Tuesday, April 17, 2007


People are so good at adapting morals to fit their own lifestyle. The habit is not just unfulfilling, mistaken, and, well, wrong... it can actually be quite funny.


The 14 Commandments of the Religious Left
    by Rush Limbaw

    1. Thou shalt have no other God except thyself; after all, it's thy self-esteem that counts. If thou doth not love thyself, who will?
    2. Thou shalt not make any graven image out of any substances which cannot be recycled.
    3. Thou shalt not take the name of liberals in criticism, including feminists, racial minorities, or any person who thinks he is a victim of America.
    4. Remember the anniversaries of Roe vs Wade and Anita Hill's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and keep them holy.
    5. Honor thy mother. If she is dysfunctional, it is thy father's fault.
    6. Thou shalt not kill. With these exceptions: life forms under the second trimester, and those opting for medically assisted suicides.
    7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Unless thou aspirest to high political office, useth a condom, or cannot help it.
    8. Thou shalt not steal. Unless thou art disadvantaged or upset with a jury verdict.
    9. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Unless thou art discussing the history of the 1980's, art campaigning, or can afford good legal counsel in the event that thou art discovered.
    10. Thou shalt not covet. Unless thou art the victim of gender-related oppression or institutional racism, or art still angry with Reagan's tax cuts.
    11. Always hide the real truth about thyself.
    12. Never admit who or what thou really art when campaigning for office.
    13. Always blame someone else for what thou dost - even so far as to blame the entire society.
    14. Thou shalt oppose all punishment - except when conservative Republicans or religious right people criticize thee.


Yes. This made me laugh. And it has also made me think. People are amusing when so horrendously confused. But aren't we each desperately man-centered apart from a Savior? Lately, i'm realizing how much i react to the "religious left" as a conservative, but not as a Christian. Here's my challenge: when i'm done teasing my dear "left-wing" friends, i want to truly sift through the politics, and begin to fight for them instead of against them.

I'm afraid xanga's gonna have a spasm.... the number of posts seen on Steponine's site in the last year are about to be doubled.

Yes.

I am going to post something every day until the new year.

no, this isn't penance for my unreasonable xanga neglect. though... it oughta count for something.

Lately, as i've sought to reflect a little on the last year, i ended up reading all the posts i've written in that time [this is a very good exercise, i recommend it]. Most of these posts, however, you've never read. Most of them i wrote to myself, or to the void, in a moment of thought, or perhaps with the idea of eventually posting them publicly but somehow never bothered to edit them into reader-worthiness.

So, now, i'm going through my private posts and just clicking "public" on a few, in whatever state they're in. You're invited to enjoy, heckle, or just ignore them as you please.

A glimpse of my history. Here's the first installment (starting with something more thoughtful).

~

February 24, 2007

I want to learn to live in this dimension.

This dimension of active quietness; placid urging; a calm river that smooths effortlessly over the rocks, while beneath an undercurrent stirs and shapes the river bed in its powerful path.

I want to be gentle but unmovable. Sweet but fiery. Kind but purposeful. I'm tired of running for the sake of running; i'm tired of leaving things the way i found them. I want to be a world-changer, maybe if it's only one or two lives at a time.

After all, this the same dimension in which God works His cleansing wonders in my sinful mind. It's painful. But He's so gentle. The discovery of being healed is one that i have to rediscover frequently. But once i've struggled plenty in His fatherly grip, and i simply rest, i find myself completely content in the beautiful process of healing.