Sunday, the end of my week

Zach and I had a conversation about something that happened on Thursday before last. To me, that means it happened last week as my weeks run from Monday to Sunday. I know that the calendar week runs from Sunday to Saturday, but that doesn't make any sense to me. If it is the "weekend", doesn't that mean it is the end of the week? We don't start doing anything on Sunday, we are winding down our weekend, so why is that the start of the week? Monday is always the first day of the week in most things, so I'm not sure why our calendar doesn't reflect that.

Today was an interesting day. We went to church with my father, and while the message was good, the mode of delivery was not exactly my style. I have been to some great Pentecostal Holiness churches, and though I have nothing to say against the actual message - which is the most important thing by far - I'm not into unnecessary acting out. I understand being moved by the spirit. I do not understand putting on a show as if the congregation was a theatrical audience. The only other thing that I have to say is that the Bible is very clear about speaking in tongues in church.

1 Corinthians 14:26-28 (NIV)

²⁶What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. ²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. ²⁸If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

It is my personal opinion, and I know that other people feel differently and have every right to, that when someone speaks out in tongues in church and there is no one there to interpret, then they are purposefully (though they may have deluded themselves) speaking gibberish to call attention to themselves before others to prove the depth of their faith. I believe that God does not feel praised from, nor care about, our silly concerns with what other people might think about us. He knows us through and through. Our outward actions are to be used to witness to others by sharing His love and displaying His presence in our lives. Our actions must be a testimony, not a stumbling block.

1 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV) addresses this well -

⁹Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

We must be careful of what our actions communicate to others if we are always striving to have others see Jesus through us. If we act out in church before an unbeliever and they have cause to think that we are "crazy", does that not sound like a stumbling block has been placed before them on their path to salvation? I think so.

I am by no means a perfect example of Christ's love - my outward actions leave much to be desired as a witness of my belief. I am not "quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," (James 1:19 -NIV) as I should be. Nor do I always "trust in the LORD with all [my] heart and lean not on [my] own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5-NIV) I trust too much in my own understanding by far. However, I think my opinions in these matters are valid. I only hope that I can in the future be a better witness of my faith - at the moment I am pitifully weak in my dedication to "walk the walk". Lately I am more talk than anything, and that results in nothing these days. Pray that I will work towards putting as much time and energy into my relationship with Christ as I do with the ultimately meaningless things in my life.

Thank goodness for Bible Gateway, by the way. I know what the scriptures say in general, but I have not made myself learn them by heart as I should. The scriptures used above were found through using Bible Gateway to provide me with the exact scriptures where I only knew the basic information they conveyed.

I honestly never meant for this post to be a religious rant of sorts, but that just sort of happened. I feel strongly about my spiritual beliefs. May God forgive me for my shortcomings in this area.

If I struck a cord with you, let me know. Feel free to disagree with me and let me know what you think.