Author: Innermost Being

I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Blogging has been a rewarding addition to my spiritual journey. It has shown me how much I want to connect with other people. It has revealed my fears and self-doubts and helped me to face them. My Innermost Being blog is about pursuing spiritual growth through self-examination.

Defending the humanity of immigrants

by Innermost Being, posted in Faith and Culture

In 2018, Jennifer Rubin wrote an opinion piece titled, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and Trump’s immigration lies,” a play on a quote attributeed to Mark Twain. Although the media has been fact-checking Trump’s lies for years, he continues to make baseless claims about immigrants. Contrary to his inflammatory lies,

  • Undocumented immigrants are not collecting Social Security and Medicare.
  • Undocumented immigrants are not voting in US elections. Furthermore, Democrats are not promoting illegal immigration to win elections.
  • There is no migrant crime wave. Immigrants are less likely to commit violent crimes than native-born Americans.
  • Native-born Americans are bringing illegal drugs like fentnyl into the country.
  • Immigrants are not taking American jobs. They are filling jobs that Americans evidently don’t want. Furthermore, immigrants are not stealing “Black jobs.”

Yes, there are different kinds of lies, and Trump is an expert at telling them. There are the kinds of lies he tells to avoid accountability, the lies he tells to look better than he is, and the lies he tells to elevate himself above others. There are the lies he spews to defame and demean others. And there are his damned lies about entire groups of people to stoke fear and hatred.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

It is bad enough that Trump makes up statistics to distort the effects of immigrants on jobs, crime, drug use, and financial resources. What’s far worse is Trump’s dehumanizing lies about immigrants.

  • Saying that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
  • Calling immigrants animals.

Immigrants are human beings created in God’s image. Immigration should be addressed humanely.

Proverbs 17:5 says, “Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.”

The same can be said for immigrants. In expressing contempt for migrants, Trump shows his contempt for their Maker.

Examining the Divide in Christianity Today

by Innermost Being, posted in Faith and Culture

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Tim Alberta used the closing line of the Lord’s prayer in the title of his book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, subtitled American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. As a reporter, Alberta went to places where I would never go and spoke to people with whom I would not associate (because our values differ too much). His book is disturbing, but it gave me insight into the damage false prophets and their followers have done and continue to do to Christianity.

Alberta noted that Christian conservatives are now Donald Trump’s “most unflinching advocates.” Given DT’s immorality and unrepentance, as a follower of Christ, I can not help but ask the question that prompted Alberta to write his book: Why? 

I also ask myself, What can I do to counteract the damage that has been done to  Christian witness? How can I disciple Christians who have been seduced by false teachers?

As Alberta wrote, it isn’t fair to lump all Christian Trump supporters into one homogeneous group. They fall along a continuum. Like Alberta’s, my conservative Christian friends have “to some extent been seduced by the cult of Trumpism.”

An interviewer asked Alberta if he really believes that evangelicals are divided into two camps, as he implied when he tweeted that there are Russell Moore Christians and Jerry Falwell Jr. Christians. Alberta says he fumbled in his response, not stating his position clearly. He responded that some Christians see issues through the eyes of Jesus, while others process everything through a partisan lens. The truth is, Alberta sees evangelicals as either “faithful to an eternal covenant” or “seduced by earthly idols of nation and influence and exaltation…” In other words, one camp has its eyes set on this earthly kingdom, political power, and the exalting of people, not on God and his kingdom.

Evangelicals are not easy to define. Today, the description is frequently used as a cultural or political identity. At one time, evangelicals were born again Christians, characterized by activism – sharing the gospel (the good news) so that others might believe in Christ and be born again. There are still Christians who believe this is our mission. However, with the influence of groups like the “Moral Majority” in the 1980s and the Heritage Foundation today, a growing faction of Christianity has been transformed into a partisan political movement.

Alberta’s book is structured around how politicians, Christians, and others have attempted to coopt the kingdom, the power, and the glory that belong exclusively to God.

God has His own kingdom.

God has His own power.

God has His own glory.

Earthly kingdoms like the one envisioned by conservative Christians and politicians can not compare to the kingdom of God.

No amount of political or cultural power, not even the amount DT and wealthy political donors hold, can compete with the power of God.

The glorification of DT by the Trump cult and his own self-aggrandizement can’t hold a candle to the glory that belongs exclusively to God.

Alberta ended the book’s prologue with this admonition – you can not serve and worship both God and the gods of this world. Christians must resist idolatry. We must reject our worldly identity if we want to become more like Christ, the author and perfector of our faith.

