WWJD - nap

"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

It's never not intimidated me when the Bible says I/we gotta imitate Christ. For most of my life, I've understood this as meaning 'be like Jesus' to = 'don't sin, always be the best.'

While not sinning is part of imitating Jesus, it's not all of it. The imitation of Christ is too often equated with attaining for 'perfection.' And our sense of 'perfection' is warped, frankly. Icarus can never make it.

To be blunt: Jesus did not create daily to-do lists, complete with immaculate, color-coded penmanship. He never got into what his Enneagram type could be. He did not wake up at 4AM every day to fit in 90 minutes of cardio and strength training. He probably didn't floss after every meal. He did not show up 10 minutes early to every lesson at synagogue, just to ensure he wasn't late. When he gave a housewarming gift, he may have re-used a gift bag.

He probably let his food ... touch the other food on his plate.

In fact, Jesus:

-took naps on the regular (Mark 4:38)

-enthusiastically ran away when a crowd became too much (Mark 6:31-32)

-got hungry, and then became annoyed when he couldn't find food (Matthew 21:18-19)

-was not at everything other people expected him to attend (John 11:6, John 11:21)

-cried when he was sad (John 11:35)

-showed frustration at religious systems -- and didn't even try to hide it (John 2:13-17)

-every so often resisted his family's pressure on how he should live his life (Mark 3:21,31-35)

It's almost as though Jesus -- in telling his disciples and followers to imitate -- is saying we should copy *all* of his ways in how we live day by day. In the famous words of the penguin skipper from Madagascar when they made it to the beach: "Now THIS is more like it." 

So while we're trying to imitate Jesus and keep from sinning, and in trying to love our neighbors as ourselves, let's not forget about how Jesus didn't always go along with his family's wishes--we may need to imitate that at some point. Or when Jesus cried. Or how Jesus showed some frustration. Or how Jesus took those naps.

street barkers, fools rush in

 "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself." -Proverbs 26:4

"Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." -Proverbs 26:5

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You overhear something ridiculously foolish. This happens all the time, right? It's just way off base. 

It's a topic you care about -- politics, urban poverty, religion, fantasy football rankings, best version of a video game franchise, identity, mayo vs Miracle Whip ... something like that. Or you doomscroll and see a comment on a friend of a friend's social media post. It stirs you up. "What a dumb thing to say," you think to yourself. Someone said something that you know is wrong. It tempts you to want to get involved and to correct. 

Do you give a rebuttal? 

Answer from the book of Proverbs: "Uh, it depends."

Here's the deal: Proverbs is a practical book for living well and godly in just about every aspect of ordinary life. So, depending on the situation, answering a fool is either the best response ... but then sometimes, not answering is the wiser option.

We have these two sayings: "Too many cooks in the kitchen" and "many hands make light work"*.

Which one of these sayings applies in a given situation? Discernment will give an idea of which route to take. It's not that they contradict -- they do not. It's that depending on the situation, either one can well apply. At one time in life, I might've engaged with street preachers to debate. Now, I usually walk past, and respectfully take a pamphlet if they offer one (if I happen to disagree with what they're saying, I will definitely take a pamphlet -- one given to me is one that can't be given to anyone else).

So, to get back to Proverbs 26:4-5. There's a difference between quarreling with a fool at their own level, which is often worthless and accomplishes nothing...

and yet, in certain context, we should certainly provide a reproof, so the fool doesn't think their assertion can't be rebutted.

What isn't addressed in these two verses:

-How can we tell who is the fool? These verses don't say or describe what the fool says or believes -- ergo, it could be you (or me) just as plausibly as it could be anyone else.

-How should we respond, if we do? These two verses are just about whether or not to respond, but not how. How to respond is aptly discussed elsewhere, and we should get into that, but for another time.

*(thanks to my sem prof and the Proverbs notes!)

Tom Petty knowledge

Waiting. It often is not easy.

Waiting for the phone alarm to go off -- 

waiting for this boredom to go away -- 

waiting for the money to hit the account

Waiting, on the water in the shower to get warm

Waiting for this cringe self-talk to shut up -- 

waiting for the coffee order -- 

waiting for the meds in the mail

Waiting, for a scattershot heart to finally settle down

Waiting for that app notification -- 

waiting for that friend to figure it out -- 

waiting until my coffee cools before trying a sip

Waiting, on a sunny day

Waiting for the forward pass -- 

waiting to burp until she's walked away -- 

waiting for life to start

Waiting, for life to slow down

Waiting to feel more grown up -- 

waiting for this coffee to kick in -- 

waiting until lunch to eat

Waiting, counting down the weeks and days

Waiting to feel not so lost -- 

waiting on that new album to drop -- 

waiting to hear his laugh again

Waiting, for the pitch

Waiting for the test results -- 

waiting to say the words you've longed to say -- 

waiting for summer

Waiting, with imperfect patience

Waiting to snack because we just ate lunch -- 

waiting for the sunscreen to soak in -- 

waiting to find the perfect meme before replying

Waiting, until the time is finally here

Waiting patiently on the Lord -- 

waiting for the coffee to wear off -- 

waiting to share some good news

Waiting, to take back control of the aux cord

Waiting for justice -- 

waiting for these clouds to move -- 

waiting to fold the laundry 

Waiting, on hope, faith, love--

We're waiting