Showing posts with label thug life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thug life. Show all posts

Monday, May 17, 2010

Saint on Sunday thug the rest of the week

He was a pastor but he looked like a thug; he said people should not judge him.

The young man was pastor of an old church in our community. On Sunday, he preached a powerful word that was truly awesome. On other days he, cursed loudly, dressed with with his pants sagging, sported wife beater tee-shirts, played gangsta rap music loudly from his car, and was constantly in the news for confrontations with his boyfriend that got him arrested. He said people should not judge him, only God do that. He even challenged members of his church to cast the first stone.

Somehow the young man didn't get the picture. His Sunday picture differed from the picture people saw the remaining six days. He became upset when other believers rightly expected both pictures to be the same.

That expectation applies not just to pastors, but to believers, too. It's confusing to non-believers when they see God's best doing the same sinful things that they do. Is Sunday the only day that believers are expected to be holy?

I hope I give an example of a life lived with restraint, though error proned. I hope I give the image of a person bubbling with enthusiasm, highly committed and energized but willing to admit mistakes and redirect. I hope I give the right image to those who see me; if I don't then I am an embarrassment to the cross.

There is a passage of scripture in 1 Peter 1:15-17 "As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy." You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God."

That young minister eventually left the church and moved to another city. He left his pastorate, all he really had to do was change his life.