The state of Christianity in the U.S. today is an unpleasant topic that’s been bothering me for years. It isn’t getting any better. The extremism persists. The false witnesses drown out the witness of the faithful. I feel called to resist the false witness.

Heavenly Father, the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are yours forever.

Retirement

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

How do you want to retire?

I retired just nine days ago.

I retire gratefully.

I’m grateful that I’m finally free, no longer bound to a desk, no longer worried about work responsibilities. Even when going on vacation, I could never really let my job go.

I’m grateful that my career has come to an end. When you are young, it’s hard to imagine working for forty or more years.

I’m grateful I was able to save money for retirement.

I’m grateful I left my job in good hands.

Work was a large part of my life, but it wasn’t my life.

I retire expectantly.

I look forward to retirement.

I’m excited to have more time for leisure. I’m excited to have more time for whatever I want to do, for whatever the Lord wants me to do.

For the first time in decades, I feel like a kid on summer break.

Shy child, I see you

by Innermost Being, posted in Introversion

My church is hosting Vacation Bible School this week for the first time in years. I volunteered to be a small group leader for kids in kindergarten through the fifth grade. This is my first VBS experience as an adult. I went to VBS at least once in grade school, but I remember very little about it.

The theme of our VBS is “Start the Party/ Celebrate the Good News.” The evening begins with dinner. Our pastor of family ministries asked that we sit with kids and break the ice by asking a party/celebration themed question.

The second day, I sat across the table from a girl named Paisley, who missed the first day. Paisley doesn’t go to our church but has a friend who does. Unfortunately, her friend didn’t sign up for VBS, so Paisley didn’t know a soul.

I could see the fear on Paisley’s face. I watched as other girls filled their plates and chose different tables. I invited two brothers to sit at our table. I recognized them from church but didn’t know them.

I attempted to break the ice by asking the kids about the best gift they had ever received. The older boy, Aiden, responded with one word, Nintendo. Paisley, in a very quiet voice, said she didn’t know.

I recognize introversion when I see it. I was a painfully shy child. I eventually overcame shyness but still feel uncomfortable and awkward if I don’t know anyone.

Paisley was so uncomfortable that at one point, she turned her body away from the table, hiding her face. It was heartbreaking.

The pastor, the father of five, joined our table. He asked questions and was able to elicit more than a one word response from the kids. Paisley said that she once gave her mother flowers and chocolate.

I asked Paisley what grade she was in. Fourth grade, she responded. I got up and went to a table with three girls and asked the same question. The pastor’s daughter said that she is in the 4th grade. So I told her about the girl at my table who doesn’t know anyone.

Elovie is an extrovert. She makes friends easily. I have seen her befriend a shy child at Sunday School. Elovie came over and introduced herself to Paisley. The rest of the evening, Paisley had fun with Elovie and other new friends.

It’s been great seeing the kids having fun at Vacation Bible School. More importantly, they’re hearing about Jesus and how much he loves them, no matter who they are.

Tethered in a good way

by Innermost Being, posted in Word Prompts

What do you do to be involved in the community?

The hardest thing about moving to a new community is leaving the old one behind. There were things I didn’t like about Denver, Colorado, but in our thirty years there, we established connections in the community.

We all need connections. Being completely untethered can make one feel isolated and lonely.

Hobbies are a great way to get involved. When we moved to South Dakota four years ago, my husband and I joined the local running club. We meet other runners once a week to run together. We participate in races. My husband and I volunteer when we’re not running. I am now getting more involved, serving on the club’s board of directors.

When we moved, I immediately started looking for a new church home. Church isn’t just a place to worship God; it is a community of believers. I visited three churches and settled on the third one. It is much smaller than my suburban church, so I felt comfortable. It felt right.

When I expressed interest in being involved in my new church, it didn’t take long to get plugged in. I volunteer for the children’s ministry, helping teach kids in grade school. I joined a women’s Bible study group. I have found other opportunities, even something as simple as stuffing the weekly bulletin.

My church is involved in the larger community. Once a month, the church serves a meal at the local mission. A group of women volunteer at another charity. A few nights a week, the church provides a safe place for kids from the middle school across the street to go a couple of hours after school. My church also shows its love for these kids by serving hot dogs at the end of the school year.

The word untethered seems to be used more frequently than tethered. We like being free to do whatever we want to do. We think of being untethered as good, and being tethered is bad. A tether is a rope that binds an animal, restricting its movement.

I am not untethered. I am bound by common interests with other people. Having ties to other people is a good thing.