34
In the 80's I watched all God's people and my parents work hard at perfection.
We followed the rules in our family. We didn't say "butt" because it was rude. I went into Kindergarten convinced that "stupid" was a very bad word. Madonna was second cousins with the devil.
And I was exhausted. If you can't say "butt" think of how hard it is to mind the other, more terrible sins?
Now I'm thirty and yesterday? I listened to Katy Perry on the radio and I enjoyed her song. It was catchy.
I don't think God cares if I listen to Katy Perry.
He cares if I am keeping his commandments.
Love. He commands us to love. To love Him and to love people.
Maybe on a certain day, for a certain person, loving God means not listening to the radio. But for me on that day, it didn't and I thanked Him for it. He is not the harsh god of the 1980's, and I don't think He worries about what term we use for our rear ends.
I've spent so much of my life trying to chew with my mouth closed and hiding from culture. With my head in the sand and my sins tucked away, I told myself and the world that God is for the try-hard, polished, happy-marriage, good-children people.
Ironically, those people are the ones who don't need Jesus. They seem to have saved themselves.
We add so much to the gospel, in the name of holiness, that we forget about the things God has actually asked us to do.
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" -Micah 6:8
Join me every Wednesday at Imperfect Prose, an online community where we battle our desire to save our self and encourage one another in our weakness. Because God is big enough.
If you have a post, or a piece of art, or a poem that illustrates imperfection and God's redemption, please head over there and link up.
