"But That Is *Exactly* What Happened!"

This morning on The Musers, Gordo got on the topic of how quick we are these days to criticize good people by saying they are not doing enough or doing it quickly enough.

“Sure, you say you’re working to end homelessness, but how come I just saw a homeless guy this morning?! If you were serious, then you’d already be doing more. You’re just a phony….” Etc.

Craig and George agreed.

And then Gordo said something really interesting:

He said that if Jesus himself were around today, then people would quickly turn on him and complain that he wasn’t doing enough or doing it fast enough.

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And I kicked around that point for a minute until I thought,

“But, that is actually exactly what happened!”

The Most Important Least Important Things

Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool Football Club in England, said last year that [sports are] “the most important of the least important things.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about that statement these days. I doubt I’m the only one who finds himself just bone weary of the constant culture war arguments to which all things are currently reduced by the algorithms and editors that we allow to control us these days. The sense that EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT AND AN OUTRAGE AND YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION TO IT AND MUST HAVE THE (CORRECT) OPINION ABOUT IT AND IF YOU DO NOT YOU ARE THE PROBLEM just wears a man down. It was there in the early Obama years, but I felt it increase during the second Obama administration (no doubt rising in direct proportion to the spread of the smartphone) until it reached a rolling boil during the Trump administration until (and I wouldn’t have believed it possible) it has become like a pressure cooker during this pandemic.

As I’ve been preaching recently, however, I’m out. I’ve over it. I’m taking back my attention and my heart and my focus from the howling voices that demand I respond to them. It’s not that the issues we’re fighting about don’t matter, it’s that I no longer want to cede my attention to the control of the howling voices. I want to decide when to react, when to be outraged, when to be obsessed.

And so I’ve been thinking recently about where I direct my attention on my own terms.

I’ve been thinking, therefore, about “the most important least important things”.

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Thank God for the NBA

I think our obsession with sports can be unhealthy and idolatrous, and yet these days I’ve come to really appreciate the arguments and petty obsessions that are part of being a sports fan.

I’ll go further:

Thank you God for the NBA!

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Yes, sports won’t stop the plague, they won’t cure cancer, they won’t get the right person elected, they won’t fix our city streets.

But you know what they do accomplish? They offer us a safe place to be obsessive, a safe place to have heated arguments when nothing is at stake, a place to channel the passion and intensity that come along with human nature.

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Stephen A. Cuts My Hair

The place where I go for a haircut has sports channels blaring all day long, and most of that time they aren’t showing live sports, but rather what “30 Rock” called “sports shouting” shows—the ones where they just yell and argue (look up Stephen A. Smith on YouTube for a million examples). All those shows used to annoy me.

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(See 30 Rock’s version of “Sports Shouting” 3:23-3:31 in the above clip. Such a funny sitcom—I miss it.)

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Nowadays, I Much Prefer “Sports Shouting” and “Cookiejar Enthusiast”, Thank You Very Much

Nowadays, however, I think I’m grateful for the pointless arguments and petty obsessions that make up shows like “Sports Shouting”. Long may they continue. In fact, I think one of the purposes of civilization is to permit men and women to devote their energies to “unimportant” things like sports and all the other most important least important things we care about, like dog shows and garage bands and dollhouse-collecting and bridge tournaments and arguments over which scope on which hunting rifle firing which type of ammunition would be best to take down an elk at 400 yards in high elevation.

I’ve called the examples above “unimportant”, but that’s not really accurate, is it? Those examples are not unimportant because they are things that we care about and for which we use our God-given creativities. Yes, the examples above might not all be life-and-death and they may not speak to the immigration crisis at the border or how to pass the infrastructure bill or how to cure cancer, but I actually think the point of life is to not have to constantly think about the point of life.

It seems to me that one of the characteristics of a healthy, prosperous civilization is that men and women have the energy to direct at “unimportant” things, rather than worrying about how to make it through the next winter. In light of starvation, a sonnet seems frivolous, but I’m wondering if frivolity—in the highest sense—is one of the purposes of Creation.

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After all, Jesus told us to consider the lilies, and what could be less relevant to our current crises than that?

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Some Of My Most Important Least Important Things

Above is a screenshot of the front-page of today’s Sports section from The Dallas Morning News, which I look at most days. (I’m old-fashioned and get both the paper delivered and use the e-paper app, which I love.) I like reading about the Cowboys, I like talking to other people about the Cowboys, and I like listening to local talk radio talk about the Cowboys. None of it matters, but I like thinking about it:

• How did everyone else miss on Dak when he came out of Mississippi State?

• How did Jerry get two great quarterbacks in a row that no one else thought were good enough?

• Is Zeke finally going to justify his huge contract this year? Etc.

I also like reading about and watching English soccer, which my brother and I started following on a low budget highlight show on a local sports channel in about 1993. We’d come home from school and tape it on our VCR. I’ve been an inconsistent fan at times in these last nearly 30 years (thirty years (!)—time moves so quickly), but I’ve been much more attentive these last several years, particularly because of the availability of NBC’s Saturday morning Premier League coverage. I like listening to podcasts—especially Men in Blazers—and following the soap opera of the season.

• Can Pep succeed without a true “number 9”?

• Does Ole have what it takes?

• Does the return of Ronaldo actually make Man United a worse team? Etc.

And though I don’t actually care about the NBA much at all, I’m still grateful for it (even when I find its deliberate embrace of woke politics grating). Sometimes it’s just good for us to care about tall men putting a round ball in a metal ring.

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When Most Important and Most Important Least Important Collide

Yesterday, my most important and some of my most important least important loves came together in a lovely way. We went as a family to the last Rangers game of the season—our first time to the new ballpark in Arlington.

A very generous family in church gave us amazing seats—3 rows behind home plate—it was a beautiful Texas Indian summer afternoon under a blue sky, the roof was open—it is a marvel to behold it slide open along its massive rails— and the entire afternoon was a delight.

The Rangers lost 6-0 despite my daughter’s applause for “our team”, and since it’s been a miserable losing season for Texas, nothing hung on the outcome.

Or maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it.

See, I got to sit with my family and focus on something together in the brief time we have before my children are grown and gone, in the brief time before all of this is gone, me included. Maybe the most important least important things are God’s way of pointing us to what’s actually important. See, I’ve come to believe that this may be the purpose behind God’s gift to us of the most important least important things:

They give us an excuse to just sit and be and love.

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“Consider the lilies....”

— Jesus of Nazareth

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So, what are some of your most important least important things?

Of Owls and Men

Early this morning, while it was still dark, I came across both an owl and a man. I was much more impressed with the one than the other.

