i can see the stars in your beautiful face. in a conversation yesterday, conducted while under the influence of recent sleep and groggy wakefulness, i was asked some god questions. mainly, "what does it mean to put god first above family/friends/relationship?" in my non-christian mindset, the answer i could come up with was "i don't know." i spouted some dirty babble about "putting god above everything is not exactly the case, it is more about including god in relationships with all of the above. when a relationship is discussed as a triangle between man, woman and god, it is good to keep in mind that all three are equal, with no one angle more important than the others."



but usually god is supposed to be not just equal, but greater than. as in "put god first." this could be taken to mean to put your faith in god first, or to dedicate your life to listening to god first. but in practicality and reality, how does that work? rarely are you confronted with family on one side and god on the other. the lines of battle are never that distinctly drawn. and as creatures of earth, we are tied to our families and if god told us to smote (maybe just minorly maim) our families, would we do so? even if we believed god was number one? this was the question i was posed. it was more tied into how it all works in a relationship -- putting god first -- but it had to do with the general principle of "what exactly does it mean to put god above all else and how does that realistically apply?"



i was a little surprised to get such questions. much less at one in the morning. doesn't everyone know that i'm a big important person now with a job and a strict bedtime? did you not get the memo? excuse me, the mission statement? and not being christian and not pretending to front like i know what's going on, my answers were more a reflection of what i think would be said, as opposed to what i really think. which would of been something along the lines of "god is first but that's more of an idealized thing, he's never going to come in-between your family/friends/relationships and if he does, he is not doing you any good service." but i did not say that because i don't think i was approached to give my cynical "what would jon do" views.



so. the question is. what's your take on all this? how does god being number one work in reality when faced with loved family and friends? i need perspectives, not answers. and no "jesus/god loves you so it's all good." i need specifics.



the amoeba response (thursday).