"...And then we wonder why it’s so hard to believe Jesus loves us."

Perfect summation of the beautiful contrast between how people are and how Jesus is. It never ceases to convict me. Thanks a billion, Jon!

I don't have kids, so I can't say they've embarrassed me in church before. Unless you think my lack of kids is embarrassing at the tender age of twenty-one...

But, I did leave in the middle of a church service recently. My two friends and I were sitting on the right end of the semi-middle section of the auditorium and the pastor began to teach on James 1:26-7. He said that verse meant that our words are "thermostats, not thermometers of the heart," that we need to bridle our tongues because "our words create reality, so we shouldn't say everything we think," that we need to watch our mouths before God because "then God has to deal with your words."

So, instead of teaching repentance or dependence on God because of "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks," the pastor was teaching a form of holy repression with the appearance of genuity. Instead of "Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth...," the pastor insisted God has to deal with us and the "realities" we create with our mouth (which is pure foolishness because God deals with that regardless). I left because the teaching was hackneyed and wrong; we should watch our mouths for the purpose of watching our hearts, not the other way around.

We tried to sneak out without causing too much disruption, but the squeaky exit door did not provide quiet passage to after-church lunch refuge (where, of course, we proceeded to criticize the service :-P).

Was I wrong to think that was a legitimate cause for trying to ninja out of the service?

"What kind of music do you listen to?"

That usually tells me everything I need to know.