- Men who compulsively stroke their facial hair - mustaches / beards - as if they might lose their precious hair growth spontaneously thereby needing to constantly remind themselves that it's still on their faces.
- Disgustingly nasty car windows that have been repeatedly licked and nuzzled by pets who ride shotgun next to their human masters.
- People chewing on their fingernails.
- Incessant belching
You too have pet peeves. Things that bother you to no end (perhaps they're similar to some of my own), but that you no doubt tolerate out of respect for others. At times, it can be exhausting to keep up the front, but you do it anyway knowing that you too have quirks that drive other people similarly crazy.
We all want to be free to behave as we so choose, and too in line with that thinking, encounter zero obstacles along the way. That's the American way, right?
But, as Christians, what of those inevitable obstacles? How should we respond? And does it really matter?
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Our church home is Lakeside Presbyterian Church. When we initially joined, the Senior Pastor was very close to resigning his position there, therefore during that initial year or so, the pulpit was filled each Sunday with either one of two tenured on-staff Associate Pastors, and both of these men I had the good fortune of getting to know well and subsequently warm up to.
Then came the new Senior Pastor. Eventually though, 3 to 4 years later (if not longer), he was voted out of the pulpit by the congregation and begrudgingly asked to leave. But when this occurred, he pooled his Lakeside Pres parishioner resources and from there, simply started a new church across town. When this occurred, 20+ families left Lakeside Pres to join him there along with Lakeside Pres' tenured (& extremely well respected) Music Minister. Within 12 to 18 months, that new church imploded in on itself and eventually the pastor fled Mississippi altogether to return to his former South Carolina.
My second architectural job was at an established firm here in Jackson. There were four shareholders and +/-20 employees. Seemingly, one of the most integral of these employees was a super friendly guy who was close to the same age as the shareholders (who were mostly in their 40s to 50s). Though he never talked about his faith, he was no doubt committed to a local church. I admired and looked up to him an awful lot as a young man.
Eventually, his church hired the architectural firm we were both employed at to master plan a new campus, but to his chagrin, he was not appointed to serve on the church's building committee despite his existing role as deacon. In reaction to this, he immediately left the church and began attending another across town. In doing so, he walked away from his service role there, friendships, influences. As a result, my admiration for him went up in smoke overnight.
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Men who are Christ-followers are first and foremost always peering into the future at their promised reward in heaven, and this outlook permeates them holistically. Because of this, they simply do not allow themselves to be deterred or defined by life circumstances - most of which they have little to no control over.
They understand that this heavenly reward is undeserved, therefore too, that profoundly impacts their outlook on their own life. The gospel of Jesus Christ and the example Jesus set before Christians is what they rest in. He is there Priestly High-King.
Once you've studied the life of Christ within Scripture in order to emulate, it literally screams exemplified responsibility towards the masses but especially so towards the church, Christ's bride.
Therefore...
Shenanigans like what I described above you should never encounter amongst Christian men. It's simply not within their redeemed DNA to behave in this way.
But, as we all know, we're susceptible to react in ways that may feel warranted thanks to our flesh, but after the dust settles...
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In closing, I've been working with a close friend on a book he's writing. It's been such a privilege. In reviewing his first draft a few weekends ago, I took note of some of his biases (pet peeves) through his prose. Therefore, when we came together to discuss, we laughed a lot about this.
Writing a published work finds its rigor in speaking to the (hopefully numerous) prescribed reader without offending him / her. To do this as an author, you must keep your cards close to your vest at all times, and this forces you to rely on tried and true resources that are far beyond opinion.
As I told him that day, opinion is only suitable for blogs!
So, what's the point of this discombobulated post?
The point is this. Samson Society can assist you in meeting the ideal that I described above if that's what you're now pursuing or feeling so lead to pursue.
An old friend of mine cites Mr. Nate Larkin's book, Samson Society & The Pirate Monks, by touting Nate's observation therein of how effectively God speaks in and through community to each and every Samson man. So, the next question might be, what exactly does God say?
Whatever he has or will say to us involved in Samson Society will never be without merit. No matter where you're at today or have been yesterday, Samson Society can help you understand better whom God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - truly is as well as where you yourself reside in relation to him past, present, and future. Please join us.
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