When I was in Tibet a couple of years ago, my companions and I encountered an old Tibetan woman who stuck her tongue out at us as we passed on the street. "What kind of greeting was that?!"Out translator laughed and then explained to us the custom. She was showing us that her tongue was pink and not black, thus signifying that she was neither a demon, nor demon-possessed. Of course, she already knew that. She was mainly inviting us to return the gesture because she wasn't so sure about us!
I was recently reading some research by Gallup pollsters about American morality trends. It was interesting that the majority of respondents indicated they had never been unfaithful to their spouse or significant other; had never done drugs, cheated on their taxes or lied to their boss...but they were quite certain the majority of their neighbors and co-workers had done all of the above.
Back in 1969 (I've heard) there was a bestselling book entitiled, "I'm Okay, You're Okay" by Dr. Thomas Harris. He introduced the concept of "Transactional Analysis" and observed that "for a huge portion of the population the feeling is "I'm Not OK -- You're OK." The culture has certainly changed in the nearly 40 years since Harris' work and today a more accurate title might be "I'm Okay--You I'm Not So Sure About."
In fact, there have been several "take-offs" on the title over the years: "I'm Okay--You're Dead", "I'm Okay--You're a Brat", etc. One of these books with a message for the Christian community in particular is a humorous work by John Shore entitled, "I'm OK -- You're Not: The Message We're Sending Unbelievers And Why We Should Stop."
One reviewer had this to say about the book...
"How refreshing then to find a book on Christianity which is intelligently written and loaded with gentle humor. A book which takes a slap at the arrogance of contemporary Christianity, yet manages at the same time to convey what is truly beautiful about it.
Over-zealous Christians will learn a lot from the quotes of non-Christians used as examples throughout this book. Harris provides some of the best writing on religious themes I've encountered anywhere. This kind of Christian exposition, coupled with the rising tide of ecologically and socially aware Christianity, gives me hope that Christ's church is being reborn as he intended it."
Christians far too often send the message, "I'm okay, you are not." "Arrogant", "judgmental", "intolerant" and "irrelevant" are words often used to describe the church today. A far cry from the one who was known as "a friend of sinners", the compassionate, humble, accepting and always relevant Jesus.
~ Father, help me to be an authentic Christian, more accurately portraying the character and actions of the one I claim to be following. Amen.
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