I Don’t Watch “televangelists,” But Sometimes …
I moved to a state whose pimp hand is strong and wears many, many rings.
It stings a little sometimes when you turn on the tv and someone is screaming JESUS!!!!! as loud as they can while asking for $5,000 to so they will pray for you; a scared one night stand. Or realizing that you can never listen to a certain gospel song again because it’s the same as driving while the song your spouse had sex with another to is playing in the background. Or finding that terms like “denomniation,” “charity,” and “exegesis,” have no meaning if you’re tricking out for a mass media audience. When you have so many Johns lined up, who needs a message?
I can’t watch televangelists.
But every so often, my pudgy fingers can’t hit the channel button fast enough, and I’m trapped. Amid a bout of sweating, running, jumping, blessing, and some other activities I have yet to identify, a preacher made a point which stuck with me. Paraphrased:
Sometimes, or even often, the temptation to sin is not in the OBJECT of temptation, but rather in the PROCESS.
It isn’t a matter of trying to obtain something that is “wrong,” “evil,” or “sinfull.” Often what we are trying to gain something that is in fact “good”; something God would want us to have, or the desire to have it is based off of a natural, God-given impulse. However, the problem is in the process of obtaining it: we are trying to obtain outside of how God would have us.
We are seeking a good thing in a wrong way and that is what makes it sinful.He went on to use the example of the temptation of Jesus: He already owned/would own all of the things Satan was offering. There was nothing “wrong” with Jesus taking them, save for the person offering them: the process.
I found myself stunned at the accuracy, but disheartened at the hypocrisy. This was still a multimillion dollar making spiritual pimp saying these words, regardless of the truth. I was left wondering, “yeah, but how well do YOU follow these words Mr. I have a whole display at Barnes and Noble ? How often did you grab the golden apple before it was properly offered? Huh? Well answer me as I scream at you through the tv!”
Eventually, I turned off the tv, since no one inside it was listening to me, and in the darkness of the dust covered screen I saw my reflection looking smugly back at me.
It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate between the sound of Divine sighing and laughter.
i like jerry’s final thought there too
“It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate between the sound of Divine sighing and laughter”
very nice
RobK said this on November 27th, 2006 at 12:31 am
who the hell is jerry?
MEH said this on November 27th, 2006 at 12:46 am