the living, I remember the old bumper sticker that pleads: “God save me from your people.” May I never get to the point that I fail to acknowledge struggle…may I never walk away from those in need…may I never become one of “those” Christians”…and Please God help me to never make people feel that they are worthless when they are down.
Peace,
zss
© 2005 Wrosesongs
All Rights Reserved
Poetic songwriter Michael Knott wrote in his song, “Make Me Feel Good” “When you’re down, no one wants you around…” Sadly, those words ring ever so true. Truer than most other things I have heard through this life – especially through the past months.
Why am I surprised that people who claim love and everlasting friendship when life is sailing along smoothly are hard to locate when times hit hard?
I’m still confused by those who have become MIA during this dark season. I am even more astounded by those who have stepped up to show love and compassion through my dark hours.
What am I learning? That it is really true that those who have gone through and acknowledge hardship are the same people who freely offer encouragement and grace to others. The stingiest with compassion are those who have everything or fail to remember what it is like to struggle.
Word to the ignorant: being a Christian does not make one’s problems fade away. Being a Christian does not mean you have the definitive answer for other’s lives. Being a Christian does not excuse you from sounding like one of Job’s friends!
I have met Job’s friends over the past year and sadly they all seem to hold office in the contemporary church.
I can’t help but wonder if some of this path is to help me understand the position of those who are angry at the modern church. I used to focus upon the anger people aimed at Jesus. My own experience points to the people who call themselves children of God as the culprits in the anger factor. I may be wrong but I really think at this moment that the anger people levy at God, Jesus, the Angels, and the Church is truly anger at treatment they have received from the black hearts of many of the Saints of the Lord.
My friend Mark is angry. He says he is angry with God but when pressed, he recounts stories of treatment he received from his sister and her Christian friends in response to him being homosexual.
As I live and hear stories of the living, I remember the old bumper sticker that pleads: “God save me from your people.” May I never get to the point that I fail to acknowledge struggle…may I never walk away from those in need…may I never become one of “those” Christians”…and Please God help me to never make people feel that they are worthless when they are down.
Peace,
zss
© 2005 Wrosesongs
All Rights Reserved
posted by I am Z @ 11:07 PM
2 Comments:
At 1:20 AM,
taliendo said…
It's so good to see you back online Z!
I'm so looking forward to hearing about your new job and whatnot!
:) :) :) <--- I'm all smiles!
-d.
At 4:27 AM,
sg said…
Peace to ya' sista! :)
I'm glad to see you're listening to Mike Knott. I think of YOU now when I play 77s or Knott. It's funny, some random song came up on my iPod the other day, and it was this song that sounded like an Over The Rhine song, but it turned out to be a Knott song from Strip Cycle, an album I never listen to.
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