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At about 5:30 this morning as I was out on a run I saw a big fluffy animal move from one branch to another in the tree above my head. My first thought—it was early and I wasn’t totally with it—was, “I didn’t know raccoons could fly!” Then, of course, I realized what it was—a beautiful owl, about the size of a housecat.

I stood still and looked up at it; it stayed still and looked down at me. It was about 10 feet above my head and I could hear it trilling quietly in the dark.

After a minute or so, an older gent came shuffling down the street. I’ve seen him before at that hour in the morning—usually on Sundays—and he is always the picture of misanthropy. He shuffles along with his head down and gives off the impression that he hates the world and everything in it. Which, it turns out, he does.

I was really excited about the owl, so I called out to him, “An owl! There’s an owl up there!”

To which he replied, without slowing his shuffle:

“Bunch of assholes—I hate ‘em. Fly down and attack you.”

I was surprised and responded, “Attack people?”

He said, “Yes. That’s why they’re called ‘Screech Owls.’” And he kept going.

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I guess it’s theoretically possible that one, over the course of a lifetime, could see so many owls in the dark before dawn on a beautiful spring day that one would become bored with the wonder of it, but I doubt it.

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It really is true: wherever you go, there you are.

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P.S.

I’m pretty sure it was an Eastern Screech Owl, and this was the sound of its quiet trill:

Eastern Screech Owl calling in Eastern Colorado at Prewitt Reservoir

Forgiveness Is

On October 2, 2019, Brandt Jean delivered a victim impact statement at the trial of Amber Guyger. Ms. Guyger had just been convicted of the murder Mr. Jean’s older brother, Botham Jean. Apparently, Brandt Jean didn’t know cameras would record his statement; he thought the reporters had already left the courtroom. Here’s what this 18 year-old young man said to his brother’s killer:

If you truly are sorry, I know I can speak for myself, I forgive you. And I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you.
And I don’t think anyone can say it — again I’m speaking for myself and not on behalf of my family — but I love you just like anyone else.
And I’m not going to say I hope you rot and die, just like my brother did, but I personally want the best for you. And I wasn’t going to ever say this in front of my family or anyone, but I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you, because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want you to do.
And the best would be: give your life to Christ.
I’m not going to say anything else. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want you to do.
Again, I love you as a person. And I don’t wish anything bad on you.

[Turning and addressing the judge:]
I don’t know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug, please? Please?

Brandt Jean, 2 October 2019

In a few short hours, that statement was being broadcast around the world. 

The morning after Brandt Jean delivered his remarkable remarks on forgiveness, my son and I were listening to a sports talk radio station on the way to school. I was astounded to hear the hosts discuss forgiveness and mercy–not normal topics for a drive time sports talk show!– and even more astounded to see later that they weren’t the only ones provoked to so do by young Mr. Jean’s statement: Brandt Jean’s face and remarks were everywhere. That was a good thing: it’s not possible that we think too much about forgiveness. On the other hand, it was also clear to me that as a culture we don’t have a clear idea of what forgiveness is and what it isn’t. I hope the following helps clear up the picture.

Forgiveness Is a Scandal

Not everyone agreed with Mr. Jean’s decision to forgive Ms. Guyger, which shouldn’t be surprising: forgiveness is always scandalous. It does not fit within the world’s categories. An eye for an eye, that we understand, but forgiveness is troubling, and it always has been. On the cross, Jesus forgave the people who crucified him as he was being crucified. If that doesn’t trouble your sense of justice, you’re not thinking about it.

Forgiveness Is Never Deserved

The reason forgiveness is scandalous is because forgiveness is never deserved. By definition, you cannot be entitled to mercy–it is unmerited favor. No one owes someone else forgiveness. There are lots of times in life that we get into disagreements and misunderstandings, and a mark of maturity is your willingness to seek understanding and make peace with the other party. That is a good thing, but that is NOT forgiveness. Forgiveness involves actual wrongs and hurts, deliberately inflicted by the guilty on the innocent. When someone hurts you, what they deserve is for you to hurt them back–an eye for an eye. What they do NOT deserve is forgiveness.

Forgiveness Is Forgoing Your Right to Get Even

When you are wronged, you have an obligation to get even. Forgiveness is choosing to give up that obligation. I like how James MacDonald puts it in his book Come Home: A Call Back to Faith:

“Forgiveness Is the Decision to Release a Person from the Obligation that Resulted When He or She Injured You”

James MacDonald

I think it is the best definition of forgiveness I’ve ever read. When someone injures you, you have a decision to get even, or a decision to forgo your right to get even. Forgiveness is the latter.

Now let me stress that forgiveness and consequences are NOT incompatible with each other. Children need their parents to forgive them and they need their parents to give them consequences and boundaries so they can learn. In a civilized society the state prosecutes crimes so that the consequences for a crime are taken out of the hands of the victim. It is possible for a victim to forgive a criminal while the state sends that criminal to prison.

Whether and what consequences are appropriate in any particular case will depend on those circumstances; what does not depend on the circumstances is the option the injured party has to release the personal obligation to get even.

Forgiveness Is a Decision, Not An Emotion

If you choose to release your obligation to get even, it will be emotionally wrenching. However, your emotions are NOT a reliable guide to what’s true or what’s right, which is a good thing, because it will never feel good to forgive before you do it. You will not want to forgive; forgiveness is a decision of the will that we take in spite of our emotions.

Forgiveness is also very rarely a one-time decision. Instead, you will make the first decision to forgive, only to find the next morning you haven’t really released the obligation. And so you will make the decision again and again and again, and one day, by the grace of God, you will discover that the burden is really and truly gone.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t feel like forgiving today or if it’s taken you a long time to forgive–that’s how it works for most of us most of the time.

Forgiveness Is Only About You

The good news is that the other party has absolutely nothing to do with your decision to forgive. It doesn’t matter if the person is remorseful and repentant or has confessed. This is because forgiveness is about you and your decision to release the obligation to get even. I find this idea freeing, because it means that the other person–even a very wicked person–doesn’t have any control over me. Forgiveness is my choice.

This means that it is possible to forgive someone who is far away from you or someone who will never be remorseful or even someone who is dead. Forgiveness is about you, not the other person.

This also means that you don’t have to tell the guilty party else when you are choosing to forgive him or her. Sometimes it’s not safe to tell someone face to face, and sometimes it is unwise. Reconciliation requires two parties, but forgiveness does not: it’s only about you.

