I went looking for another Weird Al video on YouTube and stumbled across this response to a Lonely Girl 15 video. Lonely Girl 15 is a bit of an internet phenomenon – it’s the video diary of a religious (what type isn’t specified) homeschooled 16 year old named Bree that became a huge hit on YouTube. When the fact that it’s fake, and the sixteen year old homeschooler is actually a 19 year old actress, was revealed, the mystery/soap opera attracted even more fans. But this response to some post of hers intrigued me. I gather from one of the comments the guy knows he’s responding to a fictional character, but is just taking part in the drama. I certainly hope that’s true, anyway. Real or fiction, his response interested me because this is an extremely typical worldly response to devout faith of any kind.
Faith is good, in moderation, they say. Don’t take it too far. Don’t let it change your priorities. If it comforts you, by all means, enjoy that, but don’t give up anything because of it.
The man in the video states, “In life, we’re more than just our religious beliefs. We also have our family and our friends, and with those three things we can be complete people. You need to be a complete person… a house divided against itself will fall.”
He couldn’t be more wrong (aside from the fact that this is fiction 
). In fact, we are most complete when we fulfill God’s will in our lives. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. (1 Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 73:24-26, John 17:22, 24) Our faith is not one leg of a tripod on which our life rests. It is the most important part of our lives.
The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.
(Genesis 12:1 CEV)
Another disciple said to Jesus, “Lord, let me wait till I bury my father.” Jesus answered, “Come with me, and let the dead bury their dead.”
(Matthew 8:21-22 CEV)
Jesus did not exempt himself from such stringent requirements:
And it was told to Him by some, who said, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside desiring to see You. And He answered and said to them, My mother and My brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it.
(Luke 8:20-21 MKJV)
But the rewards are great.
Hear the Word of Jehovah, you who tremble at His Word; your brothers who hated you, who cast you out for My name’s sake, said, Let Jehovah be glorified. But He will appear to your joy, and they will be ashamed.
(Isaiah 66:5 MKJV)
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
(Matthew 6:33 MKJV)
If we can master this one thing, all the rest will fall into place.
Ah, Laura – I got here from the trackback you left at Patterico’s, and I’m so glad I did! I can tell you’re going to be a thought-provoking encourager to me.
Welcome to my God-Squad!
– Kat
http://www.CatHouseChat.com
Kat – welcome! I just visited your blog for the first time and liked it so much I’ve added you to my Favorites – Politics feed on my home page.
Also, VA is one of my favorite places in the world – I lived in Dale City and in Woodbridge, and worked in Vienna at AOL back when it was a startup (early 90s). Good times… I’m looking forward to reading your “local” posts as much as the political ones.
[Baker: Seek help. I'm not kidding. There are medications which will help you. I've deleted all 37 paragraphs because you are a lunatic. - Laura]
Thank you, Laura!
You should be on my blogroll, too, unless Bloglines is messing up this week, LOL.
And as for politics, well, I kinda run the whole gamut – travel, catblogging, poolblogging, food, silliness, the occasional Christian post, and so on. I’m a bit fed up with politics at the moment, and current events these days just break my heart (those poor people in PA!), so I may be rather, um, snarky these days.
Fortunately, my area of VA is VERY country, and so I can enjoy the slower pace. I am profoundly grateful that God never sent us to the DC area (except to visit) while the Beloved Husband was in the Navy.
As for baker – *sigh* – well, the lunatics do tend to pop out at the most in opportune moments, don’t they?
Best blessings for your day!
– Kat
Heh – just checked, and BLOGLINES isn’t messing up: *I* am! Going to fix/tweak my sidebar now, LOL
– Kat
“Faith is good, in moderation, they say. Don’t take it too far. … He couldn’t be more wrong.”
I couldn’t disagree more. Having a personal faith is just fine. Having faith that turns you into a zealot fanatic who wishes to impose the “right choices” on EVERONE through force is evil. And it’s not just Christian Evangelicals who do it; “progressives” and Muslims have their own zealots motivated by their own faiths.
While it is true that some doctrines – notably Islam – include the domination of others, that is NOT TRUE of traditional Christian doctrine. (If you disagree, please cite chapter and verse of the New Testament to prove it. Because while Christians respect, and are informed by, the Old Testament, we are released from its regulations by the death of Jesus Christ.) We DO believe that God has dominion over all, but it is not part of traditional Christian doctrine to enforce that.
And don’t forget that “imposing choices” is done at all times and in all levels of society; they’re called laws. For example my choice to execute the idiot who cranks the bass up on his car and drive slowly past my house at 3 a.m. is restricted by society’s mores and enforced by law. Not permitting pornography on publically owned airwaves is another such choice.
As to abortion, which is typically cited as one example of how Christians try to impose their choices on others, it is right and appropriate that the choices (laws) of society are debated periodically, that’s one of the main benefits of living in a democratic republic. The two principals in the cases that give us legal abortion today, Doe and Roe, both are pro-life today, and they make a compelling case as to why. Additionally, there are many non-Christians who believe that abortion takes the life of a baby, and that another solution needs to be found to deal with unwanted pregnancies.