24

It's Monday! Every Monday evening, I gather with a few good friends in my basement and watch "24". I really enjoy it! We meet an hour before the show to fellowship and talk about the spiritual significance of "24". Actually, we end up talking about all kinds of subjects, until we realize it's 9:00 and have to run downstairs. Some of the people at our church have laughed at the idea, so I decided to give my "24" spiritual insight from last week's episode.

Phillip Bauer, Jack's dad, is a very intriguing character. He has already murdered one son, threatened the lives of the other son and a daughter-in-law, and kidnapped his grandson. In last week's episode, Phillip has his grandson trapped in a hotel room. As Josh, the grandson, is trying to escape, Phillip pulls a gun on him. Then, he says something like this: "No one's life is worth losing what I worked my whole life to build." A bit extreme? Well, it got me thinking about what we're willing to exchange for success (however we define it). When my desire for success, money, fame, pleasure, etc. becomes the focus of my life, then others become a pawn in my game. Broken relationships become the collateral damage of my pursuit.

If you bite and ravage each other, watch out - in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? (Galatians 5:15 - The Message)

24

It's Monday!  Every Monday evening, I gather with a few good friends in my basement and watch "24".  I really enjoy it!  We meet an hour before the show to fellowship and talk about the spiritual significance of "24".  Actually, we end up talking about all kinds of subjects, until we realize it's 9:00 and have to run downstairs.  Some of the people at our church have laughed at the idea, so I decided to give my "24" spiritual insight from last week's episode.

 

Phillip Bauer, Jack's dad, is a very intriguing character.  He has already murdered one son, threatened the lives of the other son and a daughter-in-law, and kidnapped his grandson.  In last week's episode, Phillip has his grandson trapped in a hotel room.  As Josh, the grandson, is trying to escape, Phillip pulls a gun on him.  Then, he says something like this: "No one's life is worth losing what I worked my whole life to build."  A bit extreme?  Well, it got me thinking about what we're willing to exchange for success (however we define it).  When my desire for success, money, fame, pleasure, etc. becomes the focus of my life, then others become a pawn in my game.  Broken relationships become the collateral damage of my pursuit.

 

If you bite and ravage each other, watch out - in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? (Galatians 5:15 - The Message)

Teenage Resolutions

At the close of my message on Sunday, I read "Teenage Resolutions in Honor of Mom and Dad" from John Piper's devotional, A Godward Life (Chapter 102). I promised that I would post them this week, so here they are:

1. Resolved: I will obey your instructions and do what I know you expect of me, even when it is not mentioned. I will not force you into repeated reminders, which I sometimes call nagging.
2. Resolved: I will not grumble or complain when I do my chores but remember what a great thing it is to have a family, a home, clothes, food, running water, electric lights, and central heating in a world where millions of teenagers have none of these.
3. Resolved: When I think your demands are unfair, I will move to do them first, and after showing an obedient attitude, I will ask if we can talk. Then I will explain my side and try to understand yours.
4. Resolved: I will not stonewall you and give you the silent treatment, which I dislike when my friends to do me. If I am depressed and want to be left alone, I will say, “I’m sorry, I don’t feel like talking now. Can we talk later? I’m not mad. I just need to be alone.”
5. Resolved: When I do something wrong and let you down, I will apologize sincerely with words that you can hear. Something like, “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t pick up the pile of clothes.”
6. Resolved: I will call you be affectionate family titles like “Mommy,” “Daddy,” “Mom,” or “Dad.” I won’t let other kids pressure me into calling you nothing or calling you something disrespectful as though true affection were embarrassing or childish.
7. Resolved: I will say thank you again and again for the ordinary things you do for me. I will not take them for granted as though you were my slave.
8. Resolved: I will talk about my feelings. Both the positive ones (like happiness, pity, excitement, and sympathy) and the negative ones (like anger, fear, grief, loneliness, and discouragement). I will remember that unshared feelings lead to estrangement, coldness, and even more loneliness and discouragement.
9. Resolved: I will laugh with the family and not at the family. I will especially laugh when my little brother or sister tells a simple joke with expectant excitement.
10. Resolved: I will give two compliments for every criticism. And every criticism will aim to help someone improve, not just belittle or cut down.
11. Resolved: I will enter into family devotions and treat Bible reading and prayer with respect and do my part to help others in the family enjoy them. When I don’t feel spiritually strong, I will pray about this as a personal need rather than pouring it on others as a glass of cold water. I will remember that confessed weakness knit hearts together.
12. Resolved: I will not return evil for evil to try to justify my meanness because somebody treated me meanly first.
13. Resolved: I will read my Bible and pray every day, even if it is only a verse and a brief call for help. I know that teens cannot live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.
14. Resolved: I will come home at the time we agreed on. If something happens to stop me, I will call and explain and ask your guidance.
15. Resolved: I will greet our guests with courtesy and respect and try to make them glad they came.
16. Resolved: I will always tell the truth so that you can trust me and give me more and more freedom as I get older.
17. Resolved: I will pray for you as long as I live, that we will be united in faith and love, not only in this world, but for all of eternity in the kingdom of God.

