September 6, 2009
Dear People Whom God Loves,
IS IT GOOD TO BE GODLY
I begin by quoting Sebastean Moore from his book The Contagion of Jesus p. 10. There are two kinds of conversion. There is the conversion of the godless to God and there is the conversion of the godly to the realization that he has been radically wrong about God and about what God is asking of us.”
My comments:
A person who is godless may be prone to violence and strong use of force and power to get his way. He may leave many victims in his wake. He may be the “my way or the highway” kind of person. Of course, many godless people are not that way. I am considering those who are that way.
In becoming believers in God (godly) they may become transformed into firm compassionate loving people. On the other hand, they may use “God” to further justify the way they are acting. They may think that their forceful ways are what “God” wants them to do. In the process, they may become worse people than they were. They may think that God wants them to destroy those they see as enemies of their religion, their country, or their way of life. They may want to eliminate from their religion or church all those who do not believe as they do.
All of us who are godly need to face the truth that we are radically or somewhat radically wrong about God. An all powerful and demanding “God” will only increase our lust for power and domination. This lust may be hidden from us, especially if we are not obviously abusive and are deluded into telling ourselves that we are acting out of noble motives or if we tell ourselves that we are only doing it for the good of the people that we see are against us. If our actions are not done with compassion, respect, and the humility to recognize our own flaws and sins, we can be sure that there is something else besides justice and good that is driving us.
As I write this I notice how self-righteous I am. The God of the Hebrew prophets did not identify with the powerful but with the poor, the widow, the orphan, those who were the victims of power.
The God of Jesus did not identify with the powerful but with the one who was spat upon, scourged, humiliated, and nailed to a cross. This God identifies with the victims of power.
We godly Christians so desperately need the second conversion. In the midst of our being mired down in delusion, God is still with us and working in us to bring us to the love and compassion that is the image of God buried within us.
Smile, God Loves You,
Father Clay
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