Dirt Diggers

Kopp Disclosure

(John 3:19-21)

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"What's that I see in your eye?"

Jesus

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    It's better to dump your dirt before someone digs it up.

    Aside from it being the only Christian thing to do in a confessional/repentant/redemptive/restorative kinda way, it pulls the rug from under those who wanna stand up and say how awful everyone is but, uh, them.

    Also, it's fun.

    I've found few things as much fun as admitting an accuser's got it right about something wrong about me.

    The look on their faces!

    Ya can't tell if they're gettin' a vision from God or went before they got to the restroom.

    Self-righteous speck-inspectors don't know what to do with people who humble themselves before 'em.

    While they're tryin' to expose and dispose and..., a humble person will just say, "Yeah, you're right...I said/did that...I'm sorry...I hope you will forgive me..."

    That's the best way to deal with 'em; and then let Him take care of the rest: "You will be judged in the same way that you judge...The measure you give is the measure you will get...If you forgive, you will be forgiven...If you don't forgive, foooohhhhggggeeeetttttaaaaboutit."

    Whoa.

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    I'm not a shrink and God hasn't told me why so many people are such self-righteous speck-inspectors.

    My guess is some people feel better about themselves and how awful they know they really are by spending more of their time on how awful others are than how awful they are.

    It's cheaper than heroin.

    Or maybe they really do feel superior to others.

    That proves they're on heroin.

    Or maybe they just like to talk about other people's problems to avoid dealing with their own problems.

    Gossip.

    Maybe that's a substitute for heroin.

    Again, I don't know; just guessing...

    BTW, going back to "Needling Gays" that you can call up by clicking on the archive of it to the right, did you know that some people think being gay is worse than being a gossip?

    Yeah, it's true in an untrue Biblical kinda way.

    They assume God has prorated their big ten to account for whatever phobia's enslaving 'em.

    Buuuuuuut it could be they know that many more people are into gossip than gayness.

    Maybe gossip is more acceptable than gayness to 'em.

    Did it ever occur to 'em that if they're gonna be, uh, you know, fair as they kick out the unrepentant gays, they're gonna have to kick out the unrepentant gossipers!

    Ouch.

    Then nobody'll be left on Sunday mornings!

    What to do?  What to do?

    Hmm.

    Maybe the better way is to call everyone to confession and repentance so that...

    Nah.

    We like to play in the dirt...

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    I made a tough decision to let a staff member, uh, go many years ago - go is euphemistic for saying we woulda fired him sooner than later if he didn't, uh, go...

    Whenever we had a staff meeting, he'd jump in and start in on other staff members; pointing out how they weren't doing their jobs.

    It was brilliant!

    By pointing out their inefficacies, we never got around to his!

    Well, finally, we got around to him and he had to, uh, go...

    For almost a year after he, uh, went, people would come and ask, "Why did he have to go?"

    I'd always ask, "Why do you want to know?"

    If that didn't end the dirt-digging inquiry, I'd ask, "Why do you need to know?"

    If that didn't end the dirt-digging, I'd ask, "How will this honor Jesus for you to know why he's gone?"

    99% of all inquiries were never satisfied because they were after dirt and I wasn't shovelin' it up for 'em; and only somebody who wants to get dirty will play in the dirt with 'em.

    The desert fathers often referred to such curiosity that often feeds gossip with no Jesus-honoring intentions as vanity.

    Sin.

    They got it from Solomon.

    Solomon got it from God.

    It was/remains His way of saying we get dirty when we play in dirt.

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    Maybe that's part of the whole baptism thing.

    Mostly, it's being "marked off" for God.

    Yet, yeah, it also includes washing off the dirt.

    Hmm.

    Maybe it's time for us to rethink rebaptism.

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Blessings and Love!