This whole Lent thing

So I started out trying to post six posts a week during Lent (break on Sunday). As I'm sure it can be noticed, I have failed at that. I don't think it was a good goal though it had good intentions. Having me try to come up with something I care about religiously everyday (as it comes up) is hard and it leads to me reducing quality to increase quantity (at least I think that's what has happened). I don't care if I have hundreds of posts here if they're crap so I've decided to drop that Lent goal because I really don't think it would be good to continue it.

It was not to be

So I ended up not getting the job at the camp I was applying for. That irritates me but I suppose just trusting that God knows best is the best strategy. It just bothers me though because I interned there last summer and I knew the guy who didn't employ me. I don't hold it against him but I don't like that his honest opinion of me was that I wouldn't really be able to handle week after week of kids. O well though.

I'm looking for internships now and starting to suspect that I will have to get one that doesn't pay. Ugh. Maybe I sound spoiled or something but I had assumed internships got paid for the most part (especially for engineering).

Isolation

This past week has been my spring break and during it I have gone away from God. Not through malicious means or anything. It's just that I haven't been pursuing Him but instead spent the week doing fun secular things. Which doing such things is fine if you actually set some time for God. But I didn't. I need a schedule.

That doesn't seem to be a good sign though. That I have to schedule time for God. It makes time with God less natural, like it's forced. But then again: isn't it?

Best Translation Ever

I was at an old friend's house yesterday when she showed me a version of the bible made for children. It seemed interesting so I read its version of the fall. It was amazing. The book got rid of the crap that we think is important but really isn't. Example, God didn't tell Eve she had to submit to her husband in this version. Instead the big focus was on how these two friends of God were tricked into doubting how God felt about them. The lie used by the serpent was "God doesn't love you as much as you think He does." I love it.

This lie is the basis for most if not all sin I think. We are unsure of if God really has our best interests in mind. From this fear, we desire power, security, and most of all independence from God. We can't trust Him so we wish to no longer need Him. If only we could love and trust in God as children do. Then we would have no more sin in the world.

In case you didn't know, the bible is not God

I feel like most of my christian friends need to be told this. The bible is an amazing book with the word of God in it (supposedly). But the word of God does not equal God. The bible shouldn't be worshiped as it is in some churches. Despite it being divinely inspired, it was written by man so worshiping it would be idolatry to an extent. Which as the bible points out, is a sin. People, it is just a book. Possibly the greatest book ever written and a book that has changed man forever but still it is not a god.

It is more of a written explanation of how and why Jesus led the life that He did. So instead of basking in its greatness, maybe we should actually strive to live christ-like lives instead of just talking and reading about this book.

I think this is a serious problem in Christianity. We all talk about what is just and write and quibble over different parts of the bible. Meanwhile some atheist out somewhere is actually doing some community service and helping the world. But naturally the atheist is going to hell, that bastard. He doesn't know anything about Christ. I bet he doesn't even know who wrote the four gospels. But let me be honest to my christian brothers, he knows and understands more of Christ than most christians do.

Stop talking and start doing.

What are we living for?

Have you ever thought how meaningless life would be if God wasn't in it? For example, if we all just died and that was it, morality would be relative and helping people or indulging yourself would both be pointless in the long run. Sure you could help someone feel better by giving them shelter but in the end we would all still die. What would be the point of saving someone from a fire if they will merely disappear into nothingness in twenty years instead of right then? Without God so much, no everything, doesn't matter. Yet, do I live my life that way? No.

This theoretical talk is nice and all but it doesn't reflect how I feel. Sure it reflects how I think but it doesn't effect my actions as much as it should. I suppose that's sin. It's simple and yet so easy for me to forget. Constantly I need to remind myself just how little everything and one (including myself) would matter if it wasn't for God. I suppose I need to be more grateful.

We all try to be God

We all try to be God. And it's actually not necessarily a bad thing. I'd imagine there may be some question marks floating in your head over that last comment so let me explain.

People have always tried to be their own gods. Even Adam and Eve who saw and knew the true god still indulged in this sinful thinking. Why? Everyone wants to be secure and most want to be self sufficient. This leads us to sin because we choose to rely and trust in ourselves more than God. We try to be the Father. That is sinful and this is the type of god we strive to be most of the time because it's the most materialistic version of god.

But there are two other sides of God aren't there? As shown by Adam and Eve, striving to be like the Father is sinful. Jesus however is the perfect model of God for us. What makes Jesus so amazing? His unbelievable faith/trust in the Father as well as His complete love for us. The Father gave us Jesus, not only for our salvation, but also to show us what a proper godlike life for man would look like. So Jesus is the god type of complete faith, trust, and forgiveness. Also, He is untainted by materialism but actually says it is a false god that we must be against to be with the true god.

Last, there is the Holy Spirit. I believe it is good to strive to be like it as well though the example may prove harder to follow. The Spirit inspires people. It also grants us many graces but the main thing we could imitate from it is to inspire others to live and follow as Christ would wish us to. From what I can gather that is its main purpose and any who strive to be like it need to strive to achieve that goal.

So, people seem to strive to be the most like the Father but that is sinful because we are not wanting to follow Him...just replace Him...with ourselves. This is shown through the pride we have in our own tools, our reluctance to "give it all to God"(including our struggles), our (at least my) inability to imagine God will interfere with life, our constant and universal view that we know what is best and our constant attempts to mold the world the way we want it.

Instead, we should strive to be like Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The two of them have something huge in common that we need to implement into our own lives (I think). The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son and inspires us to grow closer to Him. The Son glorifies the Father and shows us the perfect model for growing closer to Him. Both the Holy Spirit and Jesus are humble. They allow themselves to take secondary roles to another part of the trinity. They are willing to not be the center of our attention but instead try to help us focus on their beloved counterparts. That is godlike to me. To not care if everyone sees me but to care that they see God through me.