Little Blip—Large Screen

I like to go back into the city park that is just behind our house, especially in the spring and fall evenings.  The park is primitive in many areas…filled with woods, creeks, and grassy areas.  There are paths that have been cut into these areas.  Some of the paths were cut by park employees; some by the deer that live in the park, and some by people.  These paths criss-cross each other, and I’m trying to learn where most of them go.

The park is about 1 ½ miles long and ½ to ¾ mile wide.  So there is ample space in the middle of it for peace and quiet, and the feeling that one is far, far from civilization when at most it’s about ½ mile in one direction or another to find it.

Last evening I purposely went to what I perceived to be about the middle of the wooded area of the park.  There was a path used to get there.  I found a rock to sit on near to a grassy, somewhat open area.  And I sat and listened.

Other than the occasional noise of the airport which is close by, there was nothing except birds and breeze.  That was one of those times when I should like to have bottled that moment to savor again.  All was well in the world, and all was well with me at that time.  But there came the time for me to get up and follow the path back to the civilization that was waiting for me just a quarter of a mile or so from where I was.

I’m just a very little blip on a very large screen.  Most of the time, I can’t be seen at all without some kind of magnification.  Sort of like the balloon I happened to spy in the sky overhead yesterday evening.  I had gotten out my binoculars to take a closer look at some hawk-like birds that were soaring above the park.  In the course of that, I spied a colorful passenger balloon vey high in the sky.  I could not see it with my eyes only.  I had to use the magnification of the binoculars to spot it.  (The birds were turkey vultures soaring beautifully and gracefully in the high skies looking, no doubt, for something dead to eat.)

Sometimes we start thinking that we’re some kind of big deal in the world.  But that rock, the grassy area, the path, and the birds will all be there in the park long after I’m dead and gone.  They won’t notice or care that I was there…or not.  And except for a few loved ones who will have lives uprooted by my demise, the world will go on for as long as it is upheld by the word of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:3).

Yet, I know that I am loved and cherished, even as the creation also is.  As the children’s song says, “God sees the little sparrow fall; it meets His tender view.  If God so loves the little birds, I know He loves me too.  (Matthew 10:29) 

Harder Than Anything...

On my Facebook page today was a post by a friend who had posted a message.  The writer of the message was talking about all of the bad-mouthing and trash-talking that goes on in politics today, with special reference to the President of the United States.  The writer’s point was that for the Christian, we are told to “Fear God; honor the king,” and pray for our leaders and those in authority.  Bad-mouthing and name calling is not part of the equation, in the writer’s view.

Of course, the post had commenters, some of whom were trying to worm out of the respect part of it by saying they should respect the office but not the man.  Others were struggling with coming up with any respect at all.

I seldom do, but couldn’t resist a comment myself.  I’ve repeated my comments below for you.  And before you look at it, I want you to know that I struggle with this respect and honor thing as much as you do.  I find it extremely difficult to love my neighbor as I love myself.  And I find it very difficult to understand how God can forgive some people, but I am “more worthy” of forgiveness than they (not true, by the way).

My comments reflect my view of God’s Word…not how I always deal with such things in my life.  I fall short of the Word of God…just like you.  But that doesn’t make the Word of God any less true or any less the standard.

Comments:  We respect the office (of President) because he's there by God's design. We respect the man because he's a human being and is "our neighbor" whom we are to love as we love ourselves.

We have to separate ourselves from the petty bickering. We have to stop cold the notion that we can harbor resentment, malice, and grudges against another human, whoever it is and whatever they believe or have done. We have to forgive as readily as Christ forgives us...immediately, completely, and assuredly.

To respect someone does NOT mean we agree with them, or even like them. But it IS part of loving them...as we love ourselves. To respect someone means that we honor that person as a creation of the Almighty God, and in need of (or having been saved by) the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts. There are no sidesteps. There are no alternate versions. Hard? Yeah. Harder than anything else we might do in our lifetimes. But if we're going to appeal to the blood of Jesus and the grace of God for ourselves, we've no choice.

