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Friday, March 11, 2005
I grew up in what is known as The Deep South...Dixie, if you will. South of the Mason-Dixon Line, east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, west of the Atlantic Ocean.
There is a pride in being from there, much like I've discovered that Texans have a similar pride since I've moved here. There are simply "ways" of doing things that you can't really explain to outsiders.
And there was this ideal of a "Southern Gentleman" that we were taught as young men growing up that there were things you simply did because they were sort of "trademarks" of men raised in the South. I was raised that you opened the door for women, both to cars and to buildings. You never told certain types of jokes or stories in mixed company. You shook hands firmly. You looked people in the eye. Anyone older than you was "ma'am" or "sir." You were staunchly Democratic (because, after all, the Republicans were involved in that Civil War nastiness). You went to the church of your choice and were actively involved in it. You respected your elder family members. I could go on, but suffice to say that there were a lot of ideals that were firmly entrenched in my brain at an early age.
Then, as you got older, you started to see these things a bit differently. I had a girl tell me she was fully capable of opening her own doors, thank you. The jokes and stories were told by both sexes in mixed company. You didn't shake hands much as it was more things like "high fives" or whatever else was in style at that time. You didn't judge someone as "shify" if they didn't look you in the eye. A Republican was elected both to the presidency and the governor's office in the first elections I voted in. Lots of people stopped going to church. You eventually lost respect for elders just because they were older.
One night some friends and I were talking about that...about why it changed when we got older. If I remember the tone of that conversation it had to do with "old fashioned" ideas and there was a "new" Southern Gentleman and that "times had changed" and it simply didn't work "for a new generation." We even thought it was possible that those ideals worked for a time, but now they just didn't apply in our time and in our situation.
And that's what people often say about the Bible...that is simply doesn't fit our culture. They're good ideas and all, but it just doesn't work in the new millinnium.
The Bible wholeheartedly disagrees. Check out Hebrews 4:12-13. It says, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
So, let's see:
Living. As opposed to dead. So, maybe it does apply here and now if it's alive.
Maybe it's alive...but just too old. Sorry, it's also "active."
It's sharp. The Message says that it's as "sharp as a surgeon's scalpel."
It's piercing to the joints and marrow. Lots of sermons have been preached on this section, but again, The Message is very helpful as the Word "cuts through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey."
Think about these things for today. Do we really view God's Word as highly contemporary for today? If so, when we read it, do we allow it cut us like we would a surgeon...being vulnerable in that manner...letting it lay us open? Do we listen to it? Do we choose to obey it?
I know it's only one verse.
But it's the right tool for us to help us work our way through our daily life.
Brent 4:05 AM
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