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As
I am like to do, I was pondering the lyrics of a song performed by the
amazingly talented Regina Spektor, entitled “Laughing With.” Interpret it as you will, but to me it
is about the double standard that people use when approaching deity. When things are good, God is just a
myth or a fairy tale worth rolling your eyes at. But when things are bad, people are left with no choice but
to plead for mercy from the God they’ve been ignoring or mocking while things
were good.
Here’s
some of her words:
…God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus…
[BUT...]
No one laughs at God in a
hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor
No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from that party yet
No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken
No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say, ‘We got some bad news, Sir’
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood
This
also reminds me of a quote written by Apostle-Scholar James E. Talmage about
when people break the commandment “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain,” as in “Oh, my God! I can't believe she cut her hair,”
or, “Jesus! You scared me…”
or any other incarnation of speaking the name of deity when used not to identify God, but to express
some unrelated emotion.
Talmage
said, “Even the
profane sinner in the foul sacrilege of his oath acclaims the divine supremacy
of Him whose name he desecrates.”
Jesus The
Christ, Chapter 1.
At
any rate, perhaps Laughing With is just a song, but I have seen these lyrics come
alive for me in the past several months.
I have had those moments of panic after what were supposed to be routine
tests, I have been in the hospital...a lot, I am getting more poor every day since I
have had to stop working, and so forth.
As
predicted by Ms. Spektor, I have been taking my relationship with God very
seriously these days. Take one
look at how this blog has evolved over the past several months and my volume of
expressed religiosity screams out!
This
new focus on my faith may have alienated some people.
Discussing God and religion and personal faith-fostered beliefs is no
longer proper, especially in commercial activities. But you would NEVER believe how many people –strangers,
even—once they get a whiff of what I am going through, absolutely gush about
God. At the very mention of the
word, CANCER, people come out of the
woodwork to ask God’s blessing upon me and to tell me they will pray for
me. America has long been held as
a “Christian nation” but I have never seen any of my fellow citizens manifest
this kind of interest in -or even belief in- God until this time in my life.
I
think that when people are faced with their own mortality, or the mortality of
their loved ones, for reasons that seem inexplicable and beyond their control,
there is nobody who can honestly answer their questions about the afterlife and
human existence besides God himself.
He is the only person left when all the rest is in disarray and
tumult.
This reminds me of a hymn called Where Can I Turn For Peace?
- Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart,
Searching my soul?
-
Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.
-
He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.
Text: Emma Lou Thayne
Music: Joleen G. Meredith
It should not have to take
something devastating for people to try to talk to divinity, but in my
experience, our lives are so busy and this world is so overwhelmingly
distracting, that it often takes an Almighty slap in the face, stopping us dead
in our tracks, for us to sit still enough to even contemplate prayer.
And
all I can say that for people going through hard times, turning to God must be
working. It is those people who have
suffered before, who are the quickest to promise that they will appeal to the Lord on
my behalf. It is like they cannot
wait one second to do their part to help me find the relief that they found
through God.
I
would NEVER in a million years have expected this response from complete
strangers while I bawl on a phone call to a 1-800 number...but it happens again and again.
Recently
I had some difficulties at the hospital and my radiation appointment was pushed
back an hour, then two, then four, and finally I was treated EIGHT hours after
my scheduled time. This was on a
Friday. I was scheduled to board a
train to get to see my sweet husband far away in Connecticut after yet another
distressing, lonely week of treatment away from him. Of course, by the time I was at the train station, that
scheduled departure had long since past.
When
it became apparent I would miss my train, I tried to reschedule my ticket, only
to be told that I would have to pay about $200 in up-charges. I literally had $300 in my Checking
Account and I knew that about $200 would soon be automatically taken out for
insurance and energy payments. I
was in despair. I think I called Customer Service 3 or 4
different times to see if there was ANY other option besides going home to my
lonely little apartment with my mattress on the floor, and crying all weekend
without my husband while my hair fell out all over my pillow.
On
the last call, I mentioned that I had an appointment at the Perelman Center
that day and that the Proton machines were down and I had
to miss my train so I could get treatment. The lady on the other end started asking me some odd questions, like the
name of the wing I was treated in…I think she was testing me.
Suddenly
she said, “Listen, I don’t know what
you’re being treated for and I don’t need to know. But I understand exactly what you are talking about—I was
treated for cancer with Proton Therapy myself just a couple years ago and I
know how challenging that is. I will
change your ticket for free; you just name the time. Nobody else would do this, but it is the least I can do for
you right now. I’m sorry to
overstep my bounds, I don’t know if you believe in God or not, but God bless
you and I am going to pray for you when I get home tonight!”
I
was in tears.
I was so grateful
for her generosity and for her fearless commitment to her faith- both of which
she used to bless me, even though she could have gotten in trouble for it.
This
has happened to me again and again.
People’s humanity and religiosity have been so raw in
so many instances when I explain what I have been dealing with. It has been so touching and refreshing to see this side of people.
Cancer
strikes at will, it can target literally anyone at anytime. Babies
are born with cancerous tumors—they didn’t smoke, eat too much red meat, or not
exercise! They’re babies! It is just one of those things that can
catch people off guard and put their lives into perspective by force.
What
I am trying to say is, don’t wait for disaster to strike before you make a self-assessment of
your life and your beliefs. Regularly set
aside time for quiet reflection and ponder what you value most, what you feel
is true, and what truths you want to pattern your life on so you can look back
someday and feel like a woman or man who knows who they are, what they are
doing, and why. Surely we can’t
know this all at once, but I promise that if you explore beyond what you can
see and listen to that (sometimes pesky) little conscience, that you will make
choices that bring your life more peace and value.
And
don’t be afraid to share what you believe! It does not have to be offensive
to talk about your religion!
Stating what you have faith in, as a matter of fact, is not necessarily
a way to compel conversion. I
don’t know when religion became so taboo and immediately taken as offensive,
but it doesn’t have to be. If someone’s
cherished truths are precious enough for them to share, I request that you be
open-minded enough to listen.
“Those who
stand for nothing, fall for anything.”
-Alexander Hamilton
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Also, I was elated to watch this short film about the pull between popular culture (especially for our poor teenagers!) and being true to one's religious beliefs. LOVE LOVE LOVE this short film:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365231021/
"Tryouts" from the 2014 PBS Online Film Festival
