Wed 19 Jul 2006
Geez….as I write this I’m trying to contain my frustration and anger. One of the things I appreciate about writing—either music or blogging—is it provides me a constructive outlet without punching some well- or not so well-intentioned brother square in the nose.
I’m holed up this morning in an undisclosed coffee shop, preparing for preaching/teaching seven lessons in the next 5 days: 2 Sunday morning worship services, followed by a week of middle school camp.
Before I got here, I went out for my morning 3-mile jog. (Thanks to Lance, I’m still going…) During my run through the trails, I came upon the backside of a neighborhood fence line. On the other side of the fence, a beast of a Pitt Bull charged at me. He sounded like he would have ripped the flesh from my bones, if it weren’t for the fence.
I love dogs. LOVE them. Give me a dog over a cat any day. There’s a reason we love big, gnarly, slobbery dogs: they are great protection. If a burgler breaks into my house, I don’t want some kind feline diva to lick him and upset his allergies. I want a big, spike-collared canine to fight him off and sound the alarm to wake me from my sleep.
But I wasn’t a threat to this one. No way. I wasn’t even in his territory. Didn’t know him from Scooby. But, no doubt, if I’d stepped over the fence, I’d be in the ER right now. Or worse.
It reminded me of some Christians I know.
In the body of Christ, we have our pit bulls whose job it is to defend the faith. For every cause, we have defenders and protectors who rally for the cause of Christ. Abortion. Welfare. Homeless. Liberalism. Cults. Christian Education. And the list goes on. We need them.
But there are times when those pit bulls get so frenzied, so outta control, that the only thing they want to do is fight. Devour. Attack. All they become known for is being AGAINST. Perhaps some pit bulls have bad owners and have been raised badly. Maybe some have been bred solely to fight. To attack. Some Christians are that way.
At times, I think the world would be a safer place if some dogs were simply put down…
Arrrgh….
*Disclaimer: no dogs (or Christians) were harmed in the making of this post…yet.
7 Responses to “ Defenders of the Faith? ”
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July 20th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
Who rattled your chain (no pun intended) OK yes it was…
Our dog loves to bark just to hear herself bark..there is NEVER anything out there at 3AM when my wife tells me to go see what “her” dog is barking at….NOTHING.
Like some Christians????
July 20th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
Yeah. Sometimes I think the dogs should either be put down….or castrated, so that they can’t reproduce.
July 21st, 2006 at 10:22 am
craig,
that’s hilarious…althought, probably not at 3AM.
I definitely think there are those in the faith that love to hear themselves bark. I know preachers who are constantly building up straw men and then knocking them down in the name of ‘defending the faith’.
July 21st, 2006 at 10:24 am
Shae…
(ouch)
But you are right. Could that be why so many people are planting churches these days? Looking for a new breed of defenders?
July 21st, 2006 at 4:25 pm
shae,
I would much rather be put down. The other thing (I cannot even force myself to type that word) haunts me as a man. I know a few people I would liek to volunteer for that procedure though, just not volunteering myself.
July 23rd, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Ok,
Finally, I will be praying for camp this week. You have safety in your travels. May the wind be at your backs. May the Spirit confront your souls. May our Father make His presence know. I pray that your hearts would be broken by the overwhelming conviction of sin.
I pray for the Lord of us to shine His love down on you. I pray that you will speak as the prophets of old.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Tom,
The only difference I see is the dog had the fence line to clearly mark his territory… Some people “Christians”, don’t know when they have crossed that line…