Forgiveness is Risky

Even though forgiveness does not involve the other party, it is still risky. It’s risky because when we forgive, there is the possibility that the other party won’t ever know how much he or she hurt us and might even think he or she has gotten away with the wrong he or she did to us. Forgiveness will always feel risky, but rest assured: God is not mocked, and no one will escape justice forever.

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Brandt Jean, Botham Jean’s younger brother, hugs former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger in court after saying he forgives her for killing his brother. Guyger received a 10-year prison sentence for murder.

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Forgiveness Is the First Step Towards Reconciliation

Forgiveness is a means to an end, and that end is reconciliation. There cannot be reconciliation without forgiveness, though there can be forgiveness without reconciliation. Reconciliation involves both parties–the wrong and the wronged–whereas forgiveness only involves the wronged. God’s desire for us is not only forgiveness, but also reconciliation, and if reconciliation is ever going to occur, it will only occur because someone went first to forgive. Reconciliation is not promised and will often not happen in this life, but if it does, it will be as a result of forgiveness.

After Brandt Jean’s remarkable statement, the judge granted his remarkable request to hug Amber Guyger, and he and his brother’s killer hugged for a long time in the courtroom while an unidentified woman sobbed in the background. I don’t know what life holds for either person, but I am certain that that embrace would never have taken place had not that brave young man chosen first to forgive.

Forgiveness Is Necessary

We cannot live together without forgiveness. We wrong each other in great and small ways, and without forgiveness, we would live alienated, angry lives. A world in which we have the choice to forgive each other is the only world worth living in. More than that, however, forgiveness is commanded by Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” If you are a Christian, you have no option: it is vital that you forgive.

Forgiveness Is Freedom

Forgiveness is vital because forgiveness is freedom for… you. Forgiveness is the only way to be freed from the burden of vengeance and the obligation of getting even. Forgiveness is freedom because it is the deliberate choice to give over to God the responsibility for ultimate justice. Forgiveness is the freedom that comes from the faith that God will judge the world with righteousness, that he sees all the wrongs done to us and will make them right, and that we no longer need to bear the burden of doing so. Forgiveness is the freedom that comes when you take the burden you’ve been carrying ever since that person wronged you and giving it over to God.

So, let me press the issue: Whom do you need to forgive?

It will be difficult. It won’t be immediate. But it will be worth it.

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For those who are interested, I go into more detail on forgiveness and on each of the above points in this sermon:

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George H.W. Bush & Ourselves

Although I vividly remember the 1992 Presidential Election, I was really too young to understand it or have an informed opinion about it, but the occasion of the death last week of 94 year-old President George H.W. Bush and the subsequent media commentary and coverage about the life and times of that first President Bush has been clarifying to me.  Not so much about then, as about now.  Three observations about our culture that the death of George H.W. Bush have made clear to me, and what I am going to do about it.

We Delight in Tearing Down; We Hold Others to an Impossible Standard

I found it ridiculous how many of the death announcements of President Bush began with some note about how he "only" was president for one term.  Here's a representative example from the lede in The New York Times obituary:

George Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs but was denied a second term after support for his presidency collapsed under the weight of an economic downturn and his seeming inattention to domestic affairs, died on Friday night at his home in Houston. He was 94.  [my emphasis]

Note: President Bush was "denied a second term."  As if being elected to two terms is someone's birthright, and as if being elected president of these United States only once is not good enough!?  Think how easily that opening sentence might have read

George Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who, after a long career in public service, was elected to the presidency, from which office he steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs and faced the challenge of an economic downturn and the public perception of his seeming inattention to domestic affairs, died on Friday night at his home in Houston. He was 94.

I'll admit it's not a very elegant sentence, but that's because I was trying to preserve as much of the obit's original language as possible, but you get the point: to imply that being elected president once is somehow falling short is outrageous.  The first sentence of the obituary shows that we delight in tearing down and pointing out how other people fail to meet the impossible standards of success we set for them.  Examples are everywhere.Some sports examples: Aaron Rodgers has "only" won one Super Bowl; LeBron should have one more NBA Championships with Cleveland; Peyton Manning "only" won two Super Bowls.  Etc.  It used to frustrate me when Tony Romo played for the Cowboys how some fans used to talk about how he wasn't good enough.  Here's a guy who was undrafted when he signed with the Cowboys, and then went on to start at quarterback from 2006-2015.  He played at a level that only a few dozen people who have ever lived could have played at, for multiple years, and yet he's a failure in many peoples' opinions, because he didn't win enough.We set an impossible standard for other people--he didn't do enough, she didn't win enough, etc.--and we make sure to emphasize where other people fell short, rather than drawing attention to all that they did achieve.  I hate this tendency in our culture.President Bush "only" served one term as president, "was denied a second term."  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?So, what I am going to do about it? I am going to work hard to talk about the positive achievements of others first. 

Our Media Commentators Are Totally Unaccountable

To his credit, Evan Thomas today regrets his editorial decision to imply, on the cover of Newsweek in October 1987, that George H.W. Bush was a "wimp".  I find it amazing that someone would call a man who was shot down in the Pacific Ocean at age 20 as other men were trying to kill him a "wimp".  But, there you are.  Taking our pervasive tendency to tear down (see above) and then publicizing it, our media does this kind of stuff all the time, and the mainly faceless and nameless hacks who do this kind of thing are seemingly immune from accountability.  To take a more recent example: on the same night that he won the Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in the country, Oklahoma's Kyler Murray had to apologize for what the USA Today called "several homophobic tweets more than six years old."Get this: Kyler Murray is currently 21 years-old, which means he posted the offending statements on Twitter when he was 15(!).  Other than yet more evidence that no teenagers should be on social media at all (I am not exaggerating), note the outrageous passive voice in the original USA Today story which "broke" the news:

Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray had a Saturday to remember. But the Oklahoma quarterback's memorable night also helped resurface social media's memory of several homophobic tweets more than six years old.  [my emphasis]

When Murray was 15 years old, he tweeted at his friends (via his since-verified Twitter account) using an anti-gay slur to defame them. Four offensive tweets remained active on his account late Saturday night but were eventually deleted by Sunday morning — when Murray apologized for his insensitive language in a tweet.

