Let's See How It Looks

     Much of the news lately has dealt with state legislators drafting bills allowing a business to deny service based on religious beliefs. One of the first things that comes to mind for me is our favorite middle eastern store/restaurant. They have the very best spices, coffee beans, hummus, and babaghanouj. If this law is passed in Missouri, they could deny me service based on my Christianity. If an atheist family buys the local restaurant that serves the best homemade tenderloins, they could deny me service. If some non-denominational church buys the local grocery store, they could deny me service because I am divorced and remarried....the list goes on and on and on...as a Christian I could be denied service! What atmosphere are we setting up for ourselves?

     Due to my Mom being 83 years old and realizing that her time left here with us is limited, she and I have had conversations about life after death. So, I am wondering what it looks like at 'the pearly gates' if these bills get signed into law......

     A small business bakery owner passes away, he has his 'interview' with God before entering heaven and it goes like this:

God: what was your job on earth?

baker: you blessed me with the gift to bake delicious cookies, cakes and confectionaries and to decorate them beautifully

God: and did you use your gift wisely?

baker: oh yes

God: please explain

baker: well, my wife and I went to church faithfully, we were always in a Bible Study, we prayed before meals and followed your commandments. we ran our business together for over 55 years in the same location.

God: hmmmm, interesting. And what did you do for your community and neighbors?

baker: in the early 2010's we volunteered for a political campaign and took left-over cookies and cupcakes by their office 3 times a week. we wanted him elected because we believed like him that we shouldn't have to serve people not living by Your commandments

God: really, and how did that work?

baker: wonderful, we no longer had to bake birthday cakes for that unwed mother

God: did you know that her son was fathered by the married son of your banks president and that his family gave him the money to move his wife and children to Italy, he never provided any child-support and his wife never knew about the child?

baker: well, no I didn't know that. but we also turned away that lesbian couple who wanted a wedding cake

God: did you know that they always tithed 10% to the same church you attended and started the clothing closet for women who needed professional clothing for job interviews and couldn't afford the clothes?

baker: well, no. but we also turned away baking cookies for some back-to-school night for that lady the leader of my small group saw going into an abortion clinic.

God: did you know she was raped and beaten and left for dead while staying late to clean up after a support group meeting for abused women?

baker: well no. I suppose you also saw the time we refused service decorating the 'welcome home' cake for the lady whose son was getting out of prison on drug charges?

God: yes, I did. Did you know he was selling drugs because alcohol and drugs were all he knew from his childhood, he never knew another way of life, no one ever showed him love, compassion or what life with Me would look like? No one ever volunteered in his community or school. Did you know he found Me in prison and started a Christian prison outreach program later that year? He brought thousands of men to Me.

baker: my wife and I served on many committees at our church

God: what did you do with unsold food at the end of the day?

baker: we marked down day-old items, this helped those who couldn't afford fresh baked goods and the rest was thrown away

God: was any of it donated to the food pantry down the street?

baker: no, those are people too lazy to work...You help those who help themselves

God: you might have misinterpreted that scripture

baker: we followed the laws of our state, helped out at our church when we could and followed Your commandments

God: in all of your Bible Studies did you ever come across a commandment regarding loving your neighbor

baker: yes sir, no matter where we lived, we were always good to our neighbors, except for that one time when foreigners moved in. we were pretty sure they weren't Christians

God: did you know they had to leave their homeland to escape prosecution from having a weekly Bible Study in their home?

What does God do at this point? Get out His 'ACCESS DENIED' stamp and check the 'due to a difference in religious beliefs' box?  This is NOT Matthew 22:36-40 Love your neighbor. Nor is it Matthew 25:34-40 where God calls us to help others and we are helping Him.


     I am not saying any of this to put myself above or ahead of others. There are times I know that I have fallen short of the mark and don't deserve God's grace and mercy. Where I struggle is passing laws that now allow for segregation and discrimination based on religious beliefs. What some Christians are attempting to do to others will also be done to us, that frightens me!

 

7 Articles of Clothing

     The past three weeks have been interesting. I didn't even wear all 7 articles of clothing. My job requires me to wear a uniform, so I didn't count that clothing. My pj's also didn't count mainly because there is absolutely no fashion to consider. I could get into the whole 'what type of pj's I prefer' but that would be WAAAY TMI! A normal day for me is getting dressed for work - I have two pair of pants and four shirts, this requires washing a load mid-week. Working from 6:15-2:15 (clock out at precisely the correct time, over-time is forbidden!). Normally I run errands on my way home from work because once I am home I prefer to stay home. During the past 3 weeks I chose to put pj's on when I got home. Upon looking back I realize I could have chosen a pair of pants and top for 'home and leisure'. The only times I needed to wear my real clothing was any evening activities, usually Thursday night at church, and weekends. One weekend we had to move my Mom's things from Sue's house to my home - preparing for moving Mom into a long-term skilled nursing facility (fancy words for nursing home) and of course that day was spitting snow and ohhhh soooo cooooold! that meant going outside my 7 clothing and finding two layers of sweat pants and three layers of tops!
     The most interesting part of this monthly experiment was cleaning out my closet in preparation for the month. I have plenty of things to 'give away' during month three. While cleaning out the closet I took into serious consideration whether or not I had worn the article of clothing during the previous 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and in some cases not for several years. There were also a few things that I very simply do not like anymore - wondering how much I ever liked them?!
     Anything spiritual I might have gleaned from the clothing experiment is how little I consider my clothing. Comfort seems to be my number one priority for any clothing. In fact, this is so sad, but I don't seem to give much attention to my physical self at all. I do shower regularly and use my Bath & Body Works bath wash and lotion; daily hygiene is extremely important; applying a little bit of make-up to 'keep up appearances' is important - that is more about feeling confident enough to face the world; and making sure my clothing is wrinkle-free and clean. For breakfast I am serious about what I eat and the need for it to be healthy and keep my body functioning through my work day. Lunch is always a healthy option because I so dislike that afternoon drag about 1:30 pm and they don't have 'nap-time' at work. But once I get off of work the healthy options are off the table. This is a serious malfunction in my life and disrespect for God.
     If this month showed me anything, I am two different people during the day and I would like to reign them into one obedient child of God!

What will Month 3 - Possessions bring to the table?