Kiss And Tell

Author’s Disclaimer: This blog contains statements and opinions that may be offensive to some readers. The author takes no responsibility for offended feelings. ;)

I’m a person of many pet peeves. Big surprise, right? I’m also a planner and a thinker. So I’ve thought about this blog for awhile before I decided to post it. I can always tell when an idea is going to stick and force itself to be written about. It starts as a thought, then balloons into an opinion, then sentences and paragraphs start to form inside my head. Sometimes, as in this case, I try to push it aside, but it refuses to be pushed. So I’ve decided maybe I just need to get it out of my system.

As I said, I have a lot of pet peeves. Some are stupid, like people who don’t put the toilet paper in the right way. In case you’re curious, over is the right way. And some are serious, like people who refuse to put their kids in car seats. This one has been niggling at the back of my brain for weeks.

In my opinion, a relationship with God is like a marriage. Actually, it’s not just my opinion, it’s Biblical (Eph. 5: 22-33). Marriage is a beautiful thing; it’s a public testimony of a personal commitment. There are some parts of my marriage that I have no problem making public: When my husband does special things for me, like cooking dinner, unloading the dishwasher, finally painting the bathroom vanity drawers after we’ve lived in the house three years (This was just last week!!!). But there are parts of my marriage, intimate parts, that I don’t share. There’s a reason for that. It’s personal. It’s private. It’s meant just for he and I to share.

So, in keeping with the marriage/God parallel, there are parts of our relationship with God that I think are meant to be public, and parts that are meant to be private. If God is speaking something special to me, I don’t go shout it from the rooftops, or a social forum, or whatever. That’s like me posting on Facebook or Twitter, “I HAD THE MOST AMAZING SEX LAST NIGHT!!!” It’s not something that everyone needs to know. It’s private. And intimate. It’s like kissing and telling.

I don’t feel the need to frequently tell myself (or the public): “I trust Jeremy. I know he’s not going to cheat on me today. He’s proved himself faithful to me.” People know he’s proved himself faithful by evidence of our relationship. People know I’m married to him by evidence of our relationship. They don’t need to be reminded, and they don’t need proof.

I’ve heard a lot of people lately, saying that God has told them this, or God has shown them that. I don’t dispute their claims. I know God speaks to people. And I’m not saying that it’s wrong to publicize our relationship with God. That would be completely opposite of one of the key points of Christianity.

I know I risk offending people by posting this, and I hope no one feels singled out by me. But here's my opinion:

Luke 18:9-14

[9] To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men -- robbers, evildoers, adulterers -- or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

[13] "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

[14] "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."


Here’s my point: Be quiet. Be intimate. And don’t kiss and tell.