The Person Responsible for this Morning’s Whiny Post Has Been Shot

Thanks, Tom. That's what social media is all about from my perspective. I'm tired of the Internet being a place where people create fake identities to act out immoral fantasies in anonymity.

Everything we do should glorify God. That includes my time at a church building, my time at the office, my time with my family, and even my time spent blogging.

If it doesn't glorify Christ, it's not worth doing. Period.

Marcus: I was struck reading your posts, the responses, then your responses, of the presence of two pillars - vulnerability and universality. I never really understood the concept of an on-line "community," until now. You're allowed to have those times of frustration - we clearly all do - but by being open about what you're feeling, you've created a space where Christ's model can be lived out. I'm getting goosebumps!

Thanks, y'all. (I'm in Texas, you know.) I'm posting this comment during the middle of the last performance of Midsummer Night's Dream. In just a short time, Duke Theseus will be no more.

Ray, it's always embarassing when an editor spells something wrong! : ) Even editors need editors.

L.L., I just know too many people with too much money who do nothing but complain that they don't have more. I don't want to be one of those people.

Heather, for me the real difficulty is discerning what God wants me to do. I can usually snap myself out of a poor me pity party. It's figuring out where to go next that gives me the real trouble. I pray and listen, but sometimes it is hard to hear. I mean, I have enough trouble listening to people who talk to me directly.

ESI, you are very very kind.

Craver, you win with the waaambulance thing. Hilarious! And perfect use of a joke to diffuse my mood.

Susan, I always was a dork. I'm so dorky even my whiny side is dorky. (Ray, don't look up dork in the dictionary. It's not a nice word. And I'm pretty sure I spelled it right.) Also, Susan, your second post is very helpful to me. I'm always trying to honor the community here, the way L.L. honors the community on her blog. And the way many of you do. Knowing what draws you in is good.

John, you honor me with such a long comment! Never worry about posting too much here. Though usually, with a comment that long, I post on my blog and provide a trackback. That's more about me generating another post rather than not leaving long comments, though. Also, that's a good idea to give away more money. Tithing and donating money is the best way to remind myself what is really important.

Spagettipie, we teach a lot about the importance of vulnerability on TheHighCalling.org. It's good to know that I'm successfully practicing what we preach. Thanks for the encouragement.

And did someone say I have wit and wisdom?! I'll try not to let that go to my head.

Love you all!

gonna hafta agree with Spaghetti on this one - these qualities are what draw me back here too - not that there's not wit and wisdom, for there is - but that's not the primary draw

Craver-you cracked me up with the waambulance *laughing*

I appreciate both your vulnerability and your brokenness. Even in cyber-space, those qualities build community. For whatever reason guilt struck you - warranted or not, necessary or not - I love your humility and desire to learn in order to grow closer to God. Thanks for the model.

"Crunch."

Oops, sorry, that was the apple in me. (Or was it me in the apple?)

I'm a little overwhelmed by the comments, guys. Thanks. I read them last night after the play, but it was too late to say anything.

I'll be thinking about what you all said.

This ended up being a lot longer than I intended. You might want to edit it down.

I have seen poverty in two different American (Texas) cities. It was interesting to see the difference between the two.

In one city the poverty in a particular part of town was encased in a sense of hopelessness. 44% dropped out by the 9th grade. 63% of the adults over 25 did NOT have a high school diploma or GED. Most boys dropped out before middle school. I met several men who didn't make it past the 4th grade. Ask a ten-year-old boy in the neighborhood what he wanted to be when he grew up and he would just look at you. He had no frame of reference within which to answer that question. All of the men he knew were selling drugs, in jail, or dead. The average age of consensual sex in the neighborhood was 11. Girls were having babies at thirteen and fourteen not because they were careless with birth control, but because they WANTED to get pregnant because they thought a baby would love the. I could have dropped $100,000 per person in that neighborhood into personal bank accounts and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. The people there didn't feel like they had anything to offer to society, they didn't know how to receive love or express love. There were inherent deficiencies, not because of who they were, but because of their backgrounds and life experiences.

The other town has a lot of low-income people, but they were also work hard and have hope. They have not given up. They see their value in our community. They like the fact that the agency I work for charges them a nominal fee for services instead of giving it for free. The feel of this town is completely different than the feel of my last town. Not because the poor made more money, but the poor felt like they were contributing to the community and they derived some amount of pride from that.

I say all of this to make the point that I can look at the wealthy people who donate to my current social service agency and feel inferior to them because they have more than I do. I can look at our clients and feel superior because I have more than they do. But I'm getting closer (I'm not quite there yet) to the point where I can feel equal to both the donor and the client because we are all working together to serve our community.

Work is part of God's created order, whether you are retired and need something to do, unemployed and need activity, or working for every morsel of food you consume.

Last point. One thing I do. If I ever start thinking I need more money, that is usually God's cue to me that I need to look at giving some more money away because I'm holding on to my stuff too much, and I need to think of others more.

That is the best you can do for a "sicko, whiny side"? You're going to have to work on that part - it was barely even a whimper. Now when you shake your fist in the air at God and ask Him if He's paying attention what is happening in your life - then I might consider it a bit more sicko.

Seriously - there's a reason the psalmist said, "why art thou cast down oh my soul; hope thou in God for He is yet the health of thy countenance" because at some time, we all feel like that. You came round pretty quickly too - speaks to your level of faith and resilience.

So there is no need now to dispatch a waambulance? ;-)

Marcus

I'm going to psycho-analyze your prior post and it won't cost you a thing...of course, I'm not a professional...and I should mention that it's worth what you paid for it.

In any case, you feel bad for your prior post because like many of us at different points in our lives, you wrestle with a tinge of discontentment. Sometimes, it's because we think we should get paid more, other times it's because our wife is seriously ill and we wonder why everyone else gets to have a happy life. No matter who you are, what you make, what kind of life you have, we live in a fallen world and we're all susceptible to sinful responses against God.

Here's the thing - you realized your response and you saw with new light. God HAS blessed you. You're not getting the judgment you deserve, but rather unmerited kindness from God - eternal life plus a loving wife, wonderful family, gifting to do a job well. And, you were humble enough to do a "make up" post. That my friend, makes you more than an editor - it's evidence that you're a man who knows and loves God.

Also, the fact that you're doing what God calls you to do, is not trite at all...it's faith.

The pull between having a paycheck that will assuredly pay bills and doing what you know God wants you to do is a rough game of tug-of-rope.

I did not find it whiny. Maybe you had an inside view we didn't? :) Leave the post, dear man. I've been weeping on Seedlings, why can't you be whining here?

Hey Marcus,

It didn't come across as whining to me. And I enjoyed the article you linked to. And now I know how to spell the word "spiele." (I don't think I have ever seen it in print before.) . . . . . . . . Whoops, I just checked Webster's and they have it as "spiel." So now maybe I know how to spell it!

Have a great day!
Ray