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By Andy, May 15, 2007 5:33 am

41″Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Matthew 26: 41 (NIV)

This passage came into play during the season finale of…”Survivor”. Late this season, one of the contestants, Yau-Man, cut a deal with Dreamz (great names, eh?) after he (Yau) won a pickup truck after a challenge. He told Dreamz (who grew up on the street and does not own a vehicle) that he would give him the truck in exchange for the immunity idol if:

1) Both of them are in the final four.

AND

2) Dreamz wins the immunity challenge at the final four.

Dreamz agrees, and both know full well that while this deal has been struck (in front of several cameras, 4 fellow contestants, and the show’s host), there is no way to enforce it within the context of the game, other than through peer pressure and the valuation of one’s own integrity balanced in the context of a game in which the management of deception is critical to advancement in the game.

So the final four rolls around, and both Yau and Dreamz are part of the final four. Dreamz goes on to win the immunity idol at the final four…so it is assumed by the remaining 3 contestants that he will give Yau the idol because of the deal struck.

At tribal council, this does not happen, and Yau is voted out to become the final member of the jury that will select the winner of the game.

The next night, at the final tribal council in which the final 3 contestants are grilled by the remaining members of the jury, jury member Boo (yet another great name) comes up and calls out Dreamz on his faith as a Christian. (Now having seen the entire season, I do not recall Boo or Dreamz speaking of their faith - but such is the power of editing…)

Boo calls out Dreamz for not holding true to his word, telling him “I still believe in you, but I still believe you’re an immature Christian, and I hope that one day, you will be a strong Christian man and be able to tell the devil, ‘Dangle all the money you want in front of me; this Christian is not for sale.’”

Boo recognized his Christian brother as having fallen into temptation. He called out his brother for his transgression, but then heeded the words of the apostle Paul in the letter to the Galatians (chapter 6, verse 1 and 2): Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

While it certainly was a moment made for entertaining TV viewing, it was also an excellent example of a brother gently restoring a fellow brother the way we as Christians are to gently restore those who have fallen in our Christian community. As we live under the law of Christ, we may also call out our fellow Christian brothers and sisters who err under that same law.

It was a Christian teaching moment that played out on national TV.

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By Andy, February 8, 2007 7:39 am

Perhaps one of the most difficult things we experience in our lives is the acceptance and understanding of differing viewpoints. How often do we find ourselves in positions where we disagree with colleagues, family, friends - and find that we entrench ourselves in our positions? I will be the first to admit that I have these difficulties many a time, whether over a religious discussion, a political discussion or even a film or television review.

It’s my way or the highway.

From a purely pop cultural (and humorously geeky) perspective, I don’t know how many times Will and I have disagreed on how we view the ongoing storyline in the TV shows we watch. I mean just this past week we’ve disagreed on whether the storyline in SciFi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica has softened the hard edge the show has had much of its 3 years on air or whether it’s a setup to a greater storyline (yes, my geek bloodline is showing).

From a religious and educational perspective, while many of us share similar viewpoints on the matter of homeschool, there are others who don’t share them, and I appreciate those viewpoints. What may be right for me certainly may not be right for someone else - and neither of us should denigrate the choices the others make. I shouldn’t needlessly bash homeschool any more than a homeschooler should needlessly bash a public school.

In our flesh, that isn’t an easy thing for us to admit, no matter which side of the argument we sit. What is important for us to realize is that God has ordained the choices we make, and He has even ordained the discussions we have online, enabling us to learn from each other and hear His Voice through the voices of others. We should feel free and comfortable to challenge each other, to question each other, to make our opinions known, knowing that these opinions are an integral part of the fabric of the world God created for us.

I keep thinking of Galatians 6: 1 and 2, in which Paul writes:

1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Needlessly denigrating each others point of view is unhealthy, and within our Christian communities, whether locally or online, we should make a point to gently restore each other when we see that occur. The problem, of course, is that each of us have difficulty “watching ourselves, as we often are tempted ourselves.” It is easy for us to exchange arguments, trying to outdo the other, no matter the interpersonal relationship.

I certainly don’t have this figured out, because I certainly can fall into unnecessary judgment of others - such is my own fallen nature - and I appreciate it when others gently restore me. Likewise, I hope I can do the same for others and that together we can carry each other’s burdens.

With that, I thank you all for your participation in the discourse that occurs here and I really encourage it, no matter if you agree or disagree with my viewpoints.

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By Andy, September 30, 2005 2:38 pm

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out–in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

Galatians 5:13-15 (The Message)

God, through Christ, has pulled us out of the margins. We truly become “free” by accepting His unconditional love, and exhibit that same love to others. Such a simple message, yet why do we blow it all the time?

We seem to always use our freedom to do whatever we want and in effect, destroy the freedom that God has given us. We reject His love when we sin. We reject His love when we are unable to show love to others…like when we flash the middle finger to the driver who cuts us off, or insult a co-worker, or selectively use the Bible to augment our points of view. For in so doing, we wind up moving ourselves back into the margins, trapping ourselves in misery.

I am saddened that so many so-called Christians have fallen into this trap, using their freedom to “bite and ravage each other”, selectively using the Bible to augment their points of view, instead of showing love. For those of us who work to show love (and I admit that it is a struggle for me as well), it makes our job more difficult, because we wind up being lumped into that category.

I know that what I can do, in my little corner of this world, is to show love as best as I can with God’s help. It’s not easy, but I want to keep my free life in God.