Saturday, March 29, 2008

Once, twice, three times a homeowner?

We have just put down our third contract on a house. Or is it the fourth? Anyway, we were having a bit of trouble; we were stuck over $5,000.

We’re not getting a lot of relevant guidance on buying a house these days. There’s no-brainer guidance, “don’t spend more than you can afford;” uhm…thanks…we hadn’t thought of that one. Then there’s old school guidance, “Your mortgage shouldn’t be more than 25% of your take home pay;” yeah right, a single income family can’t go to the movies on 25% of their take home pay. Then there’s worldly guidance, “Can’t your wife get a job;” actually…she’s got a very respectable job, and her Boss has promised her a raise.

Anyway, we asked our realtor to step out of character as our realtor, and give us her opinion as our friend. She said, that from what she had seen, our faith/kids are most important to us, and if we thought for a second that buying that house would possibly detract from that aspect of our lives, we shouldn’t do it.

We had been so busy crunching numbers and balancing ledgers that we had failed to consider that.

While we cannot see the future and can’t possibly plan for every financial possibility, we can say with confidence, more importantly we can say with faith, buying that house will not detract from our faith or the love and values of our family.

Once again we ask for prayer; not that we would get the house, but that we are walking in God’s will.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Complicit, cowardly, or just plain foolish

I am a simple black man, and I was able to rationally conclude inside of an hour of my exposure to Trinity United Church of Christ (via their website) that the philosophy and likely the body of that church was steeped in hatred/racism.

America was appalled at the words spoken by Jeremiah Wright. What is more shocking is that he serves as the shepherd of a flock and wears the title “Reverend” and is referred to as “Pastor.” Even more troubling is that the so-called “Reverend” Wright…“Pastor” Wright uttered these words from the pulpit, from what might be considered an alter of God; leading his flock toward hatred. The most disturbing aspect of all of this seems to have gone almost completely overlooked:

The flock willingly followed…and came back for more.

Maybe the forces of political correctness (read as “selective racism”) continue to bind us from holding all Americans, regardless of skin color, to an equal standard of accountability; the same forces that prevented opposition against Trinity United’s less overt hatred, the same forces that keep so-called “Reverends” Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson legitimized as leaders within the black community, and the same forces that have previously absolved politicians like Barack Obama as they decry racism external to the black community while turning a blind eye to it internally.

It’s the same old song of hatred that the Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. died trying to silence. The difference is instead of white faces hidden shamefully behind white hoods, we now see black faces beaming proudly in choir robes. Why did it take such an extreme expression of that hatred for the rest of America to take notice? I didn’t have to attend the church for 20 years. I didn’t need to sit in the pews and hear the venom spewed from the pulpit. I didn’t need the media to constantly flood my home with repugnant images. I didn’t need to be questioned under a spotlight in front of millions of people.

I just opened my eyes (when I was about 10 years old) and saw what was right in front of my face.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

The Not-So-Secret of Marriage

Lately I’ve been seeing the media fawn over men and housework. One piece asserted that men who helped around the house had more sex. Another piece went so far as to allude to helping around the house being the secret to marital success, touting statistics about how much more time the modern man spends around the house and with the kids.

I always find these types of studies and their findings humorous…and annoying.

Man needs companionship, and biblical, ordained marriage is the most stable and rewarding version of that much needed companionship. Obviously, not everyone with eyes sees this, but it doesn’t stop them from trying. All who endeavor at marriage harbor at least an inner desire for forever, “til death do us part.” While this explains the human interest in studies about the characteristics of a successful marriage, it does not explain the less than stellar efforts at applying God’s standard for marriage to God’s establishment of marriage.

Now, there’s no need to feel bad or guilty, or to launch into the modern-day “don’t judge me” diatribe; not even the greats in the Bible got it completely right. God used Abraham to start a new covenant with man; Abraham slept with his wife’s servant…at his wife’s direction. Jacob would become Israel and the children of God would spring from the womb of his wife…and her servant…and his other wife…and her servant. Contrary to popular belief, 2 out of 3 can be bad; and there’s no reason to assume Isaac did it completely right; God simply may not have seen fit to share his sordid details.

The point is, no man is perfect, so no man’s marriage will be perfect. The good news is that God didn't call us to be perfect. He did, however, call us to be faithful and to love one another, and this covers a multitude of sins (through the Christ, it covers all sin…but that’s another marriage for another day). If those in marriage obey the Lord and seek Him first above all things, and then love one another as they love themselves, the FOREVER God will sustain their marriage.

If you exclude the author of life, love, and marriage from your life, love, or marriage, you’re building a house on sand.

Well, I should probably go empty the dishwasher.