Hell is still Hell

I have said it before and I'll say it again, my favorite scripture in the Bible is "So the last will be first and the first will be last" (Matthew 20:16, Mark 10:31, and Luke 13:30). Some versions even throw the "for many are called but few are chosen" on the end for good measure.

Please ask me why this is my favorite scripture...please? Ok. I'll tell you. Because to me, it gives the Biblical equivalent of the middle finger to those who think they're there, those who have decided that they are everyone's savior, that they are above listening and instead do the talking (or typing), those who are vain, arrogant, fake, and assume you are too stupid, biblically, spiritually, or even in life experience to notice.

You know the type, they talk (or write) about humility while living a life of vanity (and yes, a thousands selfies are vanity..duh!!). They have put themselves on a self-proclaimed spiritual pedestal where they are the speakers of God's Word and their interpretations surprisingly always lean toward them being that much holier, where the determining factor of spiritual "fruit" is how many followers they have on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or blog (what?!).  They consider themselves leaders when really they're just prideful and bossy.  They attempt to make themselves spiritual mentors without your consent and without building a trusting relationship in which to fill that role, choosing not to "speak the truth in love" but to point their "I'm not judging you" judgmental finger at you as a way to mask their own sin.  They maliciously and purposely injure and then fiend innocence.  They are nosey but hide behind concern.  They use the Bible to condemn some, but then put it away when ignoring the sinfulness of those they "love."

I also like this scripture cause it gives me a semblance of hope. I am not a "Jesus freak" or "Bible thumper." I'm not an evangelist or preacher or healer or tongue-speaker. In a word, I am last.  I'm ok with that.  I own it. I know it. I don't pretend to be something I'm not. I don't pretend to love people I don't. I don't pretend to have better intentions than I do. I don't lie to funeral directors about family's unwillingness to pay for a funeral or abuse a sacred position and lying about passing information....but I digress...

And I may be a lot of things but I am not a liar. I will speak the truth. Admittedly, it may not be in love. It may be as loud and proud as it possibly can be. But it will be the truth, the complete and ugly truth.  And more than that, I don't allow liars and fakers to infiltrate my inner circle in any way, shape, or form, especially when they use God as their cover.  I prefer four real friends to a thousand Facebook friends.  I make no apologies for that.

I don't believe anyone who's been "called" has the right, or even the authority, to use the scriptures as their weapons to injure people. I believe that in order to "speak the truth in love" you must first love...and not the BS "I love you's" that some people throw around like plastic silverware at a BBQ.  The love that is built on God's definition of love. (Everybody knows 1 Corinthians 13:4-8's definition of love; right?)

To be honest, I've spoken the truth in love and screamed it from the depths of my soul and have had the exact same reactions. I don't think the issue is the tone. It's the truth.  Many "Christian"s don't want the truth. They want fake. They want the pictures that have been taken and retaken and "take it again, I look weird." They want the snapchat filters where who they are and what they look like are a distorted and false depiction of themselves.  But that's what they put out there to the world. And the world unfortunately soaks it up like sun rays in Germany.  They never look past a person's Facebook status or twitter feed to see how "Christians" treat people they don't like or those who they feel have wronged them, whether they are truly seeking and saving the lost or if they only surround themselves with people who believe the facade, if they are transparent and vulnerable, if they are infiltrating and destroying relationships, if they are gossips.

Because at the end of the day, whether you're a sour piece of fruit or a decadent dessert whose sweetness masks your deadly poison, there's still only one place you end up...and it's not through the gates of heaven.

"So the last will be first and the first will be last."  Hell is still Hell.