A Very Inconvenient Truth

   No, I am not going to write today about global warming, even though someone has already used this title for his documentary on this subject.

   As I read through some of the Sermon on the Mount this morning, and see what God's Word has to say about a way of living that is pleasing to Him, I am struck by the seemingly impossible task of having a life that is characterized by these teachings of Jesus. They are hard, and my tendency is to find some way to blunt their message.

   I like the Beatitudes. All those verses that begin with "Blessed" sound peaceful and happy. They show a life that is in complete harmony with God. But when I study them a little deeper, I realize that there is no way I can be that man, at least not without help and a lot of pruning.

   Deep down, I am not satisfied with my life and the person I have become over all these years. I can see areas that need a lot of work, and the more I read and study, more truths pop up that call for my attention. Even as I read again Matthew 5,6 and 7, my shallow life is laid bare, but I don't want to be inconvenienced by these truths.

   Much easier it is to read some of the soothing passages of the Psalms than to be confronted by Jesus' words here. They are inconvenient to say the least.. Much easier to write about them than to live them.

   And the "me" in here does not want to be put out. My life is too satisfactory to be disturbed by mere truth.

   Help