Things We Think and Do Not Say — Christopher A. Lane

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.” - C.S. Lewis

In the early moments of the movie Jerry Maguire, the main character (played by Tom Cruise) has a crisis of conscience. He suddenly becomes disgusted with his participation in the money-grubbing sports industry and vows to do something to remedy the situation. His first step is to write a 20-something page treatise.

In one of the film’s more memorable scenes ( no, not “You had me at, ‘Hello,’” or “Show me the money!”), Jerry describes his thought process and mental state via voice-over: ...A breakthrough. Breakdown? Breakthrough. It was the oddest, most unexpected thing. I began writing... What I was writing was somewhat “touchy feely.” I didn't care. I had lost the ability to bullshit. It was the me I'd always wanted to be.

After he distributes his brutally honest manifesto to the entire company, Jerry receives an awkward, rather embarrassed “atta-boy” from his colleagues. He is then quickly ostracized, fired, and finds himself doing the walk of shame, carrying his belongings out of his office in a cardboard box.

I share that bit of cinematic history as a prelude to the following similarly brutally honest manifesto. While the subject is dramatically different from Jerry’s, it was written with the same fervent urgency and passion, and could quite possibly share his title: Things We Think and Do Not Say. Furthermore, it may well have the same result: crickets and excommunication. I’m okay with that.

Don’t worry. This isn’t political. I’m not going to rip on the President - past or present - or leap into the vax/no vax quagmire. I was, however, drawn to the topic, in part, by the COVID pandemic. While opinions are all over the place about its origin, how it’s been handled, when and if it will ever end, there seems to be a consensus on one point: it’s scary! People all over the world are watching in horror as it keeps spreading around the globe. We’re all wondering if we’ll survive. More specifically, we’re afraid that we might not.

My hypothesis (which is not in any way original) is that the panic we’ve seen for the last two years is largely fueled by fear. More specifically, our fear of death.

The Big Sleep. Giving up the ghost. Pushing up daisies. The final surrender. Kicking the bucket. Buying the farm. Taking the last train to glory.

Yep. The D word. The Big Sleep. Giving up the ghost. Pushing up daisies. The final surrender. Kicking the bucket. Buying the farm. Taking the last train to glory. We have lots of clever euphemisms for it, because we really (R-E-A-L-L-Y) don’t want to face the reality that it’s coming for all of us. This just in: the mortality rate is currently 100%. It’s been holding steady right there since approximately forever. Whether it arrives via shark attack, a failed bungee jump, an insidious microscopic virus, or simply old age, we will all experience death.

Pretty morbid, right? The good news is that’s the bad news. My goal here isn’t to bum you out. My goal is to provide an antidote to the fear by sharing a post-mortem option. I mean, if we all gotta shuffle off this mortal coil at some point, it seems only fitting that we would give some thought to what happens next and even make some advanced arrangements regarding... (insert scary music here) the afterlife.

Maybe you don’t believe in the afterlife. Maybe you think we just stop existing. Or we go into some kind of hibernation/soul sleep. My question to you is this: what if we don’t? What if we keep on living and (you knew this was coming!) end up in one of two locations: heaven or h-e-double toothpicks?

Here’s where Christian readers can doze off or go for a latte. The violently atheistic (including internet trolls) can also head for greener pastures (try Twitter). For any remaining readers, I pose this challenge:

If there is a God, when you meet your maker, where will he send you?

Your encounter might go something like this:

God: (on throne with clipboard) Were you a good person?

You: (standing there with mouth hanging open) Um... Uh... Yeah... Kind of... Most of the time. Okay, some of the time. I mean, I’ve made mistakes. But I’m definitely not as bad as, you know, Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer, and those guys.

God: I see. Have you ever broken any of my commandments? (whispering) They’re in my book.

You: Pretty sure I’ve kept most of those. Never killed anybody. I never made a graven image or did much coveting - not even sure what that is. Didn’t steal, except that time in the eighth grade. The Sabbath thing... I mean, I’m not Jewish so...

God: (making a note) So you broke the commandment about not stealing?

You: I... Uh...

God: Did you ever tell a lie?

You: Um... Well... I mean, yeah, sure. A few. Little white lies, mostly.

God: (scribbling more notes) You broke the commandment. Did you ever use my name as a swear word?

You: Seriously? That’s really a thing?

God: That’s a thing. Another broken commandment. You want me to keep going?

You: No. I get the idea.

God: (nodding at clipboard) Bottom line, you’re guilty. And I’m a just God. So that means I’ve got to judge fairly.

You: No grading on a curve?

God: Ha, that’s funny. No, as I said in my book, the guilty go to hell.

You: That’s really a thing too??

God: It’s a thing.

You: (gulp!)

The good news is that God has already arranged to have the charges against you (every broken commandment) dropped. He’s got a “get out of hell free” plan and he’s waiting for you to take advantage of it.

Remarkably, he sent Jesus Christ, his only Son, to take the punishment we deserve for our disobedience. Jesus died on the cross so that we could be forgiven. Perhaps even more remarkably, this is a free gift - all we have to do is receive it and instead of eternity in a miserably hot locale gnashing our teeth, we get to spend it with him in heaven.

Anyone still hanging with me who’s interested in this amazing deal, can seal it right now. Simply:

Admit to God that you’ve broken his commandments. (Romans 3:23)
Confess your sin, turn away from it, and ask him to forgive you. (1 John 1:9)
Tell him you believe Jesus died on the cross for you and was raised from the dead. (Romans 10:9 )

It’s that simple. If you genuinely took that step, you’re golden! (To find out what’s next, go here.)

I don’t want anyone to cash in their chips without being adequately prepared. There. I said the things I usually think but do not say.

I’ve been a follower of Jesus since I was nine years old. I am now many, many (M-A-N-Y) years older and I have never regretted the decision. My faith, relationship with him, and wrinkles have only grown over the multitude of decades. I believe all of the above and because of that, I don’t want anyone to cash in their chips without being adequately prepared.

There. I said the things I usually think but do not say. If you have questions or comments, email me. Trolls... don’t bother. Just go back to trolling, please.