here<\/a>.<\/p>\nLet me say up front that I\u2019m not a fan of Christians who take pride in \u201cpraying in Jesus\u2019s name\u201d at public events at which it is obvious that people of other or no faith are part of the gathering. It\u2019s just not the humble stance that Christians should always take. It seems like bravado, a way of saying, \u201cSuck it nerds, this is a Christian nation \u2013 deal with it!\u201d I think it seems like petty, immature behavior that does more harm than good.<\/p>\n
That being said, those who so easily take offense at someone else\u2019s petty or immature behavior, seem to be giving into the lesser angels of their own nature as well. I get that it is annoying and even troubling when people puff up with religious bravado. But to become highly offended, especially to the point of filing a lawsuit and pursuing it to the Supreme Court, may not be the best approach to a peaceful world among people of different faiths. It\u2019s different if there is real injury happening. I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s real injury in this case of flippant or insensitivity in \u00a0public prayer. What do you think of this?<\/p>\n
I do think that Richard Rohr\u2019s is teaching is helpful here.<\/p>\n
The Small Self<\/strong>: this is Rohr\u2019s name for our ego. Only the human ego has an intense need to feel right, admired, important, successful, have status, look good, etc. Rohr calls the ego the \u201csmall self\u201d because it\u2019s so much more flimsy and useless than our true self. When we are living out of our small self we are easily offended, petty, and immature. The small self is so fragile that it has to constantly self protect. The small self defines itself over and against other people \u2013 it always needs an enemy and needs to win. If we are constantly offended by other people\u2019s thoughts and actions, if we constantly feel the need to point out where everyone else is wrong and we are right, then we know that we are living primarily out of our small self. This is a miserable way to live.<\/p>\nThe True Self<\/strong>: In contrast to the flimsy and fragile small self, the true self is largely invulnerable to offense. This is because the true self isn\u2019t something we create\/generate, but is something that we receive from God. The true self is the created self, the person God has made us to be. That self is safe from all hard because it is \u201cHidden with Christ in God.\u201d (Col. 3:3). The true self does not need to appear strong because it is strong. It doesn\u2019t take offense because it is able to forgive offenses in real time \u2013 immediately \u2013 without having to set the record straight or inform somebody of how they are wrong. The true self feels compassionate instead of offended. This is a joyful way to live.<\/p>\nIf we are easily offended we are highly invested in our own ego, our own small self. A sign of true spiritual maturity is that we simply don\u2019t become offended by others. We forgive others in real time as we also forgive ourselves. I shudder to think how much of my life is lived out of my small self, my ego.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s amazing about this is that all it takes to begin to subvert the small self is to observe it \u2026 see it for what it really is. All we have to do in order to begin to live out of our true self is to observe the ways in which we don\u2019t, and then we will begin to see our ego loose traction in our lives. I am learning to pay attention to the times in which I feel offended. They tell me much more about myself, then the person, place, or thing to which I\u2019ve taken offense.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Supreme Court is hearing a case in which two Jewish women sued their small town for opening civic events with overtly Christian prayers. They took offense. It\u2019s an interesting case, if you want to read about it there\u2019s a good article here. Let me say up front that I\u2019m not a fan of Christians […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[278,13,277,690],"class_list":["post-2456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ego","tag-richard-rohr","tag-small-self","tag-us-supreme-court"],"yoast_head":"\n
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