140 Words Or Less

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes the following statements: Being angry with someone is as bad as killing them Thinking about committing adultery is just like doing it Loving your neighbor isn’t enough, love your enemies too When someone hits you, instead of hitting them back, turn the other cheek Never worry Never judge others Never call someone a fool God wants us to be perfect, like He is A recent survey by the respected Barna research group found that 3 out of 5 churchgoers feel that they don’t measure up to God’s standards. On a related note, the research also found that 85% non-churchgoers between the ages of 16-29 believe Christians are hypocrites. I have to agree. Either that, or 2 out of 5 churchgoers have never read the Sermon on the Mount. Word Count: 140

Growing up, our family dinners would often feature a discussion of the latest celebrity news; who was hooking up, who was losing weight, who was checking into rehab. We’d discuss “Bennifer” and “Brangelina”, marvel at Jon & Kate’s 8 kids and make Kevin Federline jokes. My Dad would inevitably put an end to the discussion of the personal lives of total strangers by saying “We talk about these people like we know them”. Last week teen sensation Justin Bieber got caught smoking pot. Yesterday we learned that Manti Te’o’s girlfriend wasn’t real. Today American legend Lance Armstrong will tell us that he used performance enhancing drugs. People will feel betrayed and hurt by these revelations.  Some will get angry.  It’s painful when our heroes turn out to be different then we believed them to be. It’s like we don’t even know them. Word Count: 140