thin shell of truth around a big fat lie

I read something a few weeks ago that both saddened me and fired me up. (That's pretty much most things in life.)

It was a cutesy little saying, complete with a picture of a diaper-wearing baby...used as a prop to try and innocent-ify and justify the lie in the words.

The phrase was "smile even when you're sad, cause you never know when someone is going to fall in love with your smile".

Hey Charlie, got news for you, when I'm sad that means something in life is ripping the fuck out of my heart.

That means I've got anguish and turmoil going on.

And you're telling me to ignore my heart?

You're part of the mask crowd.

You want a smile, when someone is going through shit.

Hmmmm. This is why it is said "man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart".

You, Mr./Mrs. Christian, are telling others the outside is what counts.

Why are you, who do this and claim Jesus, encouraging people to live a lie?

Doing all they can to make others think they are what they are not.

Not in terms of their beliefs, but rather in terms of their heart.

Some use the name of God and/or Jesus to justify forcing a "happy veil" upon themselves. And others.

May it somehow sink in that God is zero percent into facade and fakery.

He knows the condition of our mind and emotions. Our hearts.

Why, then, spend wasted time trying to convince yourself (and God, and others) that your heart is A when God clearly knows it's B?

God is more honest about your heart than you are.

And there are others who pick up on it too.

Wonder if it's ever crossed the mind that even nonbelievers can see through the pretending. That they can see through the charade though not as "spiritual".

Their skepticism, I think, is welcomed by God. They have a nose for the Truth...they just don't know it. Don't care to know it cause they're turned off by what they're seeing.

And God appreciates that.

Jesus very plainly says "you will know them by their fruit".

Have we paused to ponder that we're known by our fruit too...

You see, in the attempt to be sweet and compassionate and positive (and in this case, cutesy about someone's damaging experiences), what is really happening is their heart is being steamrolled.

When someone is hurting, or bludgeoned, why try to inject your happy-clappy b.s. into them?

That's exactly what the cutesy little statement says: ignore the reality of the heart, and "be happy".

How callous, you who claim to have the compassion of Jesus.

How self-centered, you who don't want your positive little world disrupted by others' pain.

Do you know not know (y)our Savior is the Man of Sorrows?

I know. That doesn't fit the bill of your Sunday morning, riled-up, rah-rah portrait of Jesus.

You go on, now.

Keep doing your Jesus-frenzy b.s..

I'm going to sit over here with some folks.

A girl whose heart is being ripped in two by a broken home.

A heavyset lad who gets the 'fatty' business at school.

A lady who just lost her daughter in a car accident.

A man who just became a paraplegic while riding a motorcycle.

A man whose wife left him for an old high school boyfriend.

A girl who just became pregnant.

A guy who just lost his job and has five mouths to feed.

A lady just diagnosed with serious cancer.

I have no idea what to say.

I hope I don't say a word. I hope I'm at a total loss.

What I pray happens is that the Holy Spirit falls down, and as a result God allows my mind and heart to literally feel what His heart is about their situation.

If this takes place there will be a lot of tears shed.

There will be no "how is your prayer time and Bible reading" interrogation.

Why not?

Cause Jesus knows suffering.

Cause not everything Jesus does centers around black and white ink.

Cause there's a time to mourn and a time to dance.

Life is not all about dancing.

Please quit acting like it is.

Please.

There will be plenty of time for dancing in eternity.

For now, why don't we care about people's lives, WITHOUT pouring out Christianese hollowness left and right out of our mouths?


Start looking at the fruit.

Get on the same page as Jesus.

It's not a place filled with pleasantries.

Or velvet-pillowed pews.


It's going to stink.

There is no glamour in getting knee, waist or neck high in the vulture vomit of life.

The world doesn't give recognition or medals for this.

The more anonymity the better.


This is a far cry from what is comfortable for Christians.

Many are content with the "fall in love with a smile" quote at the beginning, not getting down into hell with someone in pain.

if you like, just keep singing "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" with the 3-year olds in Vacation Bible School.

Teaching them at an early age to wear the mask...

Getting them well-trained to later in life be part of the "Bless God, brother, doing fine, God is good all the time" crowd.

Who cares if people are drowning in the vomit of life.


It's hard to find those who embrace raw honesty.

It's hard to find those who have compassion stemming from God himself.

Particularly in church.

Why don't we break the mold, and become this for people?

Not by our own doing. But let's hit the Throne and ask God to shatter our paradigms.

Ask Him to show us a new way.

One that does not lead to death.