Mr. Holland's Opus

I always forget how much I love the movie, Mr. Holland's Opus, until I see it again. What a really good movie! I was reminded of this tonight, while attending the Cincy Vineyard. They played a clip, with this great quote:

"Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. But I have a feeling that he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor had it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich, probably both. But Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. But he would be wrong, because I think that he's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life."

That gets me every time. I have to admit that there were tears flowing when I saw this clip tonight. It reminds me of a statement by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church, "But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you" (2 Corinthians 3:2 - NLT).

It's in seeing Mr. Holland's Opus, or reading this line from the Apostle that I realize this is really what I want for my life. At least that's what I want sometimes. The truth is that most of the time I just want "riches and fame" or "a letter of recommendation". However, on nights like tonight I'm reminded that what I would like to hear at the end of my life, besides "Well done, good and faithful servant", is "We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life." I have a feeling that this will come to pass to the degree that I stop seeing others as pawns in my game of riches and fame, and instead offer myself in seeing them reach their potential. No life spent serving others is ever misspent!

Anna Nicole Smith

Am I the only who thinks it's weird that the death of Anna Nicole Smith is getting so much pub? What may be even more curious, is that someone whose contributions to society are naked pics, a drunken rant at an awards show, and marrying a rich man old enough to be her great-grandfather can dominate our inquiring minds. What's the deal?

It is probably a mixture of our society's fascination with celebrities and every man's obsession with naked women. Either way, it speaks our our ability to objectify people. Rob Bell will be releasing his new book, Sex God, soon. I can't wait to read the whole thing, but until then we can read the first chapter here: http://www.zondervan.com/media/samples/pdf/0310263468_samptxt.pdf

Here are a couple of quotes from Sex God:

"Picture a group of high school boys standing by their lockers when a girl walks by. One of the boys asks, “How do you rate that?” They then take turns assigning numerical values to the various parts of her anatomy, discussing in great detail how they evaluate her physical attributes. This scenario happens all the time, all over the world, every day. It’s a pastime for some. There are television shows and websites and endless discussions all devoted to deciding who’s hot and who’s not. It’s an industry, a form of entertainment, a culture. And it’s everywhere. The problem is that “that” is actually a “she.” A person. A woman. With a name, a history, with feelings. It seems harmless until you’re that girl – and then it hurts. It’s degrading. It’s violating. It does something to a person’s soul."

"We don’t respect the divine image in others just because we want to uphold their humanity. It isn’t just about them. It’s about us. It’s about our humanity as well."

"The new humanity is about seeing people as God sees them."

In our consumer and sex driven nation, it is easy to objectify people. Businesses see people as consumers to be sold a product. Men see women as sex objects to be lusted after. Churches see the community as potential parishioners. Could all of this be destroying our humanity? God save us!

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Love is in the air, everywhere I look around. Love is in the air, every sight and every sound." - John Paul Young

When I was searching for these lyrics for Valentine's Day, I saw this ad:
Who is Your Valentine? - Calculate Exactly, Down To The Name Who Your Valentine Lover Is...

