Chuck The Geek.com

Church service and the s-word

August 9th, 2007 by Chuck Sharp

So, we were getting a really great sermon on Sunday about how we need to be helping the poor. Terrific, stirring, motivational. About halfway through, the guest speaker stops and says, “The truth is, we don’t give a s— about the poor.” I swear, you could’ve heard a pin drop in the worship center.

He then looks at the congregation and says that the bible doesn’t actually say anything specifically about swearing being a sin, but rather that swearing is not good because it’s not something done in civilized company. He gave a convincing spiel. Then, he goes on to talk about the pharisees and their focus on outward rule keeping. They would follow all the rules to the letter, but neglect the principles behind the rules. For instance, a pharisee was not allowed to do any work on the sabbath, and so would carefully avoid any situations where he would have to help out anyone for any reason, because that would be working. This speaker’s point was that the pharisees would follow all the rules and forget why the rules were there. In other words, religion without love, hope, compassion, kindness, faith, etc. is a dead religion.

He challenged us to ponder why we were so upset by his swearing but not concerned in the slightest by the man on the corner living out of a shopping cart.

Honestly, I feel totally mixed up about this message. On one hand, he got his point across. Holy cow. I can’t think of a more compelling way to do than he did. On the other hand, I’m not sure the ends justified the means. In any case, he delivered a powerful message, and I truly am glad I heard it.

Entry Filed under: Philosophy