Maundy Thursday Musings:
This morning, going through my email, I took a few minutes to clear out some unwanted messages. One by one I scrolled to the bottom in search of the unsubscribe button.
"I swear I've already unsubscribed from this," I groaned, clicking the button once again.
Sometimes a sweet little message would pop up, telling me the task was complete.
More often, however, I was placed in a gauntlet to run through in order to be released.
The establishments that sent simple messages saying thanks for subscribing, we're still here if you change your mind, and sorry to see you go, are my instant friends. They're the ones I'm most likely to revisit down the road. Thanks for letting me choose my own inbox.
It got me thinking....
I'm pretty firm in my trust that we existed in some form or other before we were born, and that we will continue in another form after we die. I also think this is not a haphazard circumstance but something divinely orchestrated, meaning some power other than myself is in charge of the whole shebang.
I also have a fairly firm conviction that part of our very existence as humans is the divinely bestowed power of free choice. Besides our bodies, I think it's our first great gift, going hand in hand with the sacred Atonement of our advocate, Jesus Christ, who has our backs when that free choice gets us in trouble. As a parent I have to continually remind myself that my job with my kids was to teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves. That phrase "teach them correct principles" can be a bugger though, because frankly... what do I know? Ugh! This is why I know it's important to have spiritual laws. They keep us "innocents" on the path when we're not really sure how to get to the safe place. Nonetheless, we get to choose where we plant our feet. My own personal spiritual force, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, works in me to confirm or deny. I consider the Holy Ghost my greatest God given tool in this life.
Some of us are so passionate about that right to choose we get ourselves stuck in some pretty thick muck just to prove the point. And some of us, conversely, are so passionate about blindly following without question that we have blocked our peripheral vision and lost some of those beauties around us. Regardless, I maintain we have the right to push unsubscribe at any point.
I've been interested lately in the word apologetics. It feels like it should align with the word apologize, but it doesn't seem to. Apologetics are basically religious defenses. Whereas apologies are regret and sorrow for wrongdoing or offense. Apology admits fault, while apologetics defends a position.
Having recently watched someone I deeply love be hurt by a trusted friend, I've seen the use of apologetics being used where apology would have been more effective. Not that the two are pitted against each other. I know they are two different things based on the same root word. But I've noticed that we often explain away our actions that are harmful rather than first letting the hurt be addressed. A sincere apology generally sets both parties on equal ground where healing can begin to grow.
Except in academia, I am not a fan of the common man's use of apologetics. It feels haughty. Unless someone asks for the clarification apologetics can make for us, it feels presumptuous. I don't need to know what the nutrients of the meal are when I am famished. I just need to be fed. Later, if I am interested in the ingredients, then I will inquire about the rest.
To those of my friends and family who have used their divinely appointed free agency to choose their own spiritual paths, to click the proverbial unsubscribe button, I offer my hand of human fellowship. I am trying to nurture this hands-off/heart-on aspect of myself, having been raised in a religion that is focused on inviting others to join. I personally have chosen to walk a certain path, for my own reasons. But I must also, in order to maintain my integrity, allow everyone to choose for themselves.
I am Christian. I do believe Jesus Christ to be the Redeemer of mankind. But I also know He himself offers everyone the right to not believe in him. That's pretty amazing in itself.
Believe what you will. My apologies for giving apologetics when what is needed for misguided judgement of each other is a simple apology.
