Should Christians Be Patriotic?

I know this post is late since America's 234th birthday was 4 days ago. But I've been seeing blog posts here and there (like this one and this one ) questioning patriotism. People also question whether or not it is right for us to sing patriotic hymns in church services and to celebrate our freedom. And maybe the overall climate of our country and our Christianity is changing. Maybe it's because many of us would rather riot in the streets over a soccer game than peacefully cheer for our team at a baseball game? Maybe it's because we would rather get our theology from U2 and Bruce Springsteen rather than those who have been more up front about their faith, rather than putting it under the guise of pop culture. Maybe we've become so politically correct that we are not being good global citizens if we think we live in the greatest country on earth?

Nike and Tiger-An Image of God's Grace

Several weeks ago, I blogged about what Christians can learn from the Tiger Woods press conference (the first statements he made after the scandal hit the media). Since it's obvious this Tiger Woods debacle is not going away any time soon, I suppose I will jump back in and see what it is we can learn from the rest of this whole thing-especially since the guy is more famous now than he was before we found out the number of mistresses he had on the side was in the double digits.

As part of the whole scandal, Tiger lost a lot of notable advertising endorsements from companies who felt he no longer carried an image of integrity that they sought to promote to their audience. But Nike chose to stick by him; a move that was questioned by a lot of people.

But in Nike's latest commercial is an image of God's grace. Now, Tiger is not a Christian. He has been very open about his Buddhist beliefs. But I think the way Nike has handled the situation shows us how Christians should speak the truth in love when someone has fallen from grace.

When I found out Nike and others were keeping him on board, I suspected they would sweep the whole thing under the rug and act like it had never happened. But the latest Tiger commercial has absolutely nothing to do with golf, sports, competition, or athletic skill. It is all about integrity and choices. It eerily puts Tiger's dead-still mugshot staring blankly into the camera with a subtle blink of the eyes to let the viewers know it's actually a video all the while a recording of his deceased father questions him about his thoughts and choices.

In the church, when our brothers and sisters make choices, we are called to speak the truth in love. This doesn't mean ignoring sin, it is acknowledging that sin, but also forgiving and calling others to receive God's forgiveness and renew their commitment to God. In Romans 5-6, Paul reminds us that the law was given so we could know what sin was. And that grace is directly proportional to sin. So as sin increases, grace increases all the more. But we should not keep sinning so that we receive more grace. A fall from grace is a time to acknowledge what went wrong and make a change.

This whole experience has been incredibly humbling for the world's greatest golfer. Sin does that to us, it brings us to our knees and for those of us who believe, it should bring us to the foot of the cross. How do you handle those who have fallen from grace? How have you been treated when you've made mistakes?

Lessons from the Tractor: Cattle Egrets

This year, as has become an annual tradition, I've helped my dad bale hay. I run the tractor some to do the cutting and when it's time to bale, I either run the rake or the baler. When you're in a 50 acre field going back and forth, there's a lot to think about--whether the hay is packing into the baler right, wondering if the baler will have another error, avoiding holes, staying right on top of the row of hay you are baling...you get the idea. One thing that tends to happen when you bale hay is that cattle egrets will come eat the grasshoppers and other small bugs out of the recently cut hay field. As the machines pick up the cut grass, they will camp out at the all you can eat buffet. But this year I noticed something different. While the tractor and implements would easily kill one of these birds, they don't seem to be bothered by them. They get just close enough to the tractor to not get hurt. After all, right by the tractor is where the best eating is found. As I pondered this strange phenomenon, my thoughts began to turn to God.

Isn't this how we all are with sin? We like to get just close enough to sin to where it won't hurt us or the ones we love? Just like those birds landed right by the tractor and quickly hopped away as it got too close, we like to get close to the things that will damage and harm us and our families because they are tempting. And when that big ol' tractor comes, we just hop out of the way. I like what James has to say about this idea in chapter 1.

"13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."

If God has given us all we need, why do we feel the need to get so close to the things that will harm us?

Sin and Consequences (What I Learned from Mud Volleyball)

This weekend, I took my youth group to an event at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, TX called Omega Fest. This was a fun Saturday event that featured a crawfish boil, live music, and a mud volleyball tournament. The sun was hot, the music was great, the mudbugs were spicy, and the volleyball was...well...muddy. You can't participate in a mud volleyball tournament and expect to stay clean. But on a hot summer day, the mud was cool and wet.

As our team was called up, we eased into the cool mud and it actually felt kind of good. It was at least six inches deep throughout the entire court, so none of us were quite sure what was underneath it. After a showdown of Rock, Paper, Scissors, our team got the first serve. I bumped the muddy ball up over the net and it was vollied right back at me just a few feet up from where I was standing. I jumped forward and went down on my knees to get my hands up under the ball. As I watched the ball go back over the net, I realized there was much more than mud in the pit. It seems as I attempted to return the ball, my knees had landed on a pile of rocks under the soft cool mud. After a hose-down and later a real shower I noticed scabs forming on both my knees as I suffered the consequences of a seemingly innocent game of mud volleyball. (The picture above is a shot of my knee taken on Monday after the Saturday match.)

As I pondered my experience, I began to realize that this is how sin is. Just like that soft cool mud (although dirty) looked good on the surface, I didn't realize until after I got in the pit that there were rocks in there. Once the rocks had cut me (both on my knees and the bottom of my feet), I didn't seem to notice it as much as long as I was covered in the cool mud. But when I got out of the pit and cleaned off, I really noticed the pain of what I'd done. James 1:13-15 says: "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." As sin entices us, and we give in, it brings pain in our lives and sometimes it seems like the only way to mask the pain is to keep on sinning (remain in the pit). However, God is light and what light does is expose the pain of our sin. 1 John 1:7 says "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." If you will allow me to extend the metaphor, God is the one who gets us out of the pit and washes us off and allows our wounds to heal. Thanks be to God that he calls us out of the pit of sin and cleanses us from our pain to bring about healing!