I remember reading the story of an old preacher who was asked
to speak at a men’s retreat. He used Genesis 2:24 as his text, and in the
excitement of the message, he shouted from the pulpit, “My young brothers in Jesus Christ, I declare to you this day that what
we need in our relationships, what we need in our marriages, what we need in
our churches, and what we need in this world is simply this: MORE CLEAVAGE!”
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never heard that text
expounded quite that way before. While I’ve studied Systematic Theology in
seminary, I’m reasonably sure that there wasn’t a chapter on “Cleavage
Theology.” It’s certainly true that this text could be used to encourage men to
remain more faithful to their wives; Lord knows that far too many still seem to
need to be reminded of that. Still, while Genesis 2:24 may make a great
premarital counseling text, and though some might disagree, I am also reasonably sure
that it does not teach that what we need more of in our churches is cleavage.
Still, being somewhat of a confessed humorist myself, I
appreciated the chuckles that the aforementioned misguided hermeneutics
provided me. I don’t know if that was a true story or not, and ultimately that
doesn’t even matter, but if so, I can only imagine the chuckles and snickering
that most certainly would have ensued in that preacher’s audience too. Who knows,
but I imagine that even God might have chuckled at that one, for amongst the
rest of creation, He also created humor, as suggested by Ecclesiastes 3: 1,4 which says:
“There is a time for everything … [including] a time to
laugh”
Well there you have it. If you haven’t heard a sermon on
this lately, why not ask your pastor when he next plans on preaching on the
merits of “Cleavage Theology?” (Hopefully he too has a healthy sense of humor). If it’s actually on his preaching plan, let me know when
it’s scheduled; I may even come for a visit that Sunday. Yuk, Yuk J
(Don't you just love the English language? LOL)
Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons
(Don't you just love the English language? LOL)
Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons
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