Truth

My facebook status currently reads “Craig is learning about Truth.” Last week, Craig was learning about Love. It’s interesting to note that I couldn’t tell you when I stopped learning about Love and started learning about Truth. This is because, I think, the two flow together seamlessly. Just like all themes of Christianity (except it seems to me that good themes flow together on an opposite pole from bad themes like selfishness, pridefulness, and dishonesty).

Anyways, I’ve learned a lot about truth and about the lies I tell myself lately. It’s been an amazing past couple of weeks as I’ve realized that the truth is convicting to those of us who are perfect. It, like exercise to the body, makes us feel good about ourselves in a healthy fashion, unlike lies which, like sweets and excessive video gaming, are instantly gratifying and pleasurable. My decreasing fear of the Truth has caused me to put more of myself into relationships (that is, make myself more vulnerable in conversation–giving my friend power over me in a sense) which has yeilded fruit in the form of more trusting relationships and friends who are willing to tell me intimate details of their lives so that I can have something of them to love and protect. Truth is amazing.

Anyways, I regard everything pro-Christian with extreme skepticism as I’ve found more-often-than-not the case is that these slogans, movies, policies, etc are driven by hateful intentions and seek to elevate Christians above other social groups. This is the worst place for Christians. Christianity is good, but it should never be powerful in worldly ways. As such, it should not successfully be attractive to the world as many Churches try to make it (however, the opposite–that which is unattractive or boring is Godly–is not necessarily true).

All of this was going to point to a quote that I saw, but it’s deeper than I can really grasp so I won’t comment on what I don’t understand. But the above pretty much points to what I thought it meant. :p

Conviction. Compassion. Jesus screwing up my life. Again.

Crap. I hate stuff like this because it makes me aware that I have not arrived. That there is more to do still. I’m in a state of conviction (not to be confused with guilt, which is conviction’s ugly cousin) about this and about poverty in general. This just makes it feel more real and urgent. It speaks out against the lie that there is plenty of time to deal with that later (preferably when I’m rich). What if Church was like this? What if we lived like this? What if we loved like this?

I was scanning through some older posts and came across this video. This is the link to the original post that I made about it if you are interested in reading my thoughts on the matter. If not, I don’t blame you.

PS: Theresa from next door told me last night that I should change my major to French. I’m a junior and that notion is terrifying. I just might do it. If only I had courage…