His "memorable night also helped resurface social media's memory"?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  These tweets did not "resurface" like a corpse washing ashore after a shipwreck several weeks before.  Tweets don't "resurface"--they have no agency.  Instead, some nameless "reporters" at USA Today were running through a child's tweets from 6 years ago, and then they publicized the results at exactly the moment that would cause a 21 year-old young man the most embarrassment and discomfort.  Instead of being able to celebrate one of the great nights of his life with his family and teammates, Kyler Murray had to enact a familiar routine: the humiliating public apology we have all come to accept.  Let me be clear: I do not approve of Mr. Murray's comments.  But, it seems to me that the USA Today reporters were more interested in tearing down a public figure than they were in drawing attention to the casual way teenagers bully and humiliate others.It's bad enough that the Internet means that any fool can say anything about anyone else and have other people listen to him; it's that much worse that people in media can do the same thing and then use the amazing power of mass media to get millions of people to listen to them.There are many many many more examples I could list of unaccountable media commentators doing this sort of thing, and precious few examples of those people ever being held accountable for what they say.  Burns me up.So, what I am going to do about it?  If I have something difficult or controversial to say, whether publicly or in private relationship, I will put my name to it and stand by what I have said.  If I later change my mind, I'll own that, too. 

We Don't Like to Acknowledge the Sufferings of the Rich & Famous

By any standard, George H.W. Bush was born into extreme privilege.  There is no question that his life was made easier because of wealth and connections, and that the things he achieved may have been impossible to someone with neither wealth nor connections.  However, one of the tendencies we have to is downplay the sufferings of wealthy people.  See, wealthy people suffer like the rest of us.  George Bush, for example, had to watch his 3 year-old daughter Robin die from leukemia.  Here's a question for you: would you rather be rich and lose your little girl, or poor?  Trick question.  It doesn't matter--losing a child will break your heart no matter how much money you have in the bank.  Sheryl Sandberg, billionaire and COO of Facebook, lost her husband from an undiagnosed heart condition; he was 47.  All the money in the world won't bring him back.  Joe Biden has lost a wife, a daughter, and now a son.You may dislike those peoples' politics or positions, but you have to acknowledge that they have suffered.  I can tell you from personal experience that people with lots of money and power experience loss in the same way as the rest of us.So, what I am going to do about it?  I want to be someone who is aware and acknowledges the sufferings of others, particularly the people I disagree with.  They are human, like me. I said I had 3 observations, but here's a fourth:

P.S.  It Was a Memorial Service For All of Us

This is totally unoriginal with me, but one of the striking things about the funeral services for President Bush was how it illustrated how far we've come from a national faith.  There was a time when most Americans would have had passing knowledge of the hymns, readings, and creeds that were part of President Bush's services.  Today, I doubt that's the case.  In some ways, the elements of the funeral service were as far removed from modern America as the elements of a royal wedding or the Queen's coronation.  I found it interesting to see the living presidents all reciting The Apostles Creed together, with President Trump not taking part.  I doubt if Mr. Trump's silence during the creed means anything at all, and I don't really care, but I did find the moment symbolic: we modern Americans have less and less in common with our cultural past.  It's very hard for a people to stay together when they don't share the same fundamental beliefs about Reality.  I wonder how much longer we can sustain the American Experiment, now that we no longer believe the same things.  I hope I'm wrong. 

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If The House Burns Down Tonight

Can you imagine what it must be like to hear police pounding on your door at 3 in the morning telling you that if you don't leave immediately you will be burned alive? You grab--what?--your kids, jump in the car, and drive away as fast as you can.That happened to Jon Foreman of the band Switchfoot a few years ago, and he wrote a song about it?called "If?The House Burns Down Tonight"[the link has since been taken down]:

A few months back, a fire was raging through our home-town of San Diego. And when an unstoppable fire is barrelling down towards your part of town, you realize just how small you really are. The smoke blocks out the sun, the ash is falling from the sky, and your lungs begin to burn. So you run through the house and make a quick grab of the stuff you can carry, make sure that your family is safe in the car, and you make your escape.

It's a bracing thought: what if everything you had was about to burn?

Compared to the ones you love, what is ownership? What is property? Stuff? Possessions? In moments of life and death, these obsessions are meaningless. Think about what you would save from the fire. What would you fight for? Or maybe the real question is who- who would you risk your life for? And what about your things, all of that stuff that you paid so much for?? In the crucible of the fire, it becomes crystal clear: you let the rest burn.

I love that: the thought that everything is about to burn makes it clear what really matters--those are the things you'd be willing to fight for or risk your life for.What are those things for you today? Friends--all the rest: it doesn't matter.Let the rest burn.*

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Crank up the volume, put down your windows, and drive: this is a great song.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV5oqs8RC-I[/embed] 

Ashes from the flamesThe truth is what remainsThe truth is what you saveFrom the fireAnd you fight for what you loveDon't matter if it hurtsYou find out what it's worthAnd you let the rest burn

The sunset burns like gasolineTouch me and make sure that I'm not dreamingI see her face and my heart skips beatsBut I still get the feeling that we're half asleep andThere's a spark in the corner of my baby's eyeLike a distant star that won't burn quietAnd I might not know what I want from this lifeBut I know I want more than the starting line

So give me the fire

I can hear the motor running down the interstateAnd all the distractions fade awayAnd if the house burns down tonightI got everything I need with you by my sideI see the smoke piling up in the rear view mirrorYeah but I ain't ever seen it any clearerIf the house burns down tonightI got everything I need when I got you by my sideAnd let the rest burnAnd let the rest burnAnd let the rest burn

I've given too much of my heart awayMy soul‘s holding on like a house dividedLike a match it burns down like a masqueradeAnd I had to let it go when the fire ignited

One heart, two hands, your life is all you hold(your life is all you hold)To hold, hold tight and let the bitter goYeah let it go, and give me the fire

The smoke tries choking the pacific sunWe rocket down the road like we're shot out of gunsAnd if the house burns down tonightI got everything I need with you by my sideHolding you and the wheel and it occurs to meWe're driving down the edge of eternityAnd if the house burns down tonightI got everything I need when I got you by my sideAnd let the rest burnAnd let the rest burn

Put your hand in mine andPut your heart in drivingWe got everything we need yeahWe got everything we need yeahLeft it all behind usWhat we need will find us

We got everything we need yeahWe got everything we need yeah

Can you hear that motor runningCan you hear that motor running

There ain‘t no stopping us nowThere ain‘t no slowing us down

Can you hear that motor runningCan you hear that motor run, run, run

And all those lies that mattered most to meWere draining me dry making a ghost of meAnd if the house burns down tonightI got everything I need, everything I needThere‘s a fire coming that we all will go throughYou possess your possessions or they possess youAnd if the house burns down tonightI got everything I need when I got you by my side

And let the rest burn

Ashes from the flames, the truth is what remains

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Have you seen this terrifying video? The most shocking part is the final few seconds when you realize that the entire time they've been driving has been in?daylight.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtwutlbJQqI[/embed]*Of course I'm not making light of what must be tremendous loss for these families--I'm making a larger, metaphorical point. Christ have mercy on these poor people who have lost everything. 

