Secular music
Itunes picks my song lineup, so don’t judge me for the Joy Electric…
Church was really great tonight. I love a sermon that makes you think. It was from the passage in Matthew where Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are caring too much about their rituals (he specifically mentions hand washing and eating forbidden foods) and not about loving others. So, the pastor (who is actually our youth pastor - he was filling in) asked us to consider what rituals we have in our life we are doing just to look Christian and which ones could be stopping us from loving (like the Pharisees giving to God instead of taking care of their parents).
The pastor talked about the evangelical tradition of praying before meals and told a story about being out with friends and having appetizers, salads, and soup and then everyone freaking out because he almost didn’t pray before the enteree (as if the entree is holier than the rest of the meal). I really think that our prayers before meals are genuine thanks, not just something that we mindlessly do, but I see how it could become that. It definitely made me think.
The ritual in my life that hit me was (once again) the issue of not listening to “secular” music. I’ve already been convicted about my legalism in this area, but I don’t really feel the need to go search out secular music. I’m trying not to worry myself when I hear it though. I’ve almost brainwashed myself into thinking, just like the Pharisees, that God needs me to do a certain activity (in this case avoiding secular music) in order to be “clean” so that he’ll accept me. I know its really wrong. Anyways, the sermon was a good nudge and reminder.