Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. -Brian O’Driscoll, Irish rugby union player
(To which I would add that meditation is wondering if ketchup is a smoothie…)
According to Google, this is the definition of wisdom:
the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.
In other words, it’s taking action or making a decision based on what you’ve learned in the past and common sense.
It’s not putting tomatoes in a fruit salad.
You can get it from:
- Personal experience
- Listening to someone else
- Making good decisions
We visited a church we had never attended yesterday. We walked out when the pastor started calling people “failures” because they essentially practice the second point above, namely listening to someone else and doing what they say should be done. In this case, it’s doing what scripture says you should do. And he said you do it because it makes you feel good and it’s wrong to feel good about obeying God. Or something like that.
Which, of course, means you have to essentially deny the fact that you’re a human who does things for self-gratification. They’re essentially saying that God created you wrong – you know, the God they say is perfect in all ways. No wonder your mind is messed up if you try to follow God by doing what they tell you in church.
But how does that make you a failure?
While we visited yesterday, I waited to post this article until I could re-listen to the sermon (the church is a few weeks behind in posting their sermons and I wanted to ensure I didn’t misquote the person that gave the sermon). I won’t mention the church or the name of the sermon-giver, that doesn’t really matter. UPDATE: I never did find and re-listen to the sermon so I’ll have to go with my initial impression, which may be incorrect.
What matters is that most churches are garbage. They want you to get some kind of “Jesus experience”, an experience that leaves you ignorant and wanting in your soul and spirit. Let’s face it: if you figure out what God expects from you, there’s no need to keep going back to church every Sunday in hopes of finally figuring it out, right?
I didn’t want to take this website in this direction, but I see a huge need to send you a simple message:
If you’ve been told for years that God has a special plan for your life but you still haven’t figured out what that plan is, just do what Scripture tells you to do. Nobody else knows what that plan is but they’ll be happy to tell you what God’s plan is for your life anyway. It’s a recipe for misery.
It’s that simple.
Combine that with the fact that I’m tired of all the garbage that Religion, Inc. keeps trying to shove down your throat – and here we are…
(Please note that I’m not downplaying the social – we can call it “fellowship and community” – aspects of many churches. But for far too many other churches, the Sunday morning “worship show” – and incidentally, that’s how idol worshippers used to worship and it’s not scriptural worship – is all they offer. Zero community!)
Of course, if you do that, then churches can’t convince you to buy the latest book from their pastor or convince you to keep coming back every Sunday in hopes you’ll figure it out (and drop 10% of your paycheck in the offering plate – something Scripture doesn’t tell you to do, by the way – read the book of Deuteronomy to see where your tithe is supposed to go. Then do what you decide to do). You just obey, your life has purpose, and the Church has no power over you.
You know, the Church – which I call Religion, Inc. – that is antithetical to what God and Yeshua (not the Greco-Roman created “Jesus”) intended for us to have.
So I’m here. So is this website. I’m simply offering my view of God and Religion and All That. I’m offering it because this pile of dung we call Religion and Church nowadays is weak, ineffective, is the antithesis of what God intended for us to have, and is hurting you. And it’s been fueled by 2,000+ years of defending tradition, a tradition that’s based on nothing more than the opinions of fallible people like you and me. Or, in many cases, people who wanted to use the “fear of God” to bring you into submission and get you to give to their version of a church instead of using your money to spread God’s love and help others.
And since I’m as fallible as the next person, I’m probably wrong too. My point isn’t to convince you that I know The One True Way. It’s simply to show you what has worked for me and why I think it works.
It’s called Wisdom. It’s called Obedience (or at least a feeble attempt at it). It’s called Telling Religion, Inc. To Stick It In Their Ear So You Can Finally Start Experiencing True Blessings In Your Life.
Let the fun begin.
NOTE: Comments are closed on all of my articles. This is intentional. I have less than zero desire to engage in arguments with those who feel the need to defend their religious traditions by using arguments full of logic traps and analytic fallacies.