Thursday, December 23, 2004
pt.2: love
That Blue Like Jazz book pointed out that we (at least in our culture, but it seems prevelent here, as well) tend to use love on a reward/punishment system. If people do things we want them to do, we reward them by showing them love and acceptance, and if they don't, we spite them and give them looks. This is of course contrary to what Jesus teaches when he seems to love those hated by society more than those loved by society. He doesn't love them because they agree with him, or because they are "his kind of people." So I realized that we do that in a lot of ways. Like...here in Nicaragua there are a lot of kids trying to wash your windsheild at some of the major redlights. If they come up and start washing my windsheild without looking to see if I want them to, I never give them more than one cordoba, but if they ask and I need it, I usually give them more. I am rewarding them for their behavior that I approve of and punishing them when I dissapprove. Why do I feel the need to change people to be more like me? It all makes the idea of being like Christ that much more...attractive and lovely and awesome and...real. Hey check this out:
A guy was driving along when his car broke down. He pulled it off the road and realized that he had run out of gas. He felt ashamed but started walking down the road and stuck out his thumb to see if someone would give him a ride to a gas station. The first car that drove past was a missionary. He wanted to stop, but he knew that he was driving a car owned by the mission, so he decided not to risk it, since it wasn't his car at risk. The second car was a minister of music on his way to church. He wanted to stop and help the man, but he was already running late and it was HIS job, after all, to lead the music at church that night, and so he went on his way as well. The third car that passed by pulled over to help the guy out. The driver was an atheist homosexual on his way to a bar. He saw that the guy needed help and took him to the closest gas station, bought him a gas can and filled it up for him and then brought him back to his car. Which of these was the first man's neighbor?
You ever notice that the reason that the two men in Jesus' story have very good religious reasons for not doing the right thing?
A guy was driving along when his car broke down. He pulled it off the road and realized that he had run out of gas. He felt ashamed but started walking down the road and stuck out his thumb to see if someone would give him a ride to a gas station. The first car that drove past was a missionary. He wanted to stop, but he knew that he was driving a car owned by the mission, so he decided not to risk it, since it wasn't his car at risk. The second car was a minister of music on his way to church. He wanted to stop and help the man, but he was already running late and it was HIS job, after all, to lead the music at church that night, and so he went on his way as well. The third car that passed by pulled over to help the guy out. The driver was an atheist homosexual on his way to a bar. He saw that the guy needed help and took him to the closest gas station, bought him a gas can and filled it up for him and then brought him back to his car. Which of these was the first man's neighbor?
You ever notice that the reason that the two men in Jesus' story have very good religious reasons for not doing the right thing?
# posted by Adam @ 2:46 PM 
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That modern-day good samaritan story is so true. I think our main issue there is that the two Christians did not see themselves as pharisees. Their reasons were no different, as you pointed out, than the reasons in the original story. We don't see ourselves as the ones Jesus would have chastised, because we love him and we do right and blah blah blah. Perhaps we should always think of ourselves as potential Pharisees so that, hopefully, we won't act that way. I have many times been afraid to pick up strangers or hitchhikers. My reasoning is usually that I'm a girl, alone, and I think Jesus promotes the use of common sense, and I don't usually agree with the reasoning that God will protect me no matter what. Well, I'm sorry, God gave me my common sense. I will choose to use it. But anyway-the point isn't, of course, to think as if you look like a Pharisee all the time, because then you're only doing what's right so that you don't look like a Pharisee, not because you're emulating Jesus. Well, whatever works, so this nation can start seeing what Christianity is supposed to look like. Ok, that's mean, but it's true.
And with the windshield-washers, I'm guilty of the same mindset, even though if we thought about it 30 seconds longer, we'd realize that the ones who are in the worst moods, are the most rude, and seem the dirtiest are perhaps the ones who need it the most. I loved his chapter on love, pointing out the backwards way we use it to gain things for ourselves and punish other people who don't treat us the way we want to be treated. How's "love" for a New Year's resolution? Feasible, I think. Worth trying!
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And with the windshield-washers, I'm guilty of the same mindset, even though if we thought about it 30 seconds longer, we'd realize that the ones who are in the worst moods, are the most rude, and seem the dirtiest are perhaps the ones who need it the most. I loved his chapter on love, pointing out the backwards way we use it to gain things for ourselves and punish other people who don't treat us the way we want to be treated. How's "love" for a New Year's resolution? Feasible, I think. Worth trying!
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