The Importance of Being Foolish

I started a Brennan Manning book the other day called "The Importance of Being Foolish." I haven't gotten very far because the things that Manning tends to say can have you lost in thought and contemplation for weeks. In the opening chapter he begins a conversation truth versus deception, how Satan gets us to chase with our whole hearts things that are false, the least of reality. He contrasts this with Jesus' life and commands of His followers. He makes this statement:

We should be embarrassed by the Word because it says much that we don't want to hear. But why are most of us not embarrassed? Why doesn't the Word exalt, frighten, and shock us? It's not because we are unfamiliar with it-we hear it week in and week out. Why doesn't it force us to reassess our lives? It comes back to our delusions. Michel Quoist says:
We are satisfied by our decent little life. We are pleased with our good habits; we take them for virtues. We are pleased with our little efforts; we take them for progress. We are proud of our activities; they make us think we are giving ourselves. We are impressed by our influence; we imagine that it will transform lives. We are proud of what we give, though it hides what we withhold. We may even be mistaking a set of coinciding egoisms for real friendship."

There are truths within the Scriptures that Jesus reveals to us that should make us shudder; that if we truly believed the Bible to be Truth we would have no option, but to radically alter our lives and yet, most of us don't. In fact, we are surprised when we meet someone who is living a life similar to the teachings of Jesus and we call it "radical." Should it be so radical?...to the world, yes!...to the church? No!

More quotes from this book will follow this one, I feel sure. For now, this is all that I can chew on.