If God Is Love Don't Be A Jerk - Book Review

 

Title: If God Is Love Don't Be A Jerk; Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans

Author: John Pavlovitz

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Publication Date: September 28, 2021

Length: 238 Pages

About the Author
John Pavlovitz is a blogger, author, and pastor based in North Carolina. His blog, Stuff That Needs to Be Said, recently surpassed one hundred million views.

We Have One Job; LOVE!
Loving God and neighbor and self is the elemental stuff of Christian prayers, songs, T-shirts, and bumper stickers...and we all know that.

However, there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. Love is the path that Jesus laid out for us. This book is about the walking: about imagining what love should or could look like if we take that mandate seriously. 

My Thoughts 
John Pavlovitz has written a powerful book that challenges the reader to really think about the conclusions we hold about the character of God. Our ability to be loving to ourselves and our neighbors is in many ways a product of these conclusions.

"One set of answers will yield a hopeful, compassionate benevolence that continually moves us to welcome others in and to live with an openhanded generosity...and another is likely to construct a scalding, brimstone-laden judgmentalism that leaves us predisposed to exclude and prone to finger wagging."

 The author believes we should be compassionate and empathetic to our fellow human beings. We are all jerks at times...setting out to hurt another person and succeeding. We should ask ourselves, "Am I trying to understand this person, or am I trying to defeat them?" Understanding is a key element in love.

We tend to see the world through the filters of our personal background, culture, and education. It is really difficult to be open-minded and understand the reasons for our preferences and prejudices. We live in our own little world and are mostly ignorant about how the rest of the world is living. This book encourages you to open your mind and your heart. It asks you to really SEE what is going on around you. Your religion is not what you believe, your religion is how you treat people.

Mr. Pavlovitz comes down hard on traditional evangelical churches and challenges them to be "The Church of Not Being Horrible." We have ONE job: LOVE!

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley.

Brighten The Corner Where You Are

In 1913, gospel meetings were popular, spurring lagging faith with song, personal testimony, and shared experiences.  Ina Duley Ogden's wish as a young woman was to join the Chautauqua circuit as an evangelist and bring to thousands her strongly felt message of love and Christian belief.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Ogdon's father was an invalid who required constant care and attention.  Ina abandoned her dreams and decided to spend her life caring for her father.  She poured her heart into writing songs that would express her Christian faith.  When she wrote the lines, "To the many duties ever near you now be true," she could well have been thinking of dishwashing, sweeping and cleaning, which to her became work God had assigned her. 
Homer Rodeheaver, a famous evangelist, selected "Brighten The Corner Where You Are" as his theme song.  Thus, though she never reached the attention of thousands of people as a Chautauqua speaker, her message has come to millions through music.

Brighten The Corner Where You Are

Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,

Do not wait to shed your light afar,

To the many duties ever near you now be true,

Brighten the corner where you are.

REFRAIN

Brighten the corner where you are!

Brighten the corner where you are!

Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;

Brighten the corner where you are!

Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear,

Let not narrow self your way debar;

Though into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer,

Brighten the corner where you are.

Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,

 Here reflect the bright and morning star;

Even from your humble hand the bread of life may feed,

Brighten the corner where you are.