All things considered

Here's this week's blog entry for "Opening the Bible" at i.ucc

All Things Considered

That’s the NPR news show for people who think, right? (I think I just gave myself away – I get most of my news from the radio and from the Internet – Are people like me labeled “thinking people?”) People who listen to “All Things Considered” are thought to have a desire to dig deeper into a story and to understand all the underlying meaning and all the complicated connections to other news. The people of Colossae (featured in this week’s Bible reading from Colossians 3:1-11) were thinking people too. This week’s reading, I think, called them to put aside the endless pursuit of complicated knowledge and to discover some simple truth.

A few words in Colossians 3:1-11 have been abused over the centuries. “Fornicaton” and “impurity” continue to be abused as weapons when God’s love and acceptance of homosexual people comes up. It’s almost comical to see parts of this profound and simple expression of advice used to do evil to God’s children. Avoid what is harmful – concentrate on what is helpful and realize that God’s love is for everyone – not just those we judge to be worthy.

I think I’m going to say that again. (Yes, I realize that I don’t really need to type something like that to say it again – It’s just a throwback to the days when instead of typing in a blog we talked to each other and discussed things in person;)

Avoid what is harmful – concentrate on what is helpful and to realize that God’s love is for everyone – not just those we judge to be worthy.

All things considered, I think I should leave it at that.

What do you think?