Rules for Facebook

I found this on another blog I read: http://20-nothings.blogspot.com.  Thought it was worth re-posting! I have had many of the same thoughts!

• Rules #1 - if you friend someone who, when they see your name in the subject-line of the ________ has-requested-to-be-your-friend-on-Facebook e-mail will go who is that?? - you are required to send a message with your request. Anything from, "Hey Jessie, it's been AGES, hope you're well" - if I haven't spoken to you since 3rd grade. Or, "Hey Jessie, I'm ________ a friend of _________" if I will otherwise have no idea who you are. I have been trying to think of a real-life-scenario metaphor to explain how weird this would be if you did it to someone live, but there is no comparison. Just, if you think there's a chance my reaction is going to be, "ummmm?what?" - try to prevent that with a sensible, personal touch.

• Rule #2 - If you wouldn't say it at full volume across a crowded room of everyone the person knows and cares about, don't write it on their wall. Examples include: "Did I hear you broke up with _______?" Or "Whaatt? Quitting your job next month and moving to LA??" Or "Do you remember anything about last night?" The wall is a place that everyone can see.

• Rule #3 - If you are of the level friendship/relationship/marriage where you could text whatever it is you've decided to post on their wall directly to them, please do so. I think it's wonderful that you want your baby to have an amazing first day of work. I'm (pretty) sure your baby thinks it's wonderful to. I'm just not sure why we all have to be a part of that personal display of your private love. Same goes for, "what you up to tonight dog?" We have gchat/bbm/texting for a reason.

• Rule #4 - If you look at a picture you've taken of another person and think anything less than, "this is a fair representation of this person's face and body" - don't tag them in it. That's mean.

• Rule #5 - Status update should be updates on your status: short descriptions, messages, thoughts, links or the like. 250-word paragraphs (fine, 200 if we're not counting exclamation points and emoticons), three-times a day recounting your every move are overkill. Start a blog.

• Rule #6 -"It feels like angels are dancing on my soul when you hug me" is not a group nor is "long text messages about how someone feels about me makes my day :)" - yes, the joining of a group is now "liking" and you can technically "like" the concept of those things, but - just - stop. Alex, this means you.

• Rule #7 - Any status messages or wall postings relative to a TV show that any percentage of the viewing public might not yet have seen should be avoided at all cost. I live in LA now so this is even more of a problem, but no one watches TV the night it's on anyway, so don't ruin it.

• And finally - Rule #8 - Just use your actual name as your profile name. Anything else is bizarre. Anything with hearts, stars or like shapes in it is criminal.

That's my piece (or the parts of it I'm willing to share with the Internet). What would your rules be?

Put on Christ

Let's just get this out of the way up front: The book of Romans is one of my favorite books of the Bible, if not my favorite. The Apostle Paul has a way of weaving his words into a beautiful fabric of God's grace. I love Romans because I love GRACE, but despite the fact that it is an ever-present theme throughout, Paul lays down some fat theology. And the way he does it is easy for me to relate to...

Romans 13:14 - "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."

Paul gives the image of putting on Jesus as an article of clothing. (This is one of those instances where there can be no debate as to whether the Scripture should be interpreted figuratively or literally.) I think Paul chooses the analogy of clothes because it's something tactile that everyone can relate to because everyone wears clothes. Jesus should envelope us as our clothes do. Paul is suggesting that you should no sooner leave your house without putting on your tunic than you should leave your house without putting on Christ.

Ironically enough, I've been working at home long enough now (see: loss of regimen) that the other day I actually caught myself about to leave the house to head to the gym without a shirt. That instance aside, I don't typically leave the house without properly clothing myself so I have a socially acceptable physical appearance. But how often do I consider if my spiritual appearance is acceptable? I fear that sometimes my spiritual wardrobe is dirty, worn, and tattered. I go too long without doing my laundry and my soul needs cleansing.

