Skip to main content

Preach It, James!

5 Spiritual Nuggets Of Wisdom From British Soul Singer James Morrison

5. "This is precious love, precious love/No, I can't get enough."

4. "Like holy water/Washin' over me/You make it real for me."

3. "You always give me somewhere/Somewhere I can run."

2. "If you're here with me/I know which way to turn."

1. "If your sky is fallin'/Just take my hand and hold it/You don't have to be alone, alone/Yeah, I won't let you go."

There is more than a haphazard connection between God's covenant love for His people, and marital and sexual intimacy. Paging St. Paul! (Ephesians 5:25-27) So if we want to raise a fuss about liturgy because a certain form does not conform to the rubrics in Vatican II, or that it clouds the purpose for which we have come (musically or otherwise), I'm cool with that, to a point. But let's seriously not say we shouldn't do it a certain way because it's "emotional" or "sappy." Whatever that means. You can also say that emotions get in the way of knowing God, and therefore, truly loving Him, and that could be true. But I think some people are just afraid of feelings. They are secretly envious of expressive, emotional people, and so they attack them.

On the other hand, less emotional people have good ways to demonstrate their love for God and others. These people are the ones who just hand you what you need right when you need it. They organize things behind the scenes to make you look good. I have a college buddy like that. Adam Baer is his name. It'd have gone thankless, but for the fact that he was always there, doing Adam things. Sooner or later, you notice, even if he doesn't want you to. I know like 30 people who can tell that same story.

So challenge yourself: Are you disdainful of some spiritual activity because of a fear of intimacy with God? Do you criticize something or someone because you are jealous of his or her temperament, or--gasp!--the truth that they may be holier than you? Tell you what: I'll certainly be careful next time I criticize a song because it sounds like an ode to a girlfriend or boyfriend. Just sayin.'

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

We Don't Need No Magisterium: (Jason's Version) (But Actually, We Do)

Hilarious Com-Box Quote of The Day: "I was caught immediately because it is the Acts of the Apostles, not the Acts of the Holy Spirit Acting Erratically."--Donald Todd, reacting to the inartful opposition of the Holy Spirit and the Magisterium. Mark Galli, an editor at Christianity Today, had suggested that today's "confusion" in evangelicalism replicates a confusion on the day of Pentecost. Mr. Todd commented after this reply , and the original article is here. My thoughts: By what means was this Church-less "consensus" formed? If the Council did not possess the authority to adjudicate such questions, who does? If the Council Fathers did not intend to be the arbiters, why do they say that they do? At the risk of being rude, I would define evangelicalism as, "Whatever I want or need to believe at any particular time." Ecclesial authority to settle a particular question is a step forward, but only as long as, "God alone is Lord of the con...

Who Is Out Here Having Sex And Children With People They Don’t Like?

 And look, I’m not married. I’ve never been married. I have no children. I didn’t choose that; things just worked out that way. If you must know, I haven’t had sexual intercourse either. I probably should say “coitus,” so I am not arguing with some progressive activist about what “sexual intercourse” means. But I figured out from influencer videos or something what a “dead bedroom” was. Unless a couple mutually agrees that they don’t want to have sex/coitus anymore (hopefully to pray and serve) this is usually bad. I’ve known enough couples that it’s probably an indicator of trouble, especially for couples who are still able to have children. Is it really that wild to at least hope that Mr. and Mrs. Vance love each other? That a fourth child yet born at least might indicate that they enjoy each other?  Children are definitely not responsible for their parents’ happiness. That’s absolutely true. But wouldn’t any child hope their parents were happy, when they came into being? As...

What I Should Have Said

 I was functionally fired from my teaching job in November, 2024, after an unjust administrative "process" initiated by HR , and triggered by false accusations the content of which I was never told. My "defense" therefore could have no reasonable basis or direction. I won't say the name of the Local Education Agency, but the town where I lived and worked was Cheraw, South Carolina. I think that once I was on administrative leave, they could use nearly any indiscretion of mine as the final straw to remove me. I did connect with students on social media in protest, and I did express hope that I would quickly be returned to the classroom. The principal of the high school where I worked--a true lackey of the bureaucracy, and fully committed to educational ideas, methods, and solutions that don't work--also allowed his personal dislike of me to take the form of a belief that I was a substandard teacher. He gave me an unsatisfactory review on October 12, and we ha...