Ann Marie told me last night that I should blog about the idea of a soul mate today. She doesn't seem to like my take on the subject, but she gets a kick out of how passionately I make my point. I think the idea of a soul mate is foolish. Maybe its because the people I've heard use the word, have been some of the most flaky people I know. People like the twice divorced lady who meets a new soul mate every six months. What about Sting (of the Police, not wrestling) who says that Trudie Styler is his soul mate. Never mind that he was still married to Frances Tomelty when he began a relationship (even conceived a child) with Trudie.

Is it a faulty idea to believe that there is one person out there for each of us? Here are my list of problems with the idea of soul mate or finding "the one":

1. What if you're like Sting (already married when you meet your soul mate)? Does that give you the right to leave the soul mismatch for the soul mate? I don't think so!

2. We overemphasize "finding the right one" to singles and under emphasize developing their relationship skills. The truth is that having a healthy marriage is a lot less about "finding the one" and a lot more about learning healthy relationship skills.

3. It isn't a cross-cultural principle. If the teachings in the Bible about marriage are true, then they must be able to transcend time and place. What about cultures in which marriages are arranged? What are cultures without online matching services to do? The biblical principles of loving sacrificially, seeking the best for others above ourselves, etc. can revolutionize any relationship in any place at any time.

The truth is, that love takes work. I love Ann Marie with all of my heart. Honestly, I can't imagine living my life with anyone else. But, it is that way more because we've worked really hard at it (Ann Marie more than me quite often) than us being "soul mates". We decided to hold on through the rough first year and the seven year itch. Our relationship is better because of it. So, on this Valentine's Day, worry less about meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right and think more about how to develop yourself into Mr. or Mrs. Right.

Utopia Lost

"One of the seductions that bedevils Christian formation is the construction of utopias, ideal places where we can live totally and without inhibition or interference the good and blessed and righteous life. The imagining and then attempted construction of such utopias is an old habit of our kind. Sometimes we attempt it politically in communities, sometimes socially in communes, sometimes religiously in churches. It never comes to anything but grief. Utopia is literally, 'no-place.' But we can live our lives only in actual place, not in an imagined or fantasized or artificially fashioned place." (Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places - Eugene Peterson, p. 73)

I've been thinking about this quote a lot lately. So much of my religious experience has been focused on something out there (heaven, a move of the Spirit, church unity, etc.), rather than considering that God may be working in the middle of my current space, circumstance, and even mess. Peterson writes again, "It is so easy to get excited and enthusiastic about the gospel outside our gardens. But it is in our gardens that we have been placed."

A little over a year ago, I was talking with some friends in a small group meeting about how difficult life seemed at times. As we shared our struggles, it occurred to me that these difficulties were actually the grace of God in our lives, not its absence. My statement went something like this, "Isn't it gracious of God that He has withheld from us what we thought we wanted so badly. Because, in doing so, He has shown us what we desired apart from Him. It would have been God's judgment in our lives to give us what we thought we wanted, but withhold Himself."

So, how does that relate to my garden? I often find myself (and others) getting offended at one another. This leads to any number of vices (gossip, blame, hatred, self-pity, unforgiveness, etc.). However, I think our temptation is to think that what God wants to give us is the ability to not be offended (and for others not to be offended by us). Sounds almost "Utopian". You know, kind of a Chip and Dale relationship (not the dancers, but the cartoon characters). "No, no! I insist. You first". Anyway, so I've been thinking that maybe God doesn't want to give us an Utopian inability to be offended or offend, but rather something better. What would that look like?

"walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love" (Ephesians 4:1b-2)

So, it seems that what God wants for us (what we are called to) is humility, gentleness, patience, and learning to bear with one another. All that requires being offended. You have to get on my nerves for me to learn how to bear with you. You have to push me to the limit, so that I learn gentle patience. So, be offended. It's good for you. How else are you going to grow in humility, gentleness, patience, and love?