Fracking and Our World View

There are a considerable number of earthquakes happening in the neck of the woods just to the south and west of where we live.  Used to be there were none…then the oil drilling started, and so did the quakes.  Some folks are just sure the quakes are caused by fracking…a type of drilling for minerals.  Others say there isn’t any direct evidence.  Still others say that fracking doesn’t cause it…the disposal of waste water (which comes as a result of drilling and fracking) causes it.  Who says what depends on which side of the environmental/oil fence one happens to be on, it seems.

I suspect that all of them are partly right — and partly wrong.  And I suspect that they have nuanced their talking points to just what they want to say, telling the truth but not telling the whole truth.  They aren’t alone in this screwing around of the English language.  Politicians have been doing it for centuries.  Preachers too.  And lawyers…well, you can make up your own mind about them.

What is so fearful about telling the entire truthful story?  Why is it so difficult to admit that one’s preconceived ideas and notions may not be entirely on the level?  What is so hard about making a change in how one perceives things when confronted with evidence to the contrary about one’s perception?

We all are guilty.  We all like to think that the way we perceive things (our world view) is the correct one.  Of course we do.  Because no one has a world view that is contrary to how one perceives the world.  That would be not only illogical, but self-defeating.

No, that’s not the issue.  The issue is how one changes one’s world view when confronted with evidence to the contrary of that view.  Some of us ignore the evidence…we say it isn’t there, or it really isn’t evidence.  Others of us see the evidence, but say that it is incorrect (according to one’s world view).  Still others will twist the evidence to the point that it conforms to their world view.  And a very few will take the time to logically examine the evidence, examine one’s world view, and make any changes to that world view that the evidence calls for.

As Christians, that is our challenge in taking the message of and about Jesus Christ to the world.  That message has to have the power within it to overcome the world view and perceptions of the person it comes to, and provoke a complete change of heart and mind.  It’s a tall order for any message.  No wonder the Bible talks of God’s work in a person to prepare him for the message.  No wonder it talks of the message being the power of God.  No wonder it says that the message is sharper than any sword.  These things have to be in order for the message to penetrate and effect the change that it calls for.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made, the Good Book says.  And so we are.  One of the things which enables us to live and work in this existence is the stubbornness and stamina that we develop as a result of forming and defending our world view.  But when that view is clearly contrary to what we know to be true, we need to be man enough (pardons to the ladies) to admit our error and go in another direction.  That’s harder than it might seem, but it’s possible and is done countless numbers of times each day.

Get your world view out from time to time and dust it off.  Take a good, honest look at it.  Check it against the evidence.  And wise up and make the changes where they need to be made.  You’ll be a better man (or woman) for having done so.

The Texas Roadhouse

Sunday noon, we were invited to the Texas Roadhouse by our son and his family to have lunch.  Although I enjoy going there, it’s always very, very noisy and busy, and this time was no different.  There were eight of us all together, and I couldn’t hear the conversation at the other end of the table much of the time due to all of the noise and hubbub.

So as I sat at the end of the table and enjoyed my filet medallions, I began watching the wait staff as they went about their business.  And I counted five different employees, besides the manager, who stopped by our table to bring something or take something away, or just ask how things were going.  One of those five was our server, but the other four were people who did who-knows-what who brought the salads, drinks, etc., or who took away empty plates.

And crowded though the place was, everyone seemed to zig at just the right time or zag over to the other side to avoid collisions with other wait staff who were busy carrying this or going here or there.  I don’t know what it’s like at that restaurant behind the scenes where the meat cutters hand-cut the steaks, or where the bakers bake the delicious rolls, or where the dishwashers clean up the messes.  But from what I see in the public area, the wait staff and employees do a good job of working together, getting done what needs to be done, even if it may not necessarily be their job or their table.

I don’t want to go so far as to say they were a well-oiled machine, but they did give the impression of a group of people who, if they didn’t truly enjoy what they did, at least they didn’t hate it.  And they seemed to have the best interests of the customer and of other employees in mind as they went about their work.  There was no room for slackers or malcontents on the day I was there.

It’s like that, of course, in many arenas of living.  Families, work, civic groups, church…people need to work together and look out for others, offering to help out wherever needed even if it isn’t in their job descriptions.  It seems we’d do a lot better as a society if we practiced this kind of helpfulness and cooperation in what we do and how we do it instead of working desperately to get whatever is “in it for me.”

