Just another day at the impeachment hearings
4 Just as I am, thy love unknown
has broken every barrier down;
now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Voices United 508
I'm sick of the term quid pro quo. I took Latin in high school but I was too lazy to do well. I figure, though, that the "something for something" definition of the term is good enough. Quid pro quo has been discussed ad nauseam (more Latin!) in recent weeks because the president of the United States has been naughty and held the Ukraine up for aid ransom to get dirt on a political opponent -- allegedly, of course. Enough already.
Then I saw a tweet by Diana Butler Bass with this reminder:
My book GRATEFUL has an entire chapter on why quid pro quo is bad — how it destroys our spiritual lives and society. I’ve been working for the last two years w/groups to help them understand its immorality and why alternative forms of gifts & favor are necessary.
The United States has worn its faith on its collective sleeve over the past few generations but there are some, particularly those of the "bible-believing" variety who seem to have forgotten the regular reminders in scripture that God is the source of all that is good, whose generosity in Christ is lavish and can never be repaid. We, then, are invited to live with a sense of gratitude and generosity which runs counter to the "something for something" way of living which is the norm.
On Sunday mornings we pray that God will forgive our debts/trespasses as we forgive others. Many hymns, particularly the older ones emphasize God's generosity and while some have a "you better grovel in gratitude" message, others invite us to marvel at our acceptance.
Will the American people be shocked by the realization that quid pro quo has occurred and undermined the public trust, as well as US standing as a democratic leader amongst nations? Probably not, but it's good to see that at least some are calling us to faithfulness rather than partisan politics.
On Sunday mornings we pray that God will forgive our debts/trespasses as we forgive others. Many hymns, particularly the older ones emphasize God's generosity and while some have a "you better grovel in gratitude" message, others invite us to marvel at our acceptance.
Will the American people be shocked by the realization that quid pro quo has occurred and undermined the public trust, as well as US standing as a democratic leader amongst nations? Probably not, but it's good to see that at least some are calling us to faithfulness rather than partisan politics.
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