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 A Word from the Pastor (August) . . .

      I was reading an article on-line from Time/CNN about John McCain’s “already defeat”.  It said that even though we are a long ways away from the election, all the indicators and polls and historical connectors to what has happened in past elections, show that Obama is going to be a huge, landslide winner.  The biggest indicator, the article claimed, is the fact that we are in a “change mode” as a nation and Obama is clearly the one who has PR-ed himself as THE “change-smith”.  Maybe Obama will win by a huge margin, maybe not.  One thing came to mind personally when I thought about this; I have never been a person who joins the crowd or the status quo very readily.  Even as a teenager, when my friends said that “everybody” was going to do something, or go somewhere, I almost immediately said, “Not me!”  I sort of, kind of liked rock music, but I was not “into it” simply because my peer group was.  I used to love going to Mariner games before they had 35,000 people in the stands – most of whom don’t watch the game and don’t really care where they are except that they think that being at a Mariner game is “THE thing to do”.  Starbucks has made a lot of money because drinking specialized coffee drinks has become “THE IN thing to do” – it’s cool.  And we all want to be cool.  For most of us, we HAVE to be cool, and go along with the group, and track with our peers – to some extent anyway.
            Jesus was totally unique in that He never – ever – did what everybody else did simply because “everybody” was doing it.  He wasn’t anti-social or anti-culture, but He was definitely anti-status quo.  Whether it was social, cultural or religious practices, He always questioned where the heart was, where the truth was and where God was in it all.  So in spiritual matters, it would all seem to hinge on where the heart is, at least according to Jesus.  He said that our mouths only speak what is in our hearts; He said that belief begins in our hearts; and He said that where our treasure is there will our heart be.  What determines what you do?  Is it what everyone else is doing?  Or is it what is in keeping with God’s truth and God’s values?