Jesus said as much when he said, “As you would that men should do to you, do also unto them likewise.”  This, the Golden Rule, is also said like this, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

He also said that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.  He then went on to explain that one’s neighbor was virtually everyone else besides oneself.  Loving our neighbor means that we’ll desire the best for them and work to that end.  Loving our neighbor means that we’ll put our desires below the needs of our neighbor.  Loving our neighbor means that we’ll sacrifice if necessary for them.

How are you doing in following the Golden Rule or the greatest commandments?  What are you actively doing to train yourself to look at others first?  How are you coming along in the greed and selfishness categories?

The Texas Roadhouse bunch seemed to have it together Sunday, and they showed it in their ability to serve many people in a crowded, noisy environment and make it a pleasant experience for everyone.  Can we Christians do any less?

An Enigma

”The power to unlock tomorrow is found in a box.’  So says the TV ad for Kellogg’s Mini Wheats cereal.  Now, if you think about that more than for just 1/10 of a second, you will quickly realize just how dumb (yes, I’m using that word) that sentence is.  Shredded wheat has the power to unlock tomorrow??  Give me a break.

Of course, there are those who are not ad executives who will “absorb” that statement over time and gradually, gradually, gradually, that statement will grow on them.  They will become convinced that, if not Mini Wheats at least, they can find the power to unlock tomorrow from any of a number of “things” from vehicles to cans of beer to toothpaste.

I have a couple of comments.

First, I’m not sure I even want to unlock tomorrow.  “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  The words of Jesus in Matthew 6:34.  I have enough to deal with today to have to think about tomorrow.  Do I really want to “unlock” tomorrow today?

Second, although I know what they were saying in the ad, and why they were saying it (the healthy effects of eating whole grains), they were just awfully presumptuous, I think, in how they said it.  Of course, that’s what makes ads successful, but it seems to me that we the public are all too gullible to believe just anything that’s told to us.

We are manipulated.  We are managed.  We are maneuvered.  And we not only allow it; we embrace it.  We go along with it all.  What is it with the human race, and western culture specifically, that makes us that way?  And why?

I am told that there is an app making headway that will reserve a table for you at a restaurant…for a fee.  You will pay anywhere from two dollars to fifty dollars or more just for the privilege of getting a table at a restaurant.  The price depends on demand, the popularity of the restaurant, and who else you’re apt to see there (or who else may see you there).  I’ve never paid to get a table at a restaurant and I don’t intend to do so.  I’ll eat at  Burger King before I do that.

We are truly an enigma.  We like to parrot our independence.  Yet we pay big bucks so we can say we’ve been to the fancy restaurant that some star goes to from time to time.  We say that no one is going to make decisions for us.  Yet we blindly accept what we’re told in TV ads that range from the absurd to the ridiculous.  We say we’re open-minded, yet we vote straight tickets in elections.

Ira Stamphill said it well in 1950 in his song, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow.”  Listen to the refrain of the song.

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

So Much Hurry!

I went out for a drive today.  It’s very nice…about 70 degrees this late January day, so I took a spin in the pickup out to some of the more rural parts of Sedgwick County.  Oh, I know, there really is NO real rural area in this county, but there are wheat fields, some livestock, farmsteads, and some real dirt roads out there.  I found a couple of them.

Having the window down and the radio off, I soaked in the warmth and the scenery.  Admittedly, there isn’t as much of that in winter as in the other seasons of the year, but there were some things to see.  And the traffic, even in the rural areas was more than I thought it might be.  I’m not sure if it was because it was a nice day, or school was out and people were going home, or what.

It seemed like, though, that they were all in a hurry.  Now, maybe I was going a little too slowly…I went the speed limit where posted, and went about 40mph on the unpaved, washboardy roads.  But it seemed like folks just were in too much of a hurry today.  I don’t have a clue what was so important that they had to speed around me to get there, or impatiently wait behind me until I turned, they turned, or could pass.

