February 1st - Imagining the Only Church in Town

The story ... 

Sixth grade was the year that I felt most secure as a person within society. The school had a sort of code or ethos that I understood and the teachers did a pretty good job of controlling the environment and behavior according to the stated and unstated code. The principal was the enforcer.

Most sixth graders knew that they better guard themselves from the hurt inflicted by other "Selfs" or they'd suffer - If they didn't learn it by sixth grade then they certainly learned it when they moved on to middle school. It's an easier road to think and act like the group - do groupthink. For me, academics came easy and I was able to work in an around the rules to safely be the unique person I was - our class was the oldest and most capable within the whole school - we had it made in sixth grade.

The building that was once my sixth grade home

There are so many questions that I had when growing up that I assumed that my parents, teachers, or pastor could answer - if I could just sit still and learn.  For me, disillusionment began in Junior High School. They didn't have all the answers and I felt on my own.

I imagine the only church in town spending less time talking about the doctrines that “we” believe and more time focusing on what scripture teaches us about Him, me, and us.  There would be groups of people, within the community, that would work out their faith together – groups that could be a bit less guarded and open among the safety of their friends. 

Just for today ... 

We are powerless over other human beings.  Yet many of us act like little gods when attempting to exert our will to “help” them conform to our ideas of what is best for ‘em. 

When I change my behavior for the better, the behaviors of those around me are more likely to grow.