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The Death Rate

There's something just so?strange about death, even though it's entirely predictable. I had this thought last week, after hearing about the death of a young mother in our congregation and thinking about her surviving husband and three school-aged sons: we are all so grieved at the loss,?and yet every single one of us is also going to die. Not all of us will die by violence or disease or accident, not all of us will die young,?but every single person hearing of the loss of this woman and grieving for her?husband and three sons is also going to die. And it just struck me how strange this all is, both our shock at death (which shouldn't be any more shocking than the sunrise) and the mystery that is death itself.What's that old saw? "The death rate hasn't changed: it's still one per person."   

P.S. Changes to this Blog

Starting Friday, August 24 through Monday, December 24, at Munger we are going to be reading through the New Testament. I'm planning on posting more frequently in this space, including regular (daily?) commentaries on what we're reading. Right now, subscribers get an email every time I post, but I don‘t want to fill up your Inbox, so tomorrow I'm going to be switching to a weekly newsletter that will contain links to the previous week‘s posts, as well as some other original content from me not available anywhere else.If you are already a subscriber, you don‘t need to do anything else. (If you want to be sure and read each post as it comes out, subscribe to my blog‘s RSS feed. There are lots of tutorials online to explain how to do that.)If you are not a current subscriber, here‘s how to subscribe:

I‘ve written a very short whitepaper on a subject I care a lot about communication.Subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll send it to you for free:The Simple Technique Anyone Can Immediately Use To Become a Better Communicator.(If you are already a subscriber, drop me a line and I’ll send you the whitepaper.)

Broward County Tightrope

How should we treat that school cop from Florida? I'm going to tell you at the outset that I don't know how to answer the question that I'm going to raise in this post, but I think it's important to raise it anyway. No doubt you've heard that the school resource officer assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida remained outside during the massacre on February 14. No one knows what might have happened if the school cop had entered the building and confronted the killer in the midst of his rampage, but we do know what did?happen: the killer walked out of the school unharmed, leaving 17 corpses behind him.I don't know what I would have done if I were the school cop that day, and neither do you: it was literally a life-and-death moment, and we should judge not lest we be judged. On the other hand, it was that officer's job to protect the school, and he clearly failed in his duty. As a result, this man is internationally notorious as a failure, and that judgment will stalk him the rest of his life. All of this raises a question I've thought a lot about:How do we maintain clear moral standards while at the same time offering grace to the people who violate those standards? Put another way, How do we hate the sin and love the sinner?Almost always, when we think about the above question, we're talking about sexual ethics. But this case shows that the question is much broader than that.

Option A--Be Lax With the Standards

Let's say we decide that it's too high a standard to expect our cops to risk their own lives on behalf of the public. The inevitable result of that decision would be fewer cops who risk their lives on behalf of the public. The expectations we set matter. If we relax our standards, behavior would follow.Take marriage and divorce: when a culture frowns upon divorce, there are fewer divorces. (I'm not saying that the marriages that persist are good marriages, or even if social condemnation of divorce is a good thing--I'm just making the obvious point that our standards matter.) Today, divorce has much less social stigma than it did in previous generations, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that we have more divorces than in previous generations.A culture's standards and expectations affect the behavior of the people in that culture.

Option B--Be Rigid With the Standards

Instead of relaxing our standards, we could choose to vigilantly maintain them. We could decide, for example, that we?do expect our cops to risk their own lives on behalf of the public, no matter what. Anyone who refused to do so, we would socially shame and professionally reprimand. When it comes to marriage, we could decide that our culture values fidelity highly, and we could have the cultural guardrails and legal safeguards in place to make divorce undesirable and difficult.

The Problem

Each option poses a problem, however:Option A will mean that we'll get more of the behaviors that we don't want;but, human nature being what it is...Option B will mean that those who violate the standards will be marked forever as violators.But again, if we say to the sinners in Option B--"It's really okay. Don't feel bad about it."--we are in danger of making Option A a reality.I confront this problem all the time. If I don't preach strongly in favor of marriage and against divorce, for example, it might seem as if marital fidelity doesn't matter that much. But, if I do hit that topic hard, it might be the case that I am heaping shame on people who are already covered in it.Imagine if the school cop from Parkland were in your church: if you immediately said to him, "It's fine" you'd be saying something that isn't true: it's NOT fine. But, on the other hand, if you didn't extend grace to him, you'd be lying, too, since Jesus forgives sinners.It's a tightrope.I think sometimes that this tightrope--balancing between hating the sin and loving the sinner--is actually impossible for us. Fortunately, it is possible for God, who both hates sin and loves sinners at the same time. What's difficult to know is how we practically live out the mysterious grace of God in the world.So,?how do we maintain clear moral standards while at the same time offering grace to the people who violate those standards?I don't think there is a quick and easy formula. I think this requires wisdom and prayer.(And, I think we should add the school resource officer from Parkland to the prayers we are already praying for the grieving families.) 

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If I Could Have Any Billboard....

"If you could put any message on a billboard that millions of people would see, what would it be?" Tim Ferriss asks this of his podcast guests, and it's got me thinking: What would I want to say?Any message worth putting up would have to be one that folks wouldn't get elsewhere--why else go to all the trouble to get the billboard if you're not saying something interesting?So, here are some ideas that I don't think you'd see anywhere else. 

Anything Worth Having Comes With a Cost

I talked about this billboard option earlier today in my Sunday sermon. I've been racking my brain, and I can't think of a single contrary example. Even things that are free to me still cost other people. The reason this is an important message is that it reminds us that when we face difficulty in learning Spanish or getting in shape or becoming sober or raising kids or being married, we should persevere: that the cost should be expected, and it's worth it. 

Human Nature Doesn't Change

We think we are so advanced: we have the iPhone and the jumbo jet and the electric toothbrush. And, when it comes to our technology, we?are advanced. But, technological advances don't change human nature: our biggest problem is within, and it has been forever. How do we best?use all this technology? That's where wisdom is required. People have been the same everywhere: we're just as jealous, petty, brave, murderous, kind, etc., as we ever were. Technology doesn't change human nature, which means we need to learn the?exact same lessons of our ancestors: how to forgive, how to face our fears, how to have a flourishing family. Those lessons take time. All the technological advances in the world are useless at best and dangerous at worst if we don't take the time to learn from what the people before us learned. (This is why, by the way, the liberal arts are more important than ever. Sure, I have an iPhone, but that won't help me have a great marriage. I can fly around the world, but what does it take to raise my kids well? Homer and Dostoevsky, et al, have something to teach us here.) 

