Spirituality Column #367
November 26, 2013
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville-Fishers-Zionsville

By Bob Walters

Spirituality Column #366
November 19, 2013
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville-Fishers-Zionsville

By Bob Walters

I still wear a tie to church most Sundays.

My church’s “traditional” (read: Old Folks) worship crowd is mostly cured of the coat and tie habit.  Open collars and sweaters are de rigueur.  In the contemporary services, Colt’s jerseys or possibly the first t-shirt out of the closet seem the sartorial statements of choice.

Not me.  I grew up with a father in the 1950s who was always in a tie – he’d wear a tie for a long car trip … on vacation.  He taught me to tie a Full Windsor knot before I was old enough for school.  I like ties.  Sundays, weddings and funerals are about the only chances I have to wear one.  Interestingly, I was once fired from a pretty good job for not wearing a tie.  But that’s another story.

As for church, I feel good making the effort to dress up a little bit for God.

God doesn’t care what we’re wearing, I get it, but He can’t mind a tie and shined shoes any more than he minds a t-shirt and sandals.  So I’ll go with the tie … for now.

Regardless of wardrobe, going to church implies more than encountering in worship God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  We also are meeting our Christian brothers and sisters in fellowship.

So consider: Are we at church to see, or to be seen?  By God?  By others?  What do our hearts hope to accomplish?  Am I there to get some help for me?  Am I there to love God and love others?  Am I there to strengthen my faith; to worship, praise and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in communion with fellow believers?

Some churches and TV shows just preach “God” and, let’s be clear, that’s not a Christian message.  It’s a God message, maybe, or an idolatrous “god” message, but most likely it’s a push-marketed “See what God can do for you!” message.  That makes church about the glory of me, not the Glory of God, and that takes salvation off the table (Matthew 6:1-4, John 3:17, John 14:6).  If I don’t hear the J-word – Jesus – or anything about the Father-Son-Holy Spirit, then I’m at a self-help lecture or fund-raiser, not Christian worship.

Jesus preached God’s Glory.  He demonstrated selflessness dying on the cross.  He instructed us to love God, to love others, and to bear our own cross.  With humble, resolute faith in Christ, we are delivered from death and sin.

But the purpose of worship is defeated if we ever leave church thinking, “Hey, I’m glad you got to see me.”

No matter what we are wearing.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) wears Polos and button-downs in the summer.

Spirituality Column #365
November 12, 2013
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville-Fishers-Zionsville

By Bob Walters

“Is God punishing me?” – Jermichael Finley, injured Green Bay Packers football player, recounting his thoughts while lying paralyzed on the Lambeau Field turf during an NFL game Oct. 20 against the Cleveland Browns.

“Hear my cry, O God. … I take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” – Psalm 61

I never criticize anyone’s anger, fear or theology in the immediate season of traumatic stress.  We’ve all thought, said and done the darnedest things when pain ambushes the security of the moment, even on a football field.

Finley, unable to move or breathe, whispered breathless, desperate pleas for help to wide-eyed, terrified teammates. Fast-responding NFL medical help restored Finley’s breathing.  What turned out to be a bruised spinal cord un-shocked itself, quickly returning limited motion to the talented tight end’s extremities.

Finley – he of the famed “Lambeau Leap” into the celebratory end zone caress of Packer fans after touchdowns – could manage only half a determined wave to the silent stadium crowd minutes later as he was carted from the field.

Recovering rapidly in a Green Bay, Wis., hospital, Finley was standing and able to shower alone the next day.  Soon after, Finley and co-writer Peter King penned Finley’s first-person thoughts about the injury (Link – NFL Finley Story).

Finley pondered God’s punishment, and mentioned being blessed by the love and fellowship of his teammates, almost all of whom visited him in the hospital.  His 5-year-old son Kaydon prays for Dad before every game; Kaydon wondered if God hadn’t heard his prayers that day.  Finley values life and appreciates the amazing physical gifts, talents, discipline, and opportunities that have culminated in a top-notch – but now imperiled – NFL career.  We wish him well in his recovery and life’s journey.

It’s worth noting, as Western society largely rebels against religion overall, God generally, and Jesus Christ specifically, how often in a crisis our first, personal reaction involves some inclusion or mention of God – for better or worse.

So I had this thought upon reading Finley’s story: In our fear and pain, why do we so often think, reflexively, that God is punishing us?  Or ignoring prayers?  Or that our best blessings reside in our earthly family and friends?

If we think to call on God at all, we should know reflexively that He is our refuge and shelter.  Jesus Christ endured the cross to forgive us and save us in the Glory of God.  In Jesus reside our real, best blessings of hope, endurance, comfort and courage.

Our first thought in a crisis should always be: “Lord Jesus, give me strength.”

Doubting Him only compounds life’s pain.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) opines that merely believing “God is there” isn’t necessarily a comfort; trusting God’s goodness is.

Spirituality Column #364
November 5, 2013
Current in Carmel-Westfield-Noblesville-Fishers-Zionsville

By Bob Walters

“Christianity is the only religion on earth that felt omnipotence made God incomplete … [it] added courage to the virtues of the Creator.”