order in the court

so the summer program (mission adventures) has this thing every thursday called a panel. they ask base staff to come and answer, or attempt to answer, or shed light on, or share life experience with, questions that the students write down and ask on monday night, the day they arrive here. its girls with girls and guys with guys, and ive been participating in this thing, and i would like to share some thoughts ive been thinking and journaling about in my quiet time, that applied to the panel today.
its about judgment. or more specifically, judging.
we all judge others. whether we are fully aware of it or not, we do. "first impressions" is a fancy way of saying first judgment. when someone says or does something we don't or aren't, regardless of how aware of it we are, we judge them. little judgments. big judgments.
anyway, i asked God how He felt about it, and this is what i feel he said:

-when you judge someone, you strip them of the value i have placed on them, you render them valueless.
-when you judge someone, you are the opposite of me, you place yourself high above them...and thats breaking a commandment, because you are making a god out of yourself.
-never assume you know the full story, even if they don't, i do.
all i need from you is to love them, allow the spirit inside of you be love and truth, don't be anything else, i will take care of it. when it comes to people, your job is to love, let me guide the rest.

needless to say, there was some repenting going on. this is serious stuff. of course judging is bad, but i never knew how personal it was, and how far it keeps us from God when we do it. it is the opposite of his character.
making a god out of myself? its true. when i judge someone, im really promoting myself, saying that im better, im right, they are wrong, im placing more value on me then on them.
it never ceases to amaze me what is really going on with people, and if i would take just a moment and listen to them, to spend time getting to really know them, how much you learn and feel stupid about, because you assumed certain things that were of course untrue.

i hope that this isn't making anyone feel guilty, because thats not the point. im just into sharing my life and what it looks like everyday, and i hope you want to share your life with me, because sharing our lives is what its all about...after our king, of course.

secular and sacred?

so theres this unspoken rule when it comes to religion that defines the difference between "secular" and "sacred". everything we do is either one of these. when we go to church sunday morning, it is sacred, when we are in our car sitting in traffic on our way to work, its secular. when we say our nightly prayers, it is sacred, and when we go out on the town it is secular. at least, this is always how we have viewed daily life. separation between church and state...written into our constitution.
i would like to propose (though there have been hundreds before me, im sure) a new train of thought: there is no difference.
let me back up. lets define the words secular and sacred. according to dictionary.com;

secular:

1.	of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal: secular interests.

2.	not pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to sacred): secular music.

3.	(of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.

sacred:

1.	devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated.

2.	entitled to veneration or religious respect by association with divinity or divine things; holy.

3.	pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to secular or profane): sacred music; sacred books.

they are definitive, and very different.
back to the new train of thought.
no difference.
i believe that no matter what we are doing, saying, listening to, hearing, reading, or any other -ing im forgetting, we can be worshiping God.
to demonstrate this, i would like to show you the lyrics to coldplay's new song, viva la vida:

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead, long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become

Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string (Ooooh)
Ah, who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh
(repeat with chorus)

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Oooooooh Oooooooh Oooooooh

if you dissect these lyrics, or look at them with eyes to see, you can see many layers of what he is singing about, the least of which is jesus, in my opinion.
that is the beauty of songs, you can interpret them however you wish, because they are a form of art, and art tends to be open to interpretation...but this is another discussion for another day.

i was listening to the radio the other day, and this song came on, and as i was listening, really listening, i was struck by how a hugely mainstream "secular" artist could write such profoundly spiritual lyrics. perhaps they are not as secular as the trend is to think?

im not really sure where i am wanting to go with this, so i will end with a proposal;
i propose to you that today when you listen to the radio, open your ears in a new way and listen for the deeper meaning. when you watch a movie, see if there is a deeper, semi-hidden message the author is trying to convey. and look inside a bible, because it is so surprising the themes we find in there that we find over and over again in daily life.

this video is by sigur ros, an icelandic, 'secular' band...