Skip to main content

Strangers Among Us

Perhaps you can help my wife and I settle a dispute. We've been watching American Idol this season. (Don't judge us.) There is one singer in particular, Adam Lambert, who has a unique style which has my wife rolling her eyes while I tap my toes. He has this thing he does which is half screaming, half singing, but not really in that Ozzy Osbourne kind of way. Okay, well maybe it is, but I think it is a difference maker for him.

Here's the thing. Yesterday I emulated it and was surprised how much it sounds like him. Mind you, just the screaming part. I did it a couple of times and got my little 2-year old performing her best rendition as well. But she's always looking for a reason to scream.

It got me thinking about strange things we do for attention. We often behave in strange ways. Sometimes I look at my kid's strange behavior and wonder where they got that. Then my wife reminds me where they got it.

On the other hand, there are some things that seem strange to us that should not. In 1 Peter 4:4, Peter is talking about what 'pagans' choose to do and how they are surprised when Christians do not act the same. I wonder if we could be accused of the same thing by our non-Christian peers.

I think there are several things, like forgiveness, obedience, and even where we look for security, that should seem strange to others. And when we don't, we will find that God finds it strange, and it is to Him that we will have to answer. 1 Peter 4:5.

Isn't it strange when we look to our peers for answers before we look to God?
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Looking to our peers is a very human thing to do. The only problem with this, is that Christ tells us to look to Him, to look to God, for guidance and direction. I think this culture has provided such comfort and lack of persecution that we think we can do it without God, and just thank Him for all the "blessings". Sometimes the "blessings" take our eyes off Him, and what He truly wants for us. Self control is one of the fruits of His spirit. . .
GSL
May 15, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...
5 comments
Read more

More Than Just The Talk

I can't tell you how many times I have been in front of my youth group and said, 'Yes, I'm talking about sex!' It's not that I always plan to talk about sex. But I'm not one to shy away from the topic either. And every time ( really ) they look at me as if I've just said something naughty. Oh, wait...they do think I've said something naughty. And it's probably because the Church, in general, has often treated sex as a taboo topic. We, the Church in general, could choose to go on like this, stuttering and stammering any time the topic is brought up. Or we could fulfill the subtitle of Jonathan McKee's new book; More Than Just The Talk; Becoming Your Kid's Go-To Person About Sex . Soooo, parents and youth workers, say it with me....seeeeexxxxxx. Now that we've said it, let's talk about McKee's new book. He lays down a solid foundation, explaining very explicitly that sex was God's idea and sex was God's gift. ( Ca...
Post a Comment
Read more