I have to admit.. I have mixed feelings about Doug Wilson. Sometimes I think I know what he's talking about and others I plain don't. And even when I do think I know I have an unsettled feeling that I will be wrong in the end and that somehow my being wrong will expose something about me that I won't quite like exposed, except I don't know what, because I'm not absolutely sure I know what he's talking about.
But he had a few blogs posted a few links to blogs I had never read before- Stuff White People Like and Unhappy Hipsters. I had never heard of those blogs. But he said (I think) they were something you could turn up on if you were turning wordly so I would like to know what they are! So I click over.. Now, stuff white people like is clearly written by a guy who is plain unhappy that he wasn't born with cooler skin pigment. I mean, sure, white people like picking their own fruit, but I don't think it's limited to only white people. But the unhappy hipsters... half the pictures on that site were from Dwell magazine! And *I* just publicly acknowledged that I like Dwell magazine! Before the whole world!!!! On the internet!!! (Never mind I think like 5 people read my blog-that's beside the point. You never know when your next door neighbor will google some random thing and suddenly be paging through years of all your stuff.. I digress..)
Should I take that post down? Examine my inner soul as to whether I am indeed on the path to perdition.. err liberalness? One commenter said (I think) that this is the first step to endorsing you know whose marriage... AAAaaaaagh!!!!
And NOT ONLY THAT but there seems to be some question as to whether one can buy a low flush toilet and not be sinning. Dear readers... I must confess... I HAVE A LOW FLUSH TOILET! BY CHOICE! (And you know, it works fine, thank you very much.)
So what I want to know is, now do I have to be self conscience about my low flush toilet every time I have friends over? When they ask "Where's the bathroom?" do I have to say "Oh it's right over there, please excuse the low flush toilet, you know my husband is a contractor and we get these types of things cheaper than everyone else we wouldn't have paid full price for it I just like to save money on my water bill, don't you know it's not that I'm cowtowing to the greenies, I think it's horrible how their inflicting their low flush toilet laws on everybody else and I'm not saying everybody has to have a low flush toilet but it is kind of nice when you have so many kids because you know they do tend to flush a lot... heh heh..."
Is there anywhere left where there is no subtext? Does every single thing we do have to be analyzed and judged? Wanting to be a little bit "eco-friendly" (gag) in the name of saving money and perhaps reducing waste or whatever is a slippery slope to hell?
ReplyDeleteMaybe I didn't get it either but I'm picturing Christians who go out of their way to be "eco-unfriendly" just to prove a point.
And we wonder why so many people think Christians are goofy.
I just tried to type a comment and the pc ate it...argh! Oh well. Just wanted you to know I love you and to encourage you to walk by grace ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh. I surely hope you aren't feeling self-conscious over a silly toilet. But I can totally relate to feeling the need to justify things to people who may be judging. I'll have to check out Mr. Wilson's post now. I may end up feeling guilty too because Dwell is one of my favorite magazines. Right up there with Real Simple and House Beautiful. Don't know if there's hope for me....
ReplyDeleteWhen I get to feeling like that about something I read like that I usually ask my husband. He knows me and loves me best and would hate to see me drift from the Lord. He'll tell me the truth. Sometimes he'll tell me he doesn't think it's a good idea for me to keep reading So and So because whenever I do I get this vague sense of guilt & condemnation. (Godly conviction, by the way, lets us know what it is we've done and leaves us with a positive direction for growth. It points us to Christ and leaves us clean. Condemnation drives us away from Him and makes us feel dirty and without hope.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I've found that the people who call things worldly, well, none of them seem to even be able to agree what they mean by that. I, for one, consider it worldly when I go to a church function and all the ladies ever talk about is their lifestyle choices (all nice Christian things like cooking, sewing, diapering, etc). I REALLY need to talk about Jesus sometimes and am in desperate need of His love and grace and all I can find are people talking about how their way of life is better than everyone else's. Worldliness is when you are all about this life in this world, leaving the Cross behind.
So, I say, love Jesus. It's okay to like pretty things. He likes them too. In fact they were His idea in the first place. Our love of beauty is a result of being created in His image. Enjoy music that makes you laugh and dance. We're made to enjoy that stuff. (Just watch and innocent little toddler shake it's innocent little booty when it hears a good beat!)And whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.
um. that's just weird, isn't it? I mean just because the liberals are all about being green doesn't mean being at least slightly green isn't good. bah.
ReplyDeleteOh Marbel, I so agree, the subtexts WEAR ME OUT! There is a pastor on the radio that gives like a 5 minute sermon and then subtexts about what he isn't saying, what he doesn't mean, etc... I wonder if he even realizes it sometimes.
ReplyDeleteConnie, missed you at church last week. I hope the little man is getting better. I love you too.
Sarah, I'm not quite that bad. And really, I doubt anyone notices the toilet. I think the 10 kids would bring us out of any suspicion that we were just kissing up to greenies. I think...
Laurie, what you bring up is very true, and really more the point. Worldliness is not in this or that, it's in the heart and the desire to please men rather than God. And that can take hold in the midst of a conservative group of women who are sitting around the table and comparing mixers and grain grinders etc. It's more about why the decisions are made than in the decisions themselves.
Ya Lyn, can we not just make decisions and not be in one "camp" or another?
Oh and Sarah, I think House Beautiful is approved reading material, but Real Simple? Not too sure about that. I mean, sure there are cupcakes which we know are godly, but what about shoe trees and makeup storage tips? Oh, be careful!!!
ReplyDeleteYou got me, Kerri. (hangs head in shame) :) Oh well. I did go and read his article. I don't necessarily do "green" things (recycle, use cloth bags instead of plastic, etc) to "save the planet". I do it because I think it's wasteful not to. Just because I know God is in control and do not believe the planet needs saving per se, does not mean that I have the right to go around being wasteful and extravagant in my lifestyle. I think there's a balance there between the two mindsets. Anyway, just my 2cents. I happen to think recycling is cool and if I had enough land to put a windmill on, I would do it. And I don't think that makes me worldy. On the countrary, I think it's resourceful.
ReplyDeleteRiffing off BlueCastle... God gave us the earth to live on and care for. How can anyone say it's not Christian to avoid wasting the resources He gave us? Don't we have a duty to do that? Don't we have a duty not to wreck it - as in, making it less beautiful? Of course God is in control, but He allows us to participate in the care of the home He gave us.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I may "riff" off BlueCastle and Marbel, there's nothing loving to our neighbor about wasting resources and polluting our environment. Because of sin, we humans are a blight on the earth, and all creation groans because of us(Rom. 8:22). I'm always puzzled to hear my brothers and sisters in Christ argue that we are not really hurting anything, and can't really hurt anything, when Scripture tells us we are. The book of Revelation leads me to believe we will do quite a number on this planet of ours. I heard one of my fave preachers say once that the earth is disposable. We're going to get a new one and so we should just use up this one. And yet I know this man doesn't smoke and goes to the doctor when he's sick. He doesn't treat his body that way, even though he'll get a new one. He doesn't treat his home that way. Why on earth would he do that to the earth? Is that loving to the rest who live here? It's okay to be green if you want - only do it to the glory of God.
ReplyDeleteEveryones feeling guilty and now here I am feeling guilty cause I've never heard of Dwell so I totally cant say if I like it or not. sigh
ReplyDelete