Am I like Norman?

Ever have one of those moments where it's really felt as if God came down from Heaven....and put someone or something directly in your path....as if He wanted to directly and immediately answer a question you have.....or at the least, speak to thoughts circling in your brain at that point in your life?  Well, I think that has now happened to me a couple/few times.  I'll write about the first incident another time, but the second one happened so recently, and it's really still fresh in my mind, so I'm going to write about it now. 

In this particular instance, God delivered Himself to me in a little "Tessaira package."  I'd been in conversations with someone fairly close to me....about....well....influences in our lives, particularly friends.  I was speaking about how I thought it was important to, as much as we can, surround ourselves with people that are good influences on us.  And as a Christian...that additionally means to me that it's important to be friends with people who share my beliefs, who can encourage me spiritually/scripturally....and who can and will convict me...hold me accountable.  I'm not saying that I can not be friends with someone unless they're a Christian.  I have so many friends from various religions, backgrounds, sexual orientations...you name it.  And yet, as a Christian, I do see the importance of having relationships with other Christians.  My conversation that night with that person spiraled into more of a "well how do we know who the good influences are, what makes someone a good Christian anyway," type of conversation.  And after I spoke for a bit, this person, stated something to the effect that I was being pretty judgmental in some of the things I was saying.  And as I sat there wondering aloud to them on these topics....I began to see how what I was saying could be perceived as "judgment"...and possibly that what I was saying was indeed full of judgment.  Was I being judgmental? 

The following evening, still mulling over lingering thoughts from the recent conversation, I went about my evening routine.  We'd just gotten Gabriel down for bed, and we had Tessaira that night, so I asked her to pick out a book to read together while I got my jammies on.  She was gone for a few minutes, searching through her several shelves of books.....and then she came around the corner into our bedroom doorway, with a book in hand.  "This one," she stated, and handed me a copy of "Sidney and Norman - A Tale of Two Pigs" by Phil Vischer.  My breath caught in my throat for a second.  We'd read this book only once before....I bought it for her maybe a couple years ago, and we read it soon after that, and not since that.  But I remembered generally what the book was about, and prepared myself for a humbling experience.

Can you get an idea of what the book is about from the cover?  Sidney and Norman are neighbors...but other than the location of their homes, their lives are hardly similar.  Sidney struggles.  Norman has it together.  Sidney is disheveled and disorganized; Norman is organized and impeccable.  Norman and Sidney go about their daily lives, living so close together...and yet they hardly interact.  Maybe it's because they just really don't have all that much in common...maybe it's a little bit because Norman feels superior to Sidney...

Their lives change one day though, when they both receive a letter from God, and he invites each of them to come and meet with Him.  Norman goes, expecting praise for all that he has accomplished and for the organized and "together" way that he lives his life; Sidney goes expecting to hear that his life so far has actually been quite a disappointment to God.  And as it goes with God....neither pig walks away from their meeting feeling that their expectations had been met.  But isn't that how God works in all of our lives?  :)  I know for me, He rarely does things in the way or timing that I hope for or even expect, or things will be brought around to me in a different way than I expect to receive them.  Thank God for all of that.  And thank God that he delivered His message to me through Tessaira that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So.  Where am I going with all of this?  I actually began this post in February 2011, it was one of the very first ones that I ever began for this blog.  It's now February 2012.  I've shelved it for so long because I still am not sure exactly how to process my swirling thoughts on all of it...but maybe someone who reads this will be able to share some of their own.  I guess the bottom line is...there may be a few times in my life that stand out as Norman-like moments...where perhaps I was being judgmental.  However....I have had plenty of Sidney moments too (where I was just completely faced with a horrible decision I'd made, or my totally sinful nature, or where I just did not have my crap together and was not doing the best that I could), and I just want the world to know that. 

Where is the line between "passing judgment" on someone and wanting to surround yourself with Christian friends?  (I think you should be able to choose whom you want to be friends with, without society feeling like you're looking down on someone....everyone has a set of criteria with which they choose who to decide to be friends with.)  How correct is society for believing that Christians are self-righteous and judgmental people like Norman?  As a Christian...how can I make sure I'm not being self-righteous and judgmental?  I can guarantee you, I do not feel "better than" other people.  I don't think that I'm "better than" anyone else...Lord knows I have plenty of faults, and do things the wrong way.  The Bible tells us that we've all sinned and fall short....yet how do Christians still come off this way?

This past Sunday at church, was Youth Sunday...always a sweet and uplifting service.  They recited a poem that I had never heard before, but that has apparently been around since 1988.  It was written by a woman named Carol Wimmer, and you can find her information here, as well as a link to the poem on her site:  http://carolwimmer.com/

And once again....God delivered himself to me...sent me a little message this weekend...this time through the youth at my church.  All of the ideas in this poem I believe are central to what I want the entire world to know and believe about Christians (especially with regard to the topics of judgment and self righteousness)...and what I want Christian people to live out in their everyday lives.  These thoughts are just so, so good.  And as it goes...Carol does a much better job of saying any of these than I ever could hope to...so here are her words: 

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting, “I’ve been saved!”
I’m whispering, “I get lost!
That’s why I chose this way”

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t speak with human pride
I’m confessing that I stumble -
needing God to be my guide

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong
I’m professing that I’m weak
and pray for strength to carry on

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success
I’m admitting that I’ve failed
and cannot ever pay the debt

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
asking humbly to be taught

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are far too visible
but God believes I’m worth it

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache
which is why I seek His name

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I do not wish to judge
I have no authority
I only know I’m loved

Copyright 1988 Carol Wimmer


My prayer is that the World will see that as Christians, we seek not to judge, but to show others the forgiveness, grace, comfort and love we've found in knowing Jesus; and, that as Christians, we will be true to this in our actions toward others.