I don't know how to have the conversation. I am to love all people. We are all sinners. Why aren't liars, and cheaters denied rights. What exactly is a right? Is entitlement to healthcare b/c of marriage, or taxes as a married couple rights?? I think they're more opportunities afforded based on a status. So, if someone is in a homosexual relationship, then should they be afforded the opportunities aligned with marriage?

If someone steals, they are denied the opportunity to continue living in their home b/c they will be living in jail. So, you might say, if you are not really married, because marriage is between a man and woman, then you should forgo the opportunities that marriage affords you. Thus the need to redefine marriage. Hmph. I can call and apple an orange all I want, but it doesn't make it so. But I don't know that I'd deny an orange the opportunity to be in a pie. I'm not sure it would make a very good pie...

But looking at a spiritual perspective - why not deny gluttons (uh, hello, America), civil liberties?
Why was it not possible to allow gays to have the civil liberties as heterosexuals without "redefining" marriage? And at that point are we splitting hairs? Did we technically redefine marriage anyway or really just say gay couples that are "married" can now pursue X.

I was very disheartened at an image displayed on ABC's evening news today. A woman held a sign that said "OVERTURNED." She was ecstatic. The image above the word "overturned" was of a man and a woman with two kids between them, inverted. The "family" was upside down. To me, that goes beyond just wanting to be seen as an equal. To me that is a destructive, vindictive sign, showing an obvious desire to turn typical families literally on their heads. That is very disturbing. Why in your victory must you also destroy?

I am so sad. So sad......I want so bad to hear Jesus' heart on this. I wonder what questions He would pose to expose the root issues that lay in our hearts.

God, help me as I lead a son in this world. Help me help him navigate the murky waters of tolerance and truth. Amen.

The Shameless Sham

This morning has been an interesting one. After listening to a rooter crow his heart out in the post office as he waited to be picked up by his new owner, I went shopping at one of my favorite stores - Gordman's.  While there, I witnessed a 20 something woman get caught shoplifting.

She purchased something and started walking out of the store. The man standing in front of me put his item to purchase on a shelf and quickly started to follow her. As soon as she walked out the door, the man BOLTED - I mean he was fast! Then he came back in the store with her and I could hear him telling her they'd call the cops if she didn't do something (not sure what he said as he was trying to be discreet).

I'll admit when he first got out of line to see what the girl was doing and then bolted after her, I thought - 'Wow. He must really want to go out with her and get her number.' Then it all became clear as the workers kept looking over their shoulders at the situation, and I heard comments like,
"She deserves it."
"She's done it before."
"We got a call from our other store to watch for her."

I also overheard another 20 something woman with multi-colored streaks in her hair at the register next to me say, "That's embarrassing." Like she felt sorry for the shoplifter.

A part of me felt sorry for the woman, too, because I was thinking - it couldn't have been much if it fit in her purse, and apparently she couldn't even afford pants! The dress shirt she'd pulled down, hardly covered her. Now, in her defense, I have the shirt she had on and wondered if I too could pull it down over leggings and qualify it as a dress. But I've never done that because I don't think it's a good look for a mid-thirties me.:) But, I digress....

The other customer's comment snagged my brain.

Whenever something snags my brain I try to find out why. This time I came up with this:
The shoplifter SHOULD be embarrassed. She should feel shame. What she did was wrong.

I think as our world gets more PC, and trained to be more sensitive, we have lost the desire to see anyone hurt. Or be embarrassed. And in the light of those good things - being more socially aware, and caring - we have let shame slip away.

I think we need shame. Just like we need pain. No one likes to hurt, but pain is actually a good thing! As Philip Yancy describes in his books, The Gift Nobody Wants, and The Gift of Pain, pain actually is what alerts us that something is wrong. Diabetics don't get their feet amputated because they quit working. Diabetics get their feet amputated because they got a sore they didn't FEEL, and then got a raging infection that caused the need for the amputation. Pain is good. I think shame is good, too.

Shame is our conscience's pain. It's the hurt we feel inside when we've done something morally or ethically wrong. It makes us feel convicted. It shows us that there is a better way. That whatever we did is not good for us, or someone else, and we need to correct the action or the hurting will continue.

Shame points us to God. The only way to really get rid of shame is to be forgiven. Most of us know that when we've hurt a friend or a loved one and we've asked for forgiveness and it is extended by the one we hurt - it makes us feel better. Imagine, what forgiveness feels like from the One that made you. The One who set that trigger inside us to know and feel shame. He did that because He knows a better way to live. He wants us to steer clear of those things that hurt us not only physically, but spiritually, too. And He can take that shame. He offers forgiveness.

I hope that we as a society don't fall into the sham of shamelessness. I hope that we can instead come along side those that have made mistakes, or done something shameful, and love them and help them as they experience consequences, and show them a better way. Because, really, we're all shameful. We all need help.

You found this 'cause why?

That title makes me laugh. It just sounds so grammatically gruesome. But, I do wonder...if you stumbled upon this blog because you were searching for something - what was it? What did you Google, or Bing, or Yahoo, that led you here? I haven't posted in quite some time - maybe 2 years? Yet I see that people keep stumbling upon this blog, so I'm wondering what it is that draws them here.

If you read this - PLEASE - leave me a comment about what brought you to Mind Menagerie.
I only have one follower - Hi Ash!- so all the other views are driven by something, but what?

 Anyhow, I think I will pick up this blog again, though. I'd like a place to sort through whatever. Lately I've been considering a lot of theological issues. I'm a Christian, but as I've aged, my views on God, grace, and salvation have been changing. I like to think I'm getting more like Christ. We're all supposed to, right? That is the purpose. So....this will be the place I sort my thoughts. With that in mind, please don't think that if I post it on Tuesday, I will still hold the opinion on Thursday. :)

I love that God welcomes questions. I love that He is intellectually superior and doesn't get angry with an earnest seeker. So, here I will try to find more of His wisdom. More of His heart. Why, because I truly believe that God created man to know Him. He wants me to know Him. And the thought of the Almighty God inviting me to know Him, honestly, makes my heart beat a little faster.

Well, that's all for now! Bye, Ash! And all you other one time droppers by! I hope you'll drop by again.:)

:)