Progress Is An Illusion

Human nature doesn't change (see above). So, it seems to me that the more advanced we get, the more ways we find to kill each other. Now, I'm grateful for our advances in medical technology, for example--I can't imagine living in a time without modern dentistry--but life is still difficult, and sin has a way of ruining everything. Take the internet, for example--it's brought lots of good things, but it has also made pornography available to children--something that no society has ever had to deal with before. I believe that we should always be striving to improve and develop our civilization, but I also believe that there are no problem-free situations, and that everything this side of heaven comes with unintended consequences. (This is what Tolkien called "the long defeat.") Neither human nature nor the world in general is perfectible (this fact is why I'm not a progressive), and though it is possible to make advances in this or that area, Progress will always be out of reach. 

Catch a Common Theme?

I believe suffering and difficulty are part of life and that human nature is not perfectible. If ever there were a people who needed to be reminded of those inconvenient truths, it is modern Americans. That might sound harsh, but I actually find those messages to be helpful! When things get hard for me, I shouldn't be surprised--it's just the way life works. But, if the three billboards above seem too negative, here's one more: 

In the End, Everything Will Be Okay; If It's Not Okay, Then It's Not the End

I think that message is basically the best news that's ever been given, and one you?can't hear too often. Keep going! What about you? What would your billboard say?

Nine Months

Nine months ago today, our baby daughter was born and my wife coded afterwards, an event which caused her to be hospitalized twice in the ICU and to undergo emergency, life-saving, life-altering surgery.This past Sunday was Christmas Commitment Sunday at our church. It's like our 21st century urban version of what used to be called Harvest Sunday in rural, agricultural churches: we thank God for his provision toward us in the 12 months past, and ask for his protection and provision in the year to come. Folks come forward and kneel and make a gift to finish strong in their current year giving toward the church, and make a commitment to give back a portion of God's blessings in the year to come. It's a powerful moment to see hundreds of households come forward and kneel and pray.When it was our family's turn, all four of us knelt and prayed and praised the Lord for his mercy toward our family these past 12 months and desperately asked God to be with us in the next 12 months. I find that I pray for God to protect us and prosper us almost constantly now; I am under no illusions regarding my utter dependence on the grace of God.The day before we were kneeling at the rail, we'd picked out a Christmas tree and were decorating it: my wife--completely healed--perched on a ladder stringing lights, and our little baby chirping and squeaking and scuttling underfoot like a some kind of huge, curious, terrestrial crab.As I look back over these past 12 months, I am overwhelmed: God has been‘so good?to us.A few weeks ago, Elaine and I made a brief video about some things we learned while she was in the hospital. (I've posted the video below.) Afterwards, of course, we thought of things we'd wished we said or said in a different way, and we share these thoughts humbly, knowing that this is our story, and your stories are different. Even so, we've seen the faithfulness of God firsthand and we feel as if we're supposed to tell other people about it.One day, of course, death will come for one or both us us, and for everyone we love. Maybe I will die first and leave Elaine behind, or maybe she will die first and leave me behind. But, even when that day comes, God is faithful, and Jesus is risen, so the words the angels shared with the shepherds are still meant for us today:Do not be afraid.[embed]https://vimeo.com/246001538[/embed]

How To Talk to People Who Are Suffering

"I don't know what to say." When we're confronted with someone who is grieving or in pain, most of us feel inadequate and intimidated. But, grieving, suffering people are all around us, and we need to learn how to appropriately engage with them: ignoring them is not an option. On the first anniversary of the murder of the five Dallas police officers, I thought it would be helpful to briefly offer what I've learned about speaking to people in pain.

It's Not About You

Over a decade ago ago, I was working in youth ministry at a church. One afternoon, the pastor of our church came rushing into my office: "Just got a phone call: so-and-so has killed himself." A high school boy from our church shot himself at home, and his parents had found him. The pastor drove the two of us to to meet the boy's family. I've rarely been so sick with nerves. I was worried that I would say the wrong thing or somehow make the situation worse. In other words, I was only thinking about myself. What I realized after visiting with the bereaved father was that it wasn't about me at all, and to worry about saying the wrong thing or otherwise making the situation worse was selfish and foolish.In this particular example, literally the worst thing that this father could possibly have imagined had just happened; there was nothing I could do that could make the situation worse. But, in any interaction with a grieving or suffering person, your words are not going to fix the situation no matter what you say, and if you worry about what you say or how you'll be perceived, you'll be making it about you, when it's really about the other person anyway. So, remember: it's not about you.Which is not to imply that in those situations you should say whatever crosses your mind.

Resist the Urge to Explain

It's one of those phrases my dad always says that has stuck with me: "Resist the urge to explain." We humans like neat explanations, but one of the problems with pain and suffering is that they are ultimately inexplicable. You and I do not know why that child has cancer or why that couple can't conceive or why those cops were killed. Do not speak about that which you do not know. What I mean is that we should not resort to greeting card pablum along the lines of:"Everything happens for a reason;"or"I guess God just wanted another angel;"or"God knew you could handle it."Those sorts of statements are not helpful to people who are grieving or suffering. Resist the urge to explain that person's suffering to him or her. When you do that what you are really doing is making the interaction about you, exactly what I warned against above. There isn't a neat, clean explanation for suffering, and since there isn't,?resist the urge to explain.

Don't Compare Sufferings

In the same way that you should resist the urge to explain, you should also resist the urge to compare sufferings with the other person. You don't know exactly what the person is going through, and it's unhelpfully self-centered to think that you do. It's okay to reference your own experience with suffering, but be sure to refrain from assuming that your situation is comparable to the other person's (even if it seems to be, from your point of view).

Say "I'm So Sorry"

Rather than trying to compare sufferings, I've learned that it's better to instead share 3 simple words with people who are grieving: "I'm so sorry." That sentiment is always appropriate and has the virtue of being true and normal.

Be Normal

Normal people smile when they greet each other and when they say goodbye. Normal people talk about things in specifics. I've found that many people are worried if they should smile or mention the source of the pain when they interact with someone who is suffering, but remember: it's not about you, and you're not going to make it worse. (It's already terrible.) Treat the grieving person as you would any other normal person. This means it's important to give the other person the courtesy of a smile (even if it's a sad smile) and a courteous, friendly look when you greet him or her, and I think it's important to specifically mention the source of the pain. When parents have just lost a child, it's okay to say, "I'm so sorry for your loss." It's okay to say to your co-worker, "I heard about the death of your mother and I wanted you to know I'm really sorry to hear that." I've heard people say that one of the ugly parts of grief is that you feel like such a leper--everyone avoids talking to you about your loss or tries to change the subject. When talking to someone who is grieving, therefore, just be normal.

