In life you collect stuff... and some of it is stuffed in the back of the closet.
You grow up... you go to school... you date... you get a job... you move... you leave jobs... you get new jobs... you get married... you make friends... you lose friends.
All the experiences and relationships that are part of your story form you spiritually... both positive and negative. Some of the toughest... or most shameful... or most painful experiences often get stuffed in the back of the closet. And even though no one sees it... it can affect everything. And as "Em" says... I think we ALL have skeletons in our closet.
I've found that my personal and spiritual growth depends on my willingness to clean out the closet of my life from time to time. It is scary... It is painful... but the pain is the way to growth.
There is a healthy and an unhealthy way to react or respond to these personal demons. And while I don't have it all figured out... what I tend to need is some close and trusted friends who will help me shine the light of Christ into the dark recesses of closets of my life. To not just shine the light... but to help me clean it out and tidy up.
Em.... sing. (FYI: Eminem uses some colorful language to express his emotions. If you can't handle that... then don't watch it)
[NOTE: I do not condone the excessive use of filthy language and have a low tolerance for such language myself. I do not regularly expose myself to such potty-mouthed entertainment as simply a consumer... but try to engage it from a Christian worldview. Engagement is not always retreat. The theme of this song has captivated me from my first exposure to it... and I share it here with the greatest of caution and this extra note... thanks to my friend Sean]
God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 1:5b-7
8.21.2007
Cleaning out my closet
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3 comments:
Now here is what I struggle with as I continue the journey and how your post made me think. Growing up in the age we did I still found myself listening to music like em’s until I realized maybe that was not appropriate, or so my mind convinced me it wasn’t. A simple thing like cursing, while I don’t condemn those who do I chose not to. Doesn’t it seem hypocritical to listen to those who do something you chose not to do yourself or is that thought hypocritical unto itself? HMMMM
I loaded my mp3 1.5 years ago and find myself skipping the “nasty” songs as I work in the yard, yet I haven’t removed them from the mp3? In my mind I associate that music with bad so I try to avoid it, it was interesting for me to see that you not only listen to it but obviously by your post don’t condemn em for expressing himself the way he does….. Am I over thinking it all? I guess you could argue they are words and from an artistic view how can you criticize others? Thanks for making me think about this today.
SDubbs... I applaud your desire to leave behind anything that can tangle you down in your Christian growth.
As I put in my NOTE. I do not condone or even consume such entertainment. My use in this post is not to push the mindless consumption of Eminem material.
But, if possible, to redeem it... by highlighting the problem it points too (in Em's own words) and showing how the gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to the needs of mans hearts.
I am neither condemning or condoning the language... but challenging you to not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
So I can use p@rN videos to enhance my marriage, not that I condone the behavior on the tape... But rather to redeem it. Never thought of that! I think sdubbs makes a strong point. Logical extension ;-) Joking in a sense, but if its not good for my kids, why is it good for me?
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