Heart like David

I have realized that the christian walk is not easy, much like any relationship, it takes work and commitment. There are highs and lows. There are some days you feel that you should win christian of the century award,  that the big GOD is extremely proud of you. There are other days when you are sure you are not among heavens best. . I do not think God really ranks us. I thank God for his grace everyday. But the point is the christian walk is prone with mistakes. I made such a a mistake with my prior blog post. Not with the content but with the title "Mediocre White Male." Its a constant struggle being in a christian writer/blogger and writing in all my sassy glory within the tenants of Christianity. Making sure I use writing as a gift and not wield it as a weapon.

Yes, mediocre white male is provocative but it isn't really Christ like language, is it?

Trust me, I  did not reach this conclusion on my own.  I have been listening to from Pastor Dele Osunmakinde of The Baptizing Church. In one of his sermons, he states  it was Gods plan to put David under Saul. Even though Saul would do all in his power to eliminate  David.

However, what I really got out of the teaching was Gods expectation that we respect and honor those He has put in authority ie pastors, priests, deacons, reverends etc even when they clearly fall out of line with God as Saul did. David had numerous chances to kill Saul but that belief was so deeply ingrained in him, he respected the anointing of God in Sauls life.

Politics does not bring out the best in me and there are many times I want to blog with a strong  sense of disapproval about certain christian publications but I chose not to. And to be honest if I hadnt listened to this message, i would have probably written one or two fire brand caustic blogs about my opinion. But I am a child of God * angel face*. I would never indulge in such. :) 

My problem is how to respect those God has put in authority while respectfully  disagreeing with them because pastors, priests, deacons are not perfect. They are flawed human beings just like you and me. I think part of the problem is "disappointment" we feel when those we put on a pedestal let us down. I have learned the hard way that no one is above mistakes and the only one that really should be put on  a pedestal is God. 

I guess the answer is as chessy as it sounds is love. Love covers a multitude of sins and corrects out love. David loved Saul even when Saul was clearly in the wrong. We should show the same type of love to leaders in the christian community, church or otherwise. There should also be unity among Christians and to be honest we don't think like that, or at least I don't. 

I aint going to lie. I am not there yet. I hate any type of perceived injustice and my first reaction is usually to rile against it. But this is not the type of heart that pleases God. The things we perceive as unfair is Gods way of enabling us to grow.  You rarely grow when things are honky dory and fair but we grow during the opposite.

So the next time a certain christian publication endorses the orange one, because no matter what he does his ideals are christian (Really? Some evangelicals would probably vote for the devil if he was under the republican ticket) I will remind myself that I have the heart of David and keep silent 

Sorry I couldn't resist. :)

Till next time folks

Live fearless. 

Mediocre White Male

Like half of the county I was watching the orange one debate (if you can call it that) with Hillary Clinton. I’ve realized that I am a little too emotionally involved with this election. It aint that serious. I cant come and die because of election. Its not my father or mother being elected. There is no “Godly candidate” and whatever happens in November. God is still on the throne.

That being said, why do people who insist on voting for Jill Stein, Bernie Sanders use the excuse of Hilary’s partnership with corporate sponsors as a reason not to vote for her. Point out any politician who hasn't benefited from big money and doesn't vote to align with big money interests sometimes. Every male politician from Bush to Obama has done the same thing. How do you think Obama who was all but called ‘the Messiah” during his first election raised  722 million  dollars? Do you think it was middle class voter dollars that got him that much money. Big money is an inherent part of American politics.

Please.

I would have more respect for you if you said " hey, I think the leadership role of any country should be given to a man. I cant vote for Hilary because of this reason." The other insipid reasons annoy the living daylight out of me.  Am I particularly excited about Hilary, considering she is the first female candidate to run for the highest office in the land? No. I am not excited about her like I was excited about Obama being the first black president. Does she inspire hope in me? No. Do I think my life will change drastically as a black woman with Hilary in power? No.