But the great thing about God is that He's always available for laundry day. There's never a time when you can't go get cleaned up. God's laundromat is 24 x 7. And even better, it's FREE! The blood of Christ washes us pure as snow so we can stand before God a blameless saint. If we are clothed with Christ, there's no need to fear that we may be under-dressed for the occasion.

Going along with Paul's analogy, and without trying to sound vain or shallow, appearances do matter. It may not be the be-all and end-all, but it would be naive to suggest otherwise. The truth is, people notice clothes. If they didn't, there wouldn't be much of a fashion industry. Put a nice suit on a man and it transforms him instantly. Mark Twain said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. "

In light of Scripture, and to go beyond mere physical appearances, I would say instead: "Clothing oneself with Christ makes the man. Naked Christians have little or no influence on society."

"Righteous. Very Righteous."

I'm a big fan of action movies, especially ones that involve cops, feds, military or really anyone fighting against any kind of bad guys. Call it leftovers from loving cops and robbers or playing with soldiers and Indians in my childhood childhood, but whatever the reason, I love action movies. A movie that recently came to my mind was U.S. Marshals, the sequel to The Fugitive. The movie is about a man, Mark Sheridan played by Wesley Snipes, who is framed for murder and subsequently spends the whole movie trying to clear his name. (SPOILERS ahead, if you haven't seen this movie and have any intention of doing so, maybe don't read this blog) Eventually the man trying to bring him in, Chief Deputy Marshal Sam Gerard played by Tommy Lee Jones, starts to believe his innocence. At the end of the movie, ultimately a mole within the U.S. Marshals is discovered and Gerard helps clear Sheridan's name. In one of the final scenes, on the steps of a courtroom building, the District Attorney says that, "the United States Attorney's Office has decided to drop all charges." A reporter asks Sheridan, "How does it feel to be in from the cold?" After having spent all this time running away, he responds, "Righteous. Very righteous."

I used to think it an odd response... How exactly does one feel righteous? But maybe it's not so odd after all. One way to define righteousness is "free from guilt." Ultimately, that is exactly how Sheridan should have felt. Regardless of whether he committed the crime or not, until his name was cleared, he was treated as if he was guilty. But once the true criminal was brought to light, he was deemed innocent; he was finally free again, out from under the guilt of the law.

I've been reading through Romans lately and Paul talks about this concept of righteousness too. Romans 3:21-26 says: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it -- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

Paul is using some cool words here: Righteousness... Redemption... If he had Powerpoint, one more R word for proper alliteration, and a takeaway "homework assignment" for the week, he could probably be a modern-day pastor. But take a second and think about what Paul is saying. In the same breath that he acknowledges that ALL have sinned, he says that we can have the righteousness of God. Wait, WHAT?! How can a sinner have the righteousness of God? He's saying that God's own righteousness is imputed on us as if it were our own. A sinful man, I can now claim the same moral uprightness characteristic of God Himself... And it's not because of what I've done, neither myself nor the Bible would suggest that, it is because of faith alone in Christ alone. But how?

Redemption. Jesus Christ redeemed me from the power of sin. I was bought back for a price. The price being that He took my sin and became a propitiation on my behalf. That means to satisfy the wrath of God. God had a bit of a sticky situation when it came to resolving this whole sin issue... We screwed up and we broke the relationship with God by sinning, but He loves us more than we can ever imagine and He desired so much to restore that relationship. But He is not only a loving God, but a just God, and His perfect character demanded a penalty for sin. He couldn't just write off the sins and give mankind a cosmic free lunch, for that would not be just. Instead, for a time He passed over the sins (not pardoning them) until He sent Jesus to pay that penalty. And in one fell swoop, God is both just and the justifier.

That is the beauty of the Gospel. It's both complex and simple. We can be redeemed by faith in Jesus and declared righteous before God. We didn't earn it and we didn't deserve it, even though we are all steeped in guilt. Even while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8), Jesus reached out and gave us a way home. And how does it feel to be in from the cold? Righteous... Very righteous!

-Scott