One of my pet peeves has always been reading dumb things on church signs around town. I don't know why it gets under my skin so much. It's like someone is trying to say something profound in a cutesy way and in a few words.
My poor hubby knows how much it annoys me...he has to put up with my ranting when we're out driving and I spot one. What REALLY annoys me is when some slogan is posted that doesn't even speak the truth.
Here are a few you may have seen yourself:
"Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the snake, and the snake didn't have a leg to stand on"
"Down in the mouth? Come in for a faith lift"
"Speak well of your enemies, afterall, you made them"
"God is a know-it-all"
"Global warming is coming"
"Get ready for take-off"
You get the picture. Why do churches think these flippant sayings are a welcoming message to someone looking for a church to visit? And I found out that churches actually subscribe to services (yes, they pay money) to receive these sayings to post on their signs. A little web surfing also shows that there are tons of sites out there that exist for the purpose of ridiculing these signs.
OK, now I've gotten THAT off my chest!
I have to admit that for the first time in my life, yesterday I actually saw a church sign message that spoke to me personally. I was out running an errand at the end of a very busy day. I was feeling a bit down on myself for having had a cranky attitude the day before in front of some loved ones. As I drove around a bend in the road in the near-darkness, I spotted a church sign that read "TGIF" and under that it said, "Thank God I'm Forgiven".
Me? Touched by a church sign message? It had to be a God thing because this has never happened before. But it really did jolt me out of my self-loathing to remember that ALL my sins, past, present, and even future, have been forgiven. They were nailed to a cross long ago. Every day I can walk in newness of faith with full assurance that I am a beloved daughter of the King, and He takes delight in me.
I love these words to the hymn, It Is Well With My Soul. They speak such truth and assurance to my heart. To read the history of this hymn and hear the melody, go here.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
I'll probably still be annoyed when I see dumb church sign messages. But I won't forget TGIF anytime soon. Have a wonderful, forgiven Friday!
13 comments:
Some of those church signs are mean. I don't like mean-spirited things...we have some doozies in the small towns around here...
I couldn't agree with you more!
I'm with you on the church signs.
My husband saw one yesterday that he liked, and he dislikes them even more than I do.
SIGN BROKEN. COME INSIDE FOR MESSAGE.
Hi Penni. You washed your face! LOL!
Those mean spirited sayings are so ignorant. I can't imagine Jesus saying those things.
Lori, I'm glad others feel like I do.
Judy, I think that slogan should replace all the dumb ones out there!
It seems with those flippant signs they just trivialize God. Just like a lot of the jokes that people make by twisting Scripture and making jokes with it.
God is not a laughing matter.
Rose I agree. In fact, I meant to say that same thing...that it trivializes God. It seems like such a far cry from "Be holy, because I am holy"...I Peter 1:16
Did Pat Robertson write the saying in your photo ;-)
Janet, I found that pic on google but I hear ya. I don't know WHY Pat Robertson makes those comments...they pain me.
Hey what happened to your blog? I couldn't find it!
This sort of thing is why people are turning from Christianity!!! This is a message NOT from God! Where is the love in that? I am a Methodist, and that is definitely NOT representative of my feelings (nor anyone else I know at my church).
Hi Shirley...I totally agree with you, obviously! It's painful sometimes to be a Christian when other Christians don't engage their brains or hearts!
Amiable dispatch and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you as your information.
Hi Jacque ~
We all have pet peeves, one of mine is any pen that doesn't write!
Trivial I know, but very annoying.
Thank you for sharing the hymn and your precious insight:
"Every day I can walk in newness of faith with full assurance that I am a beloved daughter of the King, and He takes delight in me."
We are beloved! Praise The LORD!
Jess, I was trying so hard not to air pet peeves on my blog! hee hee hee! I have to own the pens-that-don't-write pet peeve also! Over the holidays I went out and bought a bunch of new pens for that very reason! Praying for you this week, dear friend. God is near!
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