But I question the judgement of anyone that thinks Donald Trump is equal to Hilary Clinton in any way shape or form. This elections brings to center stage,  the inherent subtle sexism with a dollop of white privilege that exist in every work place in this country, from Starbucks to Deloitte, even in medicine too. I have seen nurses practically kiss the hand of male doctors and defer to them while borderline disrespecting female counterparts.

The truth is , a male, especially a white male  just has to show up. He can be mediocre even borderline terrible, but will still be given more of a chance than any woman who surpasses him in all areas of comparison. How can some people say that debate was a draw? Obviously the standards used to judge the orange one are not the same for Hillary. Donald never answers questions directly, his answers always has some connotation of the following words, ISIS, a wall, Muslim, “the Blacks”, Inner city etc . He is expected not to implode and he is given a pass mark. While Hillary is expected to provide a detailed byline for every question that she is  asked.

Please.

Now suddenly we don't need a “politician”  who has played the same games the men have played but has done it better, because you know as a woman she had to be at least 2 times better.  Now we need someone for the people, but not the orange one because he is a ( insert any of the adequate descriptions for trump that end with -ist, racist, sexist, misogynist ). So yall are going to write in Jill Sanders or Bernie Sanders.

Granted,  I don't like to make sweeping generalizations. I understand that everyone has their reasons for voting for a particular candidate especially if the core values align with yours.

The supreme court nomination and the judge's effect on abortion rights is troubling and valid reason for voting republican this election against even your better judgement.

But this is not about big money.

This is sexism in most case.

Plain and simple. * Drops Mike *

Until next time

Live Fearless, folks!

Dating while christian -Dating Dalilah vs Sacred Search

vs 

Relationships are a complicated maelstrom. Christian relationships can be VERY complicated. Christian relationship with someone who is not a 'christian" is a misnomer.

I have  decided to write (not directly, dont worry I wont put future baes on blast)  as a form of therapy and comedy. I am culminating my experiences in a series of blogs that looks at relationships not necessarily only from me but from other women. Hopefully we all learn some much needed wisdom from this exercise, because *throws up hands in surrender* I am truly giving it to God.

From my unofficial analysis, I think there are two main schools of thought about christian dating.  I would classify them broadly into two diametrically opposing ideals, the   "Dating Delilah" school of thought vs "Sacred Search" school of thought. I will try and present an unbaised view of both but to be honest in the past years of my life I have leaned more towards the Sacred Search way of thinking. I think Dating Delilah is what most christian preachers have filled our thoughts and heads with.
I believe in some ways a lot of christian singles have missed out on being intentional about their dating lives because of what we grew up hearing in church especially women. Phrases like "The one God has prepared for you will come to you." and "Just wait on God" sounds  holy but encourages  a more passive role in our dating lives.

Sacred Search was written by Gary Thomas who takes a refreshingly practical view and dare I say slightly cynical view on dating and marriage. He encourages single people to take an active role in searching for a life partner and make a wise choice while doing so. One of the phrases that he used was "walk towards the music." He basically said ( I am paraphrasing) "They are a lot of bitter single women in the church who "blame" God for not keeping his side of the bargain yet are passive in their approach to dating." For every other thing in life, we take steps of faith but in dating we  just "leave" it to God and we are not intentional about it. For example, you want to go to Law school, you study for the required exams and you apply for law school. You don's pray to God expressing your desire to go to law school without taking the necessary steps . Gary Thomas encourages single Christians to have fun with the process of finding a mate which includes  being open to online dating. Sometimes this can be viewed as "going ahead" of God or desperation especially in Nigerian christian circles but I don't think it's a simple as that. I tend to agree with the book. Though if you strongly believe that you will be blessed with your mate simply without having to "search" then I aint gonna knock your hustle. As the bible says, as a man thinketh so is he. I wont knock faith.  Choosing a life long partner an extremely important process that you should make wisely with the help of mentors, pastors, friends ,parents.

