Home again

I wanted to take before and after pictures of the big projects this weekend, but the first time I turned on the camera, it said my batteries were "exhausted". I know the feeling. The window project wound up consuming our entire work time at H & S's, and even when we left, it was not completely done. Close...but no cigar. But we got the really important work done - playtime with the grandboys. Their vocabulary is growing and they are oh so much fun. They are coming here for the weekend while their mom and dad engineer a work day for their list of projects needing to be completed before the house goes on the market.

While we were there, we watched a clip (disclaimer: I did not see the entire interview, just a clip) of Joel Osteen on 60 Minutes. I found this quote from the interview on CBS's website. The question asked was why his "positive message" (steps for living your best life now) didn't include anything about God or about Jesus Christ.

"That's just my message. There is scripture in there that backs it all up. But I feel like, Byron, I'm called to help people…how do we walk out the Christian life? How do we live it? And these are principles that can help you. I mean, there’s a lot better people qualified to say, 'Here’s a book that going to explain the scriptures to you.' I don’t think that’s my gifting," Osteen says.

Wow...I think it's pretty nervy to write a book of one's own self-discovered principles for "successful living" and back them up with Scripture while at the same time admitting a lack of understanding of said Scriptures. It's sort of like saying, "I know what people need in order to be successful. I think I'll write a book. But in order to appear credible, I should probably include some Scripture references. God won't mind if I use him as a footnote. He'd probably really like my ideas."

I think that God, as the creator and sustainer of all life would probably prefer to be viewed as more important than a footnote. That he is not an afterthought in order to prove a point- he IS the point. That his view of success is the one that really matters. That what he thinks about anything is more important than any of man's opinions. That the one who presumes to represent him should do so only after careful study, much prayer, and with no small amount of trepidation.

James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.