Thursday, March 24, 2005

So, I just started reading this book by Donald Miller called "Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality" and so far, it's pretty good. Some of his thoughts really appeal to me. For example, here a few quotes I like from the book:

"I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging with God."

I like this quote because it reminds me how easy it is to fall into a rut with faith and simply go through the motions without really thinking about it or truly connecting.

At one point in the book, Miller talks about protesting an appearance by Bush. Then he says:

"More than my questions about the efficacy of social action were my questions about my own motives. Do I want social justice for the oppressed or do I just want to be known as a socially active person? I spend 95 percent of my time thinking about myself anyway. I don't have to watch the evening news to see that the world is bad, I only have to look at myself. I am not browbeating myself here; I am only saying that true change, true life-giving, God-honoring change would have to start with the individual. I was the very problem I had been protesting. I wanted to make a sign that read "I AM THE PROBLEM!"

I really like this because I consider myself a socially active person but sometimes I need to look within to make real change. And that's what I'm trying to do now.

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