You know, it seems like the world is in a hurry.  Not just the people this afternoon.  Everyone wants the line to move quickly, the food to heat right away, and instant coffee out of the Keurig.  Everyone wants their web page to load in ½ second or less, and they all want to be able to have green lights all the way.

Could it be…could it be that we hurry ourselves and busy ourselves intentionally, so we won’t have the time to stop and think?  Could it be that as long as we are distracted by busy-ness, we don’t have to think about the societal issues of the day, the world situation, and our own mortality and brokenness?  Could it be that if we have a few minutes alone with ourselves, quietly, we become nervous, unsettled, and even a little afraid?  Could it be that we’re trying to keep the wolf at bay by being busy?  That we can put off the time of reckoning, so to speak, and not have to be honest with ourselves or ponder the questions of, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?”

And maybe that’s why I sometimes like the quiet and the out-of-the-way.  I don’t mind pondering those questions because I know who I am.  I know why I am here.  And I know where I am going.  Because I’m an adopted child of the Living God of Heaven and Earth, I know the answers to those questions.  I’m not afraid to address them.  And I’m not nervously trying to put off the next chapter in my life through busy-ness.

I’m not perfect.  I have issues.  I don’t like to think about homelessness, human trafficking, and other societal ills.  I don’t like to hear about war, starvation, or genocide.  But I know enough to know that those things, one day, will be no more.  I know that I will be a part of that great crowd from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation that surrounds the throne of God.

This turned out to be a much more “religious” post than I originally planned for it to be.  So be it.  This is the reality.  To not write about it would be to do a disservice to you and to me.  So, take it or leave it…but make no mistake.  We WILL all one day know the answers to those eternal questions…if we don’t know now, we will in a time to come.  And the answer in the time to come just may not be what we want to hear.

Time to Man Up

I am amazed at the number of times I read or hear about someone colliding with another motorist, someone on a bicycle, or someone walking alongside the road, and then leaves the scene of the accident.  It happened again last night in Wichita.  Someone hit a person on a bicycle and fled the scene.  That person is in serious condition at a hospital.

My wife says I shouldn’t be so amazed; that the culture of self is alive and well; that it doesn’t take much to turn a person into someone very self-centered and, well, let’s just say it…ugly.

There could be any number of reasons why someone would choose to leave the scene of an accident and leave a victim lying on the roadway or in the ditch, injured or perhaps dead.  The perp could be driving illegally, not have a license, be driving a stolen vehicle, not have insurance, or be wanted on a warrant.  He/she could be inebriated by drugs or alcohol and either not realize he hit someone or the drugs make him not care.

The perp could just be selfish enough to not have any moral scruples about human life and obedience to the law.  Or he/she could be scared and not thinking right.  Whatever the reason, it is really no reason at all.

Ravi Zacharias, Christian apologist and speaker, says that without acknowledgment of a higher power and transcendent moral code, there is no rational moral foundation upon which to build one’s world view.  Those who disagree say that morality is inherent within the human being and society through evolution and does not need a transcendent being to exist.

I’d ask you to take a look around and tell me what you honestly think.  Where did our moral foundation come from?  Why is it wrong to murder?  Rape?  Rob?  What difference does it make if I do those things if there is no overarching moral code and moral lawgiver to hold me accountable?  What difference does it make if I drive illegally and hit someone walking on the side of the road?  Who says that is wrong?  Where does that come from?

What would life be like if everyone had their own moral code?  What kind of society would we live in?  How safe would you be in this society?  How secure would your children be venturing out beyond the boundaries of home?

Let’s take that down a notch or two.  What if everyone had their own set of traffic laws and rules that they followed for themselves?  What if some drove 35, some 65 and some 95 on Kellogg Avenue?  What if some stayed within the lines and some didn’t?  What if some went on green lights and some on red?  I think you’re probably saying something to the effect that these things are happening right now.  And you’re right.  And daily, we see the effects of this kind of thinking; wrecked vehicles and mangled bodies.

