On the Books

It's been over a month since I last published anything here ... in part because I'm working two projects in Lexington, Kentucky ... one at Southern Acres Christian Church (www.southernacres.org) and one at Hope Springs Community Church (www.hopespringschurch.com) ... and in part because I really haven't had much to say in the past month. Maybe the two things go together. Maybe my being tired from working so much causes my creativity to diminish.

As I thought about it more, I came to believe the reality is that spending so much time on the jobsite, even church jobsites, causes me to lose my connection to God. Sure I continue to pray, I continue to "think on these things" as Paul encourages us to do in Philippians 4:8, but I truly don't believe I allow God to truly penetrate my life like I do when I'm not so overly busy.

But something hit me the other morning at breakfast. I noticed the back of my cereal box had the phrase "On the Books" in bold letters. Around the phrase were nine pictures with a short description ... all laws from various states in America that were or are currently "on the books."

Let me list them for you:

1. Blue Earth, MN: Law declared that no child under the age of twelve may talk on the phone unless accompanied by a parent.

2. Alaska: It is forbidden to push a moose out of a plane in motion.

3. California: It is illegal to set a mousetrap without a hunting license.

4. Utah: It is against the law to fish from horseback.

5. Nevada: It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway.

6. Washington: Goldfish can ride the city buses in bowls only if they keep still.

7. Vermont: Whistling underwater is illegal.

8. Baltimore, MD: It is illegal to take a lion to the movies.

9. Kentucky: Transport of an ice cream cone in your pocket is prohibited.*

Now some of these laws were just ridiculous. Did they really have a problem with people taking lions to the movies in Maryland? Are swimming goldfish really a distraction on a bus in Washington? Do people often drive camels on the highway in Nevada?

However, some did make a little sense. For instance, if too many children were dialing 911, making it difficult for actual emergency calls to come in to the switchboard, making a phone usage law for children in Minnesota would be prudent. A cash-strapped state like California could easily raise additional funds by collecting hunting license fees for each mousetrap sale, helping reduce the state's deficit. Or was I over thinking this?

In the end, no matter how much I considered what would compel a local or state jurisdiction to complete the process to turn any of these ideas into law, I could find no good solution for any of them. These laws had no business being discussed in a public forum, and certainly should have never passed a vote by elected officials or a local community.

Yet that is how it often becomes between us and God. He is always there for us, always wanting to be in community with us, yet we try to make crazy rules we need to come before His throne. Why do I feel so far from God, even when I'm working on improving two of His churches? It's not because God has moved away from me. He is still there, waiting for me to get over myself and simply lean into Him. Instead, I create some insane barrier of some type ... some nonsense law if you will, that widens the gulf originally created by sin.

My desire to do it on my own ... that age old struggle all humans battle ... gets in the way. As I recognize it, I am able to simply turn around and find my God waiting right where He was when I left. And the more I do this, turn to face God and forget myself, hopefully fewer "on the books" types of distractions will be allowed to penetrate my life, keeping me focused where I need to be; on God.

*Taken from the back of a Kroger Apple Cinnamon Toasted Oats Cereal box