Pray

It's normal to want to remove someone's pain and it's normal to want to pray. However, when someone is hurting, prayer isn't going to change the source of that person's pain--what's happened has already happened. What prayer can do is change that person's future. When someone loses a loved one, for example, you can't pray that the loss goes away--it's a real, permanent loss. Rather, what you can pray is for God is be with that person in the midst of his or her pain. I've found that it's helpful to pray a version of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9:

^?We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ^?persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

When I pray for someone who has lost a loved one, for example, I'll say:

Lord, this person is hard pressed on every side; let her not be crushed;This person is perplexed at this inexplicable event; let her not be driven to despair;This person is feeling persecuted; let her know that she's not abandoned;This person is feeling struck down; let this grief not destroy her.

Suffering is All Around Us

Suffering is a part of life and no one is exempt. One of the ugly parts of pain is that it makes you feel alone. But, there can be a solidarity in suffering, as we reach out with kindness and courtesy to others as they suffer, and when they in turn do the same to us. I hope the thoughts above are helpful to you the next time you find yourself confronted with a person in pain.  

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Brief Reflections on Fatherhood

Fatherhood is a stewardship. The Lord gives us the blessing of children, but also the responsibility for them: to teach them to love him and his world. My children are under my care, and my job is to cultivate Christ-like character in them and to help them see the world clearly and learn to investigate it with curiosity?it‘s such beautiful world, charged with the grandeur of God.? It‘s easy to become distracted by everything else, so I need to be constantly reminded that nothing I will ever do will be more eternally important than raising my children to love the Lord their God with all their heart and all their soul and all their strength (Deuteronomy 6). And, of course, the surest way for me to do that is to draw near to the Lord myself; I can‘t teach what I'm not first receiving.It says in the scriptures that we love because God first loved us? (1 John 4:19). This means that any true love I have for my children will be a sharing in the love I receive from God who loved me and gave himself for me? (Galatians 2:20). Too many times we earthly fathers try to love out of a sense of emotion or duty, and though emotion and duty are good things, they will not be enough to sustain me as a father over time. To depend as a father on emotion or duty alone would be like trying to exhale and then exhale again, without ever breathing in fresh air. It‘s when I am receiving and abiding in the love of God that I am able to share that love with my children. I love my children, because God first loved me.For me to know what a father is like, I need to look to my Heavenly Father, and there I see a God who so loves the world that he sacrifices for it. This means that fatherhood requires sacrifice: I learn to give my life to the Lord and to die to myself, and then the Lord can use me to love my children in the way they most need. And, in the beautiful mystery of the gospel, it‘s in the giving of my life that I gain it back, in ways that exceed what I can ask or imagine. In this way, therefore, fatherhood becomes exceedingly joyful: I think I am serving my kids, but in the serving I find myself blessed beyond measure.Fatherhood is a stewardship, and I'm accountable.? But the Lord who blesses us with children is a good God, and he will also bless us with the love we need to be fathers. God wants us to succeed as fathers and wants to say to us Well done, good and faithful servant.

Survivor's Guilt? Never Again

Exactly four weeks ago my wife coded after the birth of our daughter and was revived.  She had a harrowing few days in the ICU, but after a week in the hospital she was discharged.  She was weak, but she was well.  And I felt guilty about it. 

Survivor's Guilt

I felt guilty because everything turned out okay for my family, but I know lots of people whose situations are not okay.Why am I so blessed?Folks would ask me how my wife was doing and I would truthfully answer, "I think she's going to be fine."  And I felt badly about that; I was embarrassed by our good fortune.It's embarrassing how blessed I am:

• other pastors have congregations who hate them; our people dote on us;
• other husbands struggle in their marriages; my wife is the kindest, sweetest woman I know;
• other people's kids have chronic illnesses; my kids are healthy;
• I am a rich, white, American man born in the 2nd half of the 20th century.  I wasn't born black in the 18th century or a Russian serf in the 19th century or a Samaritan woman in the 1st century;
• My parents will have been married for 40 years this year and taught me to love Jesus;
• I'm even a great whistler....
• etc.

I could go on, but it's embarrassing: I don't deserve my good fortune.  As a pastor, I have the privilege of walking alongside people in every aspect of their lives, cradle to grave, and I know how much people suffer.  I've lived in Africa and I've traveled and read widely, and I know how difficult life is for so many people.  I know how often it seems prayers are not answered.And so, after my wife got out of the hospital the first time, I felt guilty at our good fortune.And then Wednesday night happened.

Never Again

My wife had to be rushed to the Emergency Room on Wednesday evening, and ultimately had to have emergency and life-saving surgery, surgery that lasted all night.  All night I sat in the empty waiting room, and I didn't know if she was going to survive.  When I learned she would survive, I also learned that she was intubated and on a ventilator, and then I saw her.Pray to God you never see a loved one on a ventilator, going in and out of consciousness, pulling at her tube with her bandaged hands.I've spent a fair amount of time in hospitals, but when it's your wife there in the ICU, it's almost unendurable.The next night we had another scare and I was woken up on the pull-out couch with bright lights and saw a crowd of doctors in our room.  It was then that I decided that I will never, ever again feel survivor's guilt.Survivor's guilt is a selfish indulgence--a luxury--that I want to forgo forever.When you are at a point of desperation, when a leaden dread comes upon you, when that of which you are most afraid is threatening to happen, you become painfully aware how foolish and selfish is survivor's guilt.    You think back to the times when you weren't afraid and everything was well, and you're ashamed that you were ever ashamed of your good fortune.  And in those moments, you would do anything to get back to the times when things were good.I don't know why God seems to answer some prayers and not others.  I don't know why some of us receive the blessings we do.  But I also know that I don't deserve my blessings and didn't earn them--they just came on me, like the rain.  My blessings don't mean anything about me: all they do is point to their Source and Giver.Rather than feeling guilty, I want to be grateful.I am grateful for God's goodness toward me.  I am grateful that I did not have to come home in the dark on Thursday morning and wake up my little son and tell him his mother died.  I am grateful that my wife survived.  And I'm grateful that I brought her home not one hour ago.I want gratitude to pour out of me.  I just went to CVS to pick up a prescription and when the cashier asked me how I was doing, I looked her in the eyes and said, "I am so blessed: my wife just got discharged from the hospital."  And I gave her a big smile.I don't deserve my blessings--and I have SO MANY--but I can use them to bless others.I want to be grateful, and because I'm grateful, I want to be a giver.Survivor's guilt?  Never again. 

