Tonight I stayed up late to an exceedingly silly degree, but in doing so I got a TiVo configured and a Facebook account cleaned up. These things are important to techie guys.
To myself, however, the most important development of the night is that an excessively long sidebar turned into a separate about page. That page kind of turned into my testimony, too.
I’ve never written out my testimony in a way that makes me happy. It either sounded too self-centered (look at me, I’m important!) or too religious-sounding. With tongue inserted firmly in cheek, I learned early in my Christianity that I was supposed to have my testimony ready. I don’t really see that as a requirement in Scripture, but it’s honestly not a bad idea. It’s kind of like a business card of your spirituality.
The problem in my mind with the few testimonies that I have read is that they sound fake. They don’t sound legitimate. If you know anything about me, you know that I despise things that are fake. I hate legalism with all my heart–not the people themselves, but their legalism. I’ve lost several friends that were infected with the disease of legalism. The trouble with legalism is that these modern-day Pharisees don’t know they are religious. Legalism is a form of deception, and the problem with deception is that you don’t know you’re deceived.
‘Churchianity’ is too powerful, and it’s what is driving people away from the Kingdom of God. People need to see Jesus. They see people who claim to know Jesus but live narrow-minded, judgmental, stoic, unhappy lives. They’re mean people who are not having fun, so the unbeliever is turned off and says, ‘why, those people are a bunch of hypocrites!’ And the sad thing is, for the most part, they are 100% correct.
Most Christians are hypocrites. It takes the truth of God’s Word to shine the light into our hearts and make us real people, setting us free from legalism. God set me free, or at least is in the process. Let’s just say that this a continuing work (yay for sanctification!), but I’m much more free than I used to be.
As a wise man said, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. Good night.
what they said