Everyone makes mistakes.  Everyone from time to time misses that car coming from the side street.  Everyone sometimes becomes distracted and fails to see a pedestrian or cyclist.  Most of the time, nothing bad happens.  But when it does, it’s time to “man up” (regardless of one’s gender) and own the situation.  It’s time to step up and admit an error.  It’s time to make right the wrong that one has created.  Selfishness and self-centeredness never fails to bite the hand that feeds it…never fails to get its due.

Time for a Nap

Sometimes, it pays to be a little more careful.

I am “baching” it tonight as the wife is doing orientation for adjunct nursing faculty this evening.  So in fixing supper (many call it dinner…I never did), which I do regularly, I got out a piece of beef from the freezer and quick-thawed in a pan on the stove.  Having watched it religiously, once it was thawed (I was able to stick a fork into it), I turned it to what I thought was a nice, simmering temperature, added a little water, covered it, and left it to finish cooking.

I was in the basement doing some things when the smoke alarms suddenly went off in the house.  They are connected together, so when one goes, they all go.  Assuming the issue was upstairs, as I went up the steps, I could smell the obvious odor of beef that was overcooked.

I got the smoking pan off of the stove and calmed it down quickly.  The noise soon went off as well.  I went through the haze to the garage, got a box fan, set it in a window in the living room, and turned it on exhaust, while opening the sliding door on the opposite side of the house.

It didn’t take long for most of the haze and smell to go away, but I know we’ll smell this for the next 24 hours or so as our house is very tight.

Now, I know I should have stayed up in the kitchen and monitored the stove.  After all, it was my supper that was in danger of overcooking, and I should have been more careful.  But I’d done this many times before and it always turned out OK.  What happened tonight I’m not sure as I turned the stove off quickly before stopping to look where I had really put the control.

I do know a couple of things, though.  First, the smoke alarms work just fine.  Second, it doesn’t take much to blacken meat instead of brown it.  Third, the exhaust fan routine works pretty well.

So there you have it.  An evening without the wife here and all this excitement.  I think it’s time for a nap now…

Relationships

It seems like I always get into a little more of a contemplative mood this time of the year than I do the rest of the year.  I’m not a ball of fire any other time, but this time of the year…between Christmas and the New Year…seems to cause me to do some pondering and thinking about many things; but mostly about relationships.

Yes, I think about the new year and the possibilities therein.  Yes, I think about things I can do better in the coming year, or something I’d like to get done maybe for the first time.  And yes, I certainly think about the time I’ve had here on the earth, and the time that I have left if I live a normal lifespan.  But mostly, I think about those people in my life who are related to me in some way…by blood, marriage, friendship, business relationship, or otherwise.

Some relationships have been dissolved by the passing of someone.  Sometimes one or more of the people in my life move out of the area, or jobs or work assignments are changed.  And sometimes, but not often, the relationship just isn’t there anymore for whatever the reason may be.

But most remain intact from year to year, and most all of them grow in some good way.  And I enjoy these relationships as well.  I like to observe younger ones succeed in their jobs.  I like to watch their families grow.  I watch them struggle from time to time, work through issues in their lives, and get back up after they fall down.  I like to watch older friends as they cope with the effects of aging and the certainty of not-so-many years left on the earth.

I can relate to most of them, as I am either experiencing much the same myself or have already been through the ups and downs that others are going through.  Oh, there are some things I’ve not experienced.  I’ve not had a medical diagnosis that was life-threatening.  I’ve not suffered a huge trauma injury.  I’ve not been through a divorce or had any domestic issues great enough to warrant family counseling.

But I can commiserate.  I can listen.  I can observe.  I can rely on similar experience and provide counsel if needed.  I can pray.  And the others who are in my life can do the same for me.  It’s a sort of symbiotic relationship.  I need those who are in my life.  And in a very real sense, they need me and others who are in their lives.

I don’t know if all of this thinking and pondering this time of the year is really beneficial to anyone, least of all me.  But I’d like to think that, at least on my end, the bonds are strengthened by my recall of relationships and friendships and what they mean to me.  And in the time I have left here, I will not only continue to cherish these bonds, but will work to watch them continue to grow and mature, even as I create new ones as the opportunity presents itself.

I thank God for the opportunity to relate to people.  This world would be a very lonely and cold place without them in my life.  I am blessed beyond measure!