Day: July 9, 2016

09Jul

Celebrity Wedding with a Twist

Another celebrity wedding was just celebrated, in a show of opulence and grandeur such as only royal families and A-list starlets can muster. At a fairy tale setting, a castle in Scotland, the knot was tied between the pop singer known as Ciara and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. As with other celebrity weddings, this is not their first time making such a commitment–he was married before, and she has a child by a past fiancé. However what stands out in this case is that they chose to recommit themselves to their Christian faith and follow the biblical ideal of abstinence from sex before marriage. They endured no shortage of criticism, including from Khloe Kardassian.

We applaud the choice of these our brethren to make a deliberate choice to follow a hard path, both as a personal commitment to their Lord and Savior, and as a public witness to others. As Wilson put it, “we decided to do it Jesus’ way.”

Celibacy and abstinence are choices that can really bless us. It isn’t all privation and misery. We lose some tickling of the flesh but gain entry into deeper joys. Take the following example, of one who has abstained from sex for periods of time, not for religious reasons, but on the suggestion of a yoga teacher:

The first few months kind of sucked, he admitted. He was depressed and anxious. But then an amazing thing happened: Squire started waking up in the morning and laughing with a feeling of what he calls “ethereal joy.” And his interactions with other people became deeper and more meaningful than his sex-based relationships.

“Everything in our society is geared toward objectifying people into body parts so it’s all about the arms, thighs, butt or crotch,” said Aurin Squire, a 36-year-old playwright from Queens. “Celibacy allows you to take a holiday from constantly objectifying people.”(NY Daily News).

So, thank you Ciara and Russell, for giving us a bright moment amidst the grim newsfeed of violence, terrorism, and crass politics. Thank you for being a witness to the Christian faith. Thank you for reminding us to “do it Jesus’ way”. May God bless your lives together.

09Jul

Shadow of Death Hovering over Police – Community Relations

The incidents over the past few days have shocked a populace that is becoming used to reports of violent police encounters.

Yesterday CNN reported on the sad case of a Falcon Heights, MN man who was shot after being stopped for a broken taillight. He was reaching to get his wallet. His female companion in the front seat streamed video images to Facebook as he slumped over and died from his wound.

This followed quickly on the heels of the shooting July 5 in Baton Rouge, LA of a man named Alton Sterling. Vigils and memorials are being held to this man who was shot at close range after he had already been subdued. As in the other case, witnesses with smartphones recorded the incident.

Today, we are told that five Dallas police officers were killed by snipers, and more injured, apparently in retaliation for the previous shootings. Today is the the deadliest day for law enforcement since 9-11:

The ambush began with gunshots that killed five officers and sent screaming crowds scrambling for cover. It ended when a Dallas police bomb squad robot killed a gunman after negotiations failed. (CNN)

As in other recent tragedies we pray for the souls of the departed, and for God’s comfort to be given those who have to cope with the loss of their loved ones. We pray for the power of God’s Holy Spirit to restrain men from the violence that can so easily erupt in these confrontations.

We call our nation’s guardians to exercise restraint and discretion in their interactions with us.

And of course, we call all humanity to repent of wickedness and turn to the Lord. We point out that a wider embrace of the gospel of Jesus Christ would engender peaceful behavior and respect for law, that would make incidents such as these much rarer.