August
When my cousin was little, he believed that if
you ate sliced cucumbers without putting pepper on them, you would die.
That's what his father one told him. My cousin had asked his father why he
peppered cucumbers and his father answered, "Because if you don't, they'll
poison you. Always pepper cucumbers, son." His dad was kidding, of
course. He was like that - he was always saying foolish things with the
most serious tone. But my cousin believed him and when he visited us one
summer, he screamed in horror as my mother was about to eat un-peppered
cucumbers. We all laughed when he told us why. But it didn't matter to
him. As a matter of fact, he was well into adulthood before he dared to
eat sliced cucumbers without pepper.
Childhood beliefs are powerful things. We often carry them with us into
adulthood and they continue to shape how we live and see things. This is
especially true when it comes to our religious beliefs. Our childhood
images of God and our understanding of the Christian life stay with us and
continue to influence our thoughts and feelings and actions.
Unfortunately we're not always given good images or a healthy understanding.
Many children go into adulthood with what could be called "Maude Theology."
Maude was a character on TV many years ago who, when her husband, Walter, said
or did something she didn't like, would say, "God will get you for that,
Walter." And often we see God as a God who is out to get us. So we live as
cautiously and carefully as we can, even become afraid to live, afraid of joy,
afraid of life itself. We hold ourselves in safe deposit for fear we'll do
something that will result in God getting us. The tragedy is, in trying to
avoid God getting us, we also avoid living in the very way Christ calls us -
with the faith and courage to risk ourselves in love for the other.
Much of the guilt and fear we feel as adults also goes back to childhood images
and understandings of God. And here, too, there can be a paralyzing
effect. Instead of leading us to be the people God calls us to be, our
faith can freeze us in place - afraid to be ourselves, afraid to think new
thoughts, afraid to use our minds or follow our hearts.
Now if you're wondering where I'm going with all of this, I guess it's a
commercial for our education ministries for both children and adults. the
importance of such programs cannot be overstated.
For children, such programs offer the opportunity to be given healthy images of
a loving God who calls us to love others, and an understanding of the Christian
life as a life not based on fear and guilt but thankfulness and joy.
Moreover, they offer the opportunity to combat the hostility and prejudice that
is in the air all around us in our culture and create the hope of a different
kind of life together.
For adults,
Sunday School and Bible study give the opportunity to see God in a new way,
expand our images and understandings, come to know the true Christ of the
Gospels and be set free to live fully and serve joyously. And educational
ministries help adults as well to see people differently and overcome attitudes
and beliefs carried a long time.
Take it from
my cousin - it's a wonderful feeling to be set free from some of the beliefs and
fears of childhood. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to live and love
fully as Christ calls us to. My cousin knows. You see, he never did
like pepper on sliced cucumbers.
God be with you,
Jeff