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What NOT To Do For Your Country

Tomorrow, a new president will take the oath of office. Whether you voted for President Trump or not, there are lots of people who are telling you what you should be doing for your country, either in support of his policies or in opposition to them: folks are telling you to register voters or call congress or attend a protest or donate to a cause or pray for a candidate. All of those actions might be important, but they are not most important. In fact, I believe the most important thing you can do for your country is not to do anything. Let me explain. 

Character is Destiny

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus believed that character is destiny. What he meant is that who you are will inevitably determine what you do. A brave man will act bravely, a dishonest man will act dishonestly, etc.Jesus said the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount: Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit? (Matthew 7:16-18).The English word character has roots in the Greek word for engraving. You might say that character is etched into a person; it is something foundational to who the person is.

Formation vs. Education

In our culture, we tend to overlook the slow importance of character formation and instead prefer the quicker and easier work of intellectual education. Our leaders talk about improving education and argue about how best to do that, but I cannot recall a public figure who has recently been talking about the best way to form character in our children. Education is important, but education without character will be useless at best and dangerous at worst. Character matters.One of the major themes of the New Testament is about how a follower of Jesus can become Christlike in character. The reason the New Testament is so concerned with character change is because the early Christians knew that you can‘t actually live like Jesus unless you are being changed like Jesus from the inside out. Only then?with a mind transformed and renewed? (Romans 12:1-2)?is Christlike living possible. It is not possible to love your enemies, e.g., without first becoming the kind of person who loves her enemies.The moralistic instruction that we are constantly given?be more civicly engaged, reach out to your neighbor, call your congressman, pray for your senator, start a movement?is all good advice, but it is given out of order. Before you start a movement, you first need to be the kind of person who starts a movement; before you pray for your senator, you first need to become the kind of person who prays for her senator. Character matters. Good trees produce good fruit.This is why I believe the most important thing you can do for America as our new president assumes office is not to do anything. Rather, you should focus on becoming.So, how is character formed?? How can we become the kind of people who do good things, or to use Jesus? metaphor, the kind of trees that produce good fruit?

Silence and Scripture

I believe the most effective way to become more like Jesus is to spend the first 15 minutes every morning in silence and scripture. Before you reach for your phone or check your Instagram feed or see who won the late game, you need to just sit and be still and read a bit of Scripture. Taken by itself, the principle of the #First15 seems useless: how does sitting in silence result in any new voters registered or any new movements funded or any congresswomen prayed for?? But becoming the right type of person will result in your doing the right type of actions, and on a daily basis nothing will be more formative to your character than the #First15.Character is destiny: good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. Who you are determines what you do. There is a lot that needs doing in America, but doing comes after being. If you become more like Jesus, you?ll inevitably act like him. (In fact, the more you become like Jesus, the more Christlike actions will be second nature to you.)? This is what the early Christians meant by discipleship.It was fifty-six years ago that President Kennedy delivered that thrilling conclusion to his Inaugural Address: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.? As a new President assumes office, I believe that what‘s most important for you to do for your country is to be a certain sort of person: someone who thinks and acts like Jesus.  

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My One Word for 2017

As I've done for the past three New Year's Days, today I'm choosing a one word theme to live into for the coming year.  I've made goals for 2017, too, but there's something I like about the simplicity of choosing just one word to knit all my goals together. 

My One Word for 2017

For 2017 I'm again choosing the same word I've chosen for the past three years.My one word for 2017 is early.I will:

• wake early
• pray early
• workout early
• arrive early
• get things done early
• finish my sermon early
• get to bed early

What about you?  What‘s your one word for 2017?  Why? 

P.S.  Fox and Hedgehog

The Philosopher Isaiah Berlin, drawing on a line from the Ancient Greek poet Achilocus, wrote a famous essay in 1953 entitled The Hedgehog and the Fox.  The basic idea is that the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.  Foxes have a variety of interests; hedgehogs have one stubborn idea.In this space, I follow my interest wherever it takes me (like a fox) while always writing in the service of The One Big Thing (like a hedgehog).What‘s that One Big Thing?  You?ll have to read to find out.Click here to subscribe and get my posts delivered straight to your inbox.

Early Thoughts on the Election

I went to bed early last night and woke up really early this morning, and even though I like to remind myself that no one knows the future, I was still surprised by the election result. Here are some early thoughts, in no particular order. Donald Trump's victory reminds us once again: no one knows the future. I wrote last year about how the experts always want us to believe that they can predict the future, but that they are?always wrong. None of the experts predicted Mr. Trump's victory in the primaries, and none of the experts predicted his victory last night. I'll say it again:?No one knows the future. Though the inherent obscurity of the future could seem terrifying, I tend to find this truth strangely comforting: it means that there is potential in every situation for the grace of God to be at work.The reason our politics is so bitter is because we don't?believe in the transcendent and the eternal. If naked political power is all there is, then you have to fight tooth and claw to achieve it. Since we've killed off God in the West, we have nothing else to live for.We should pray for Barron Trump. A ten year-old little boy, thrust into the spotlight.I cannot imagine what Hillary Clinton must be feeling this morning. As with any celebrity, it's easy to forget that Mrs. Clinton is a real person. She's been reaching for the presidency for much of her life; the bitterness of her loss this morning must be overwhelming.This election proves how distant the elites that run our country are from millions of ordinary people.? The establishment--including the conservative establishment--was opposed to Donald Trump's candidacy. And yet he won anyway. It cannot be good for America in the long term for the people with power--in the media, in academia, in business, and in government--to be so different from the people without it.We have no shared purpose as a people. I think Rod Dreher's metaphor is helpful:

Here‘s the problem, as I see it. Is the American nation (or any nation) more like:

1. The diverse crowd that gathers at the shopping mall on Saturday afternoon, or
2. The diverse crowd that gathers at the football stadium on Saturday night?

The difference is that the only thing the first crowd shares is little more than a geographical space, but the second crowd shares not only a geographical space, but a purpose.Our problem is that we want the solidarity and sense of purpose that the football stadium crowd possesses, but without its shared sense of a mission greater than the individuals engaged in it. I don‘t think this is a problem that politics can solve, but it is certainly a problem that politics can exacerbate. As the next four years will demonstrate.Instead of the Stadium as a symbol, I might have used the Cathedral, but of course America, as a foundationally secular nation, is better represented by a stadium. Plus, these days, Cathedrals function more like Malls, in the sense I mean in this post. There