In our Free Store conversation on Wednesday morning Carlos joined us to continue working our way through the book of Galatians. Carlos said that he was glad to be with us and that it was a good day. We laughed when someone said that someday we would wake up dead so we should embrace every day of life on earth as a gift.
Carlos launched our discussion by highlighting that we have been talking about the don't system with its focus on rules which is opposed to the way of freedom and creativity. He emphasized that although we can use our freedom to do whatever the hell we want that is not always the best way to live. And even though we misuse our freedom and can even do damage to ourselves and others we are still valuable and have great worth. He said that you don't go out and buy a new car just because the ash tray breaks on your old car which made us laugh. There is value in the car even though it is unreliable and imperfect. Our friend Eddie said that we mess up every day but God don't throw us away.
Someone brought up the Stephen King movie Christine about a car that was possessed and caused harm to everyone in its path. There are many ways that we can use our freedom to be destructive of ourselves and those around us. We talked about how the do-whatever-you-want attitude can often lead to some real dead ends in life. Eddie said that sometimes the bottom was the best place to be. Mickey said that he had neighbors that camped near him in the woods that threw wild parties and did not make the best neighbors.
Carlos said that rather than doing whatever we wanted that an alternative way to live was to let the Spirit of God be our GPS which made us smile. He said that not drinking and not smoking was no better than drinking and smoking. That one way was more restrictive and the other more permissive was not really the issue. He said it is best to try to find out what God wants us to do rather than look for a rule that fits everybody. Eddie told us about some friends he knew in Texas that would drink wine in moderation and dance as a celebration of their faith. Jack told us that it is best to do everything in moderation and that there is evidence that moderate alcohol consumption has some health benefits. Although later he told me that his wife Julie says that to say it is always best to do everything in moderation is not very moderate!
We talked about how just living to do whatever we want can often lead us to hurt others. Eddie said that putting others down is not loving yourself. And the question came up about how we can love others if we don't love ourselves.
Carlos moved us toward a conclusion with a question by asking us what we needed. Our new friend Jimmy said he was blessed to be with us and that there were things in his life that he needed to change. Eddie told us that "seven months ago I lost my wife, but my life is getting better little by little. I had my back to God and told him to kiss my rear end. But God was with me even though I didn't know it." And through the support of friends he said that he had changed his outlook and felt that he was in a much better place. That was a very encouraging thought and made us realize that no matter how dark life may be at times there is always reason for hope no matter how improbable.
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