Monday, August 18, 2008

Busted!

This morning I've moved on to reading an excerpt from Introduction to the Devout Life by Francis de Sales (1567-1622). Francis says that we all paint devotion with the lens of our passions. We think we're devout because we fast, but we don't see how our caustic remarks hurt someone. Or we pray three times a day, but then gossip about our neighbor.

He writes: "...many persons clothe themselves with certain outward actions connected with holy devotion, and the world belives that they are truly devout and spiritual whereas they are in fact nothing but copies and phantoms of devotion."

Ouch! That one hit me smack in the face!! It's one of the things I struggle with as a pastor. I may be wrong, but I have this notion that people look at their pastors and see people who are just a little bit closer to God than the average Jane or Joe. It's not something I try to foster, but perhaps I don't do enough to debunk the myth. Other than occasionally admitting my shortcomings in small groups and in sermons, I'm not sure how to do that. Maybe I need to call in the Myth Busters. Any suggestions?

Peace, love and grace.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe not so much that they are closer to God, but perhaps more confident in their faith. I think there is the common thought that someone who is spreading a consistent message must have a lot of confidence in that message. And confidence sells, for sure. Although I'm sure that confidence is also able to be faked.

Nancy said...

Possibly, but I think about John Wesley and how for years he searched for affirmation of his beliefs before his Aldersgate experience. Hmm....

And yes, confidence definitely can be faked.