Sacred Search is  not a particularly uplifting give you hope type of book. As I said, it stops short of being cynical. After reading it,  I was sure that I didn't want to get married. He writes  about how difficult marriage can be, the types of partnerships in marriage, how to cut people off the list a la "hire fast and fire fast", warning signs in relationships and making a wise decision with the guidance of the holy spirit. He advises the reader to end any relationship with physical violence.

 While I do agree with the ideas of the book, I believe in balance. He delves into this to. We all have different journeys ,some people have had their spouses pointed out to them directly by God especially if God has a specific purpose for the marriage. However, the majority of us have to make a wise decision with guidance from the holy spirit. So in some ways I disagree with him when he writes  that  marriage partners is under the permissive will of God. My translation was, God gives us free will and as long as we make a wise choice under christian standards, God is cool with whoever we marry. I would like to think the big GOD cares a little bit more about such a major decision of our lives, where a bad decision can have devastating consequences that not only affects you but generations after you.
sicne
Dating Delilah was written by Judah Smith. To be perfectly honest, I read the book years ago. I wasn't particularly interested in reading it again so I just found the highlights. You will have to forgive me if some of my interpretations are off. This book is geared  towards a younger crowd. I would say teenagers and people in their early twenties. It focuses more on purity and deals with topics such as sex before marriage, provocative dressing, no dating unbelievers, lustful thoughts and treating each other like brother and sister. I don't know where to begin but let me start with I do agree with and what I like about the book. I do agree with biblical concepts of no sex before marriage, where the bible makes it explicitly clear. There is no need to write an epistle about this. Please as a christian it would be wise to end a relationship with anybody that tries to convince you otherwise. To be frank, it does get a little bit more difficult dating in your 30's because the majority of people you  meet may not have this point of view  and sex before marriage IS  a clear expectation. Some one once said that the "no sex before marriage" standard was for pastors and since we are all "sinners" we cannot reach that standard.

**********Blank Stare************Gerrout here jare !

 Is 2.5 seconds of  questionable pleasure worth an eternity in hell.Okay ..Okay maybe 5 seconds I joke Its not only the concept of hell that scares me, its the total separation from God which is the literal meaning of hell that scares me.  I do agree somewhat with his view about provocative dressing but I have found this is very subjective. The  generally drift is to keep things covered.  Maybe because to me it isn't something I really think about so I tend not to take it too seriously, though to a younger person its extremely important.

To be honest, when I read treating one another as brother and sister I laughed at loud but then I have to remember the context of the book. Judah Smith wrote the book when he was young and it skews towards a younger audience. The general idea is treating the members of the opposite sex as friends and getting to know them. This is much easily done in the context of a youth church, youth outings but becomes more difficult as a single person not plugged into those avenues

His general idea about finding a mate is more inline with the "church christian" perspective we have all heard. Follow the rules above and God will arrange bae for you pronto. While I will never diminish the working power of God, I believe we should also play an active role in finding mates guided by the holy spirit. Get fit, take a class, go further in your career, go online, allow sensible trusted friends to hook you up ( I emphasize sensible friend ), invest in yourself and embrace the process. Get out of your comfort zone. Yes they will be uncomfortable experiences, but uncomfortable experiences usually means growth.

I also find the name of the book "Dating Delilah" slightly misogynistic and offensive. It puts the onus of sexual purity on men and casts women as the villain. The Delilah spirit that wants to tempt the righteous man and derail him.  To be honest, its usually the other way around in the streetz nowadays.  They are other perfectly capable male villains in the bible. You could have "Dating Esau" or "Dating Goliath."Those are equally provocative titles to me.

In comparing both books, in the context of Christianity, "Sacred Search would be a more progressive radical novel while "Dating Delilah" is more of the traditional view. One view is not necessarily better than the other though I have my personal preference. I believe each individual has to make a choice based on their belief system and a balance between both schools of thought. More important is that regardless of what you believe in, make your choices seeking Gods approval.
"Seek first the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness and everything else will follow."


Until next time, live fearless folks!