BP 88 - Yes, I'm a Rebel at Heart
I’m A Rebel at Heart. I’ve been one my whole life. And, at times, it’s gotten me into significant trouble. In many instances, what our culture teaches (sometimes even within The Church) are lies, and I refuse to accept or live my life in accordance with such lies. This world (including, unfortunately, large segments within The Church) tends to wallow in fallenness. I don’t—by choice. This world also tends to submit mindlessly to, and thus live out, its fears, nightmares, lazy cravings, insane (and convoluted, even bass-ackward) rules, and self-administered anxieties. Again, I don’t partake. In fact, I refuse to entertain even the hint of such drivel.
I can remember (for years) being criticized by many in the church (that is, the visible, institutional, legalistic, little “c” church) for my emphasis on pursuing those things that “make me feel happy in life.” The knee jerk reactions I often received were those of legalistic contempt and paternalistic preachiness: “Dave, God doesn’t necessarily ‘Will’ that you be happy. He Wills your obedience. Sometimes, obeying God is hard; and, more often than not, it’s unpleasant.” Sure, God Wills my obedience, but that’s really just one rung on the ladder of relationship-building with Him. Contrary to what many might preach (or imply), obedience (often—and errantly—defined as aggressive sin-management) is NOT the pinnacle of Divine-intimacy with God. And, granted, while obedience can be difficult and unpleasant at times, difficulty and unpleasantness do not necessarily equate to unhappiness. Just look at Paul and Silas, when, as recounted in Ac 14:22-25, they were thrown in jail…
“The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they’d been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. At about midnight, Paul and Silas were COMPLAINING and BELLYACHING to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
Actually, that’s not how that passage reads. Here’s how it ACTUALLY reads…
“… At about midnight, Paul and Silas were PRAYING and SINGING HYMNS to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
Note: This is a lie. Did you know that holiness and wholeness as a person (which includes being at peace and living happily) are not just related, but two sides of the same coin? To be holy is to be set apart in wholeness unto God and His Mission.
I can remember (for years) being criticized by many in the church (that is, the visible, institutional, legalistic, little “c” church) for my emphasis on pursuing those things that “make me feel happy in life.” The knee jerk reactions I often received were those of legalistic contempt and paternalistic preachiness: “Dave, God doesn’t necessarily ‘Will’ that you be happy. He Wills your obedience. Sometimes, obeying God is hard; and, more often than not, it’s unpleasant.” Sure, God Wills my obedience, but that’s really just one rung on the ladder of relationship-building with Him. Contrary to what many might preach (or imply), obedience (often—and errantly—defined as aggressive sin-management) is NOT the pinnacle of Divine-intimacy with God. And, granted, while obedience can be difficult and unpleasant at times, difficulty and unpleasantness do not necessarily equate to unhappiness. Just look at Paul and Silas, when, as recounted in Ac 14:22-25, they were thrown in jail…
“The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they’d been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. At about midnight, Paul and Silas were COMPLAINING and BELLYACHING to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
Actually, that’s not how that passage reads. Here’s how it ACTUALLY reads…
“… At about midnight, Paul and Silas were PRAYING and SINGING HYMNS to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
What Paul and Silas were Living into was True and Genuine Happiness. If you prefer the term “Exalted-joy,” you’ll get no objections from me, for I see such qualities as being one and the same. To Paul and Silas—and Jesus—happiness was A State of Being and A Source of Great Strength [see Ne 8:10 and He 12:2] to them. Paul and Silas—and, of course, Their Master, Jesus—were (and still are) Quintessentially Revellious. And Happy.
And, writing of happiness, what if Jesus not only wants you to be and become Happy but Commands it?
Two decades ago, in my attempts to bridge the gulf between my thinking and that of others, I started adopting phrasing I picked up from Howard Thurman, like “I go after those things that make me come alive as a person.” And you know what? It worked! People started to get it—at least, to a degree.
Still to this day, though, the moment I start saying how I think “being happy” is a primary quality of a Jesus-imager, -lover, -imitator, -prisoner, -slave-saint, -friend, and -follower, I get significant push back: “Jesus desires holiness, Dave, not necessarily happiness [see Note below].” For some reason (and I really mean no disrespect to anyone in particular), such familiar refrains resemble what my late cat, Baby Kitty, used to look and sound like when she was in the throes of coughing up a hairball. As if being Set-apart by God Almighty as His Cherished, Hand-picked Lover, Friend, and Partner is not the definition of bliss. Joy, happiness, bliss, wakefulness, aliveness, whole-heartedness—all these words, in their essence, point to the same thing: A Life Overflowing with Revelliousness.
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Two decades ago, in my attempts to bridge the gulf between my thinking and that of others, I started adopting phrasing I picked up from Howard Thurman, like “I go after those things that make me come alive as a person.” And you know what? It worked! People started to get it—at least, to a degree.
Still to this day, though, the moment I start saying how I think “being happy” is a primary quality of a Jesus-imager, -lover, -imitator, -prisoner, -slave-saint, -friend, and -follower, I get significant push back: “Jesus desires holiness, Dave, not necessarily happiness [see Note below].” For some reason (and I really mean no disrespect to anyone in particular), such familiar refrains resemble what my late cat, Baby Kitty, used to look and sound like when she was in the throes of coughing up a hairball. As if being Set-apart by God Almighty as His Cherished, Hand-picked Lover, Friend, and Partner is not the definition of bliss. Joy, happiness, bliss, wakefulness, aliveness, whole-heartedness—all these words, in their essence, point to the same thing: A Life Overflowing with Revelliousness.
-
Note: This is a lie. Did you know that holiness and wholeness as a person (which includes being at peace and living happily) are not just related, but two sides of the same coin? To be holy is to be set apart in wholeness unto God and His Mission.
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Being and becoming A Reveler—A Happy, Devoted, Enthusiastic, Purpose-driven Person, where genuine happiness is A State of Being—requires significant, preconsidered intentionality and an almost continual breaking-with-the-herd mentality.
Being and becoming A Reveler—A Happy, Devoted, Enthusiastic, Purpose-driven Person, where genuine happiness is A State of Being—requires significant, preconsidered intentionality and an almost continual breaking-with-the-herd mentality.
Do you want to live in such away?
Take the first step today by asking God to help you get you heart back so you can be and become A Happier, More Free Person.
I'll write amore about this in my next post.
Peace to you friends...
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