Captainwow

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

emerging sideways...: a mirror to our souls

For a nitty gritty reminder: emerging sideways...: a mirror to our souls.

A very transparent post, I'm not sure "enjoy" is the appropriate thing to say... this makes me uncomfortable because it reminds me of me.

But at the same time I'm sayin' "Bring it, Bobbie!"

posted by Captainwow on 8/09/2005

4 Comments:

  • thank you for the kind, kind words and encouragement!

    By Blogger bobbie, at 8/10/2005 4:32 PM  

  • And I think opposite of just me. Have I seen that over and over again? Yep. But I beleive that we are to do what we know to do and God will work out the rest. It does not matter what that end does with what ever...it matters what WE do when we are called to do it.

    By Blogger Princess of Everything (and then some), at 8/11/2005 12:21 PM  

  • What exactly is wrong with getting freaked out by the stank of some ole gross geezer?...especially if he is going to hang around your kids. Why is that such a sin? I don't get it.

    We were, hopefully, raised with a sense of the importance of cleaniness. This guy has a place to live and I am sure it has a tub or a shower. But if he doesn't think it matters, should we not think it matters?

    One major difference that I see between Bobby and her "hero," is that the "hero" who helped the old man with his air conditioner did not have her kids with her...Bobby did though at the time they met. At home, I am sure that Bobby makes sure that her kids know how to clean themselves...they have a daily checklist before they go to school, and with these standards in hand, not a day goes by that her kids go without brushing their teeth. I am sure they pride themselves on their appearance. It is a matter of forming habits that are essential for good, productive, healthy living. Bobby doesn't allow laziness in her household to be an excuse: everyone has to wash their hands for dinner and comb their hair before going out in public. Clean the dishes, clean the toilets, clean their rooms, etc.

    With her kids present, this man must have come as a shock to her...if she was by herself and this old man had said something to her, she may have reacted differently...but he basically came into her jurisdiction when speaking to her family...and he frankly violated the values that she as a parent has been propagating, with very good reason.

    To say that the piss and dirt and sweat and whatever else tweaked her nostrils...that he choose to come into the public streets wearing...were emblematic of her own fallen human nature is, quite frankly, an inappropriate analogy. Who knows exactly what bacteria and disease this empirical emblem of the given state of our spirituality is harboring? Smells like death, indeed...then keep my kids, who just washed behind their ears, at a distance!

    Eph chap 3 is an excellent exposition on the state of our human nature. Yes, our human nature is not good enough. And even taking a bath won't get us to heaven. But that is why we live according to his promises, and not according to the law that doesn't clean us, but makes us smell so rotten. And that why we are baptised...and that is why we are CLEANSED by his blood. "Cleaniness is next to godliness." And if God wants us clean in heaven, I am sure God would like us all to wash our earthen vessels when we have the opportunity. Love is tough, and does not tolerate laziness.

    You want to help him out, buy him a toothbrush, network a deal with the local dentist that worships at your church (rottening teeth and gums lead to heart disease) on moral grounds, take him to the Goodwill, hand him a bar of soap...then, after all that, let your kids pet his kittens.

    Oh, sorry if this is not a popular view.

    By Blogger Steve, at 8/14/2005 1:20 AM  

  • Thank you for not making a knee jerk reaction. Sorry your computer combusts so often, Ayekah.

    I feel sorry for the people that can't take care of themselves, but not for those who can, but choose not to.

    When I was a young man, I delivered pizzas. Some houses though, I did not want to walk in. One place had four dogs in the house, and it stunk...dog turds were even sitting on the carpets that were drying. And here I was: a stranger walking into their house! They showed absolutely no shame at all. Heck, someone that comes into my house to work on the furnace or to check the water meter, I usually do some spot cleaning. I thought, "What in the hell has happened to these people's minds?" Incredulously, on their front door, they had a small sign posted that read something like, "this house is for the security and comfort of our dogs"...in other words, the dogs felt comfortable shitting anywhere they wanted to in the house. These people, I would suspect, would not be shocked to see a man like the one Bobby described...but I would expect that someone like Bobby would be surprised. This is not a "bad" thing, folks! So why become overly dismayed by the fact that you were shocked and revolted at sight of this person and even the smell "of death"?? That self-judgement or self-condemnation is being a little too self-critical, in my opinion. Humility is realistic about one's weakness and strengths.

    Obviously, I don't know this man. I have never sat down with him. I have never looked into his eyes. But if I really cared about him, or if he were my father, my uncle, whatever, I wouldn't allow him to live in filth. I would do what I could for him...but only to a point. Because, by his age, and the standards set by his era, you have got to think that he must understand that he is accountable for his own actions and appearance. And he should know about hygiene...that is not very much to expect.

    I didn't write this to raise people's ire or blood pressure, but I knew it wasn't going to be popular...because we all want to be the 'hero'.

    By Blogger Steve, at 8/15/2005 10:04 AM  

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