intimacy 1.0

Clarity is of no importance because nobody listens and nobody knows what you mean no matter what you mean, nor how clearly you mean what you mean. But if you have vitality enough of knowing enough of what you mean, somebody and sometime and sometimes a great many will have to realize that you know what you mean and so they will agree that you mean what you know, what you know you mean, which is as near as anybody can come to understanding anyone.

-gertrude stein

I will spend way too much time in this series of posts talking about a sort of specific thing. I say way too much time because it is only a part of what I’m talking about, or maybe I should say, a symptom of what I’m talking about, or a manifestation. The problem is underlying. It is a relational problem and because our human relationships are at least partly types and metaphors for a greater relationship, practically everything I say will have a parallel, if not larger meaning. And though that of which I speak less, perhaps, will be of greater importance, and I’ll feel ok about having not had enough time to speak of it more because in fact, THAT is what I was talking about the whole time.
Many of you have spent a considerable amount of time with me and know this about me. You will probably follow right along. I tend to think very broadly and connected and feel relationship in all things. As a result, I’ll be talking about several things at the same time. The problem is that sometimes my language slips between metaphor and subject. Don’t be confused.

God’s language when talking about his relationship with his people nearly always reflected relationship between a man and a woman. He used adultery to symbolize idolatry. It seems that to him, idolatry WAS adultery in our covenantal relationship with him.
So our topic is sex, love, and worship.
I can think of no better language or relationship to discuss this, and so will follow his lead. There are words that are broader than their common usage, and phrases that are associated with meaning even when they are taken out of context. Sometimes, even similar phrases can have very different associations based on contextual perspective. So what happens when I juxtapose words and phrases and contexts?

Think these through:

Casual worship
Worship promiscuity
Love is verb
Worship is a noun