On, Church Idiots! Mush!

Yes, I lifted my title from The Pickles, who lifted their title from me...I just wanted to see how far we could push it!

So...

Church Idiots...

It's a hard subject for me. When I wrote the original "Church Idiot" post, I agonized over it for quite a long time. Well, actually, I sat down and wrote it all out in about 10 minutes...it was good! It was funny! I vented! I felt better!

Then I went to bed.

Then I woke up agonizing over it.

So I raced off to change it early the next morning. I erased it and just left what you see now, a one-liner.

But then there was still something more I wanted to say. So I rewrote it, published it, left it for a few minutes...

And then I erased it again and changed it back to the one-liner.

I've thought about it since then too...

There something I want to say - maybe a bunch of things.

**********

One Thing I Want To Say

Here's one thing I want to say. There are people who are "attention-seekers." Granted, we all need attention, but you know what I'm talking about - real, honest-to-goodness attention seekers. They have a very deep need / insecurity / whatever that causes them to constantly need attention from others. Each of these persons have different reasons, different "woundings" that have led to this behavior - perhaps we all do it to an extent. My point is not to analyze that.

My point is that attention-seekers in the church have learned to "work the system," if you will.

They use that magic word: "GOD"
And they use the sacred channel of PRAYER
To get what they really want - ATTENTION.

How could I be so heartless!?!

But I'm not being heartless - my heart is very much in this!

Do you know what I'm talking about, though? The people who prayer the big, long, dramatic sounding prayers with the most explosive metaphors for God and the nearly sexually explicit descriptions of their longing for him? Do you know? Do you know the feeling of sitting there listening to these people and thinking you would really like to just stop them and shout:

"WHAT IS IT YOU REALLY WANT?!"

But you CAN'T! They're PRAYING! They're talking to GOD!

Let's just get honest - they're abusing a "substance" to get what they want. And we let them. And we encourage them. And we go "mmm" and "amen" and "yes Lord" to whatever fashionable, trendy thing they say.

"Reveal to us our GOOD HEARTS, Lord!" (Thank you John Eldredge) "Mmm"..."Yes, Lord!"

It frustrates me because I feel like these people need help and we're too chicken shit scared to call them on their abusive behavior. It frustrates me because I feel like it makes a mockery out of prayer and out of God.

You think I'm being judgmental? What if I told you my spiritual gift was the discernment of spirits? Would that make this easier to swallow?

Well...call me heartless and say that I'm judgmental. I'm just telling you what I see. And I see people with gaping wounds who are so focused on the good feelings they get from band-aids that they say really, really, REALLY stupid things...

Mmm...amen...yes Lord...

It's one thing to be a fool for Christ - to believe really crazy, insane things like "the least shall be first" and "the greatest among you is the servant." It's a whole nuther thing (southern roots come...OUT!) to be a fool for your addictions.

And that's just one slant on the issue of Church Idiots.

Now I'm going to go lay in pile of poop...don't hate me.

posted by Headless-in-GR @ 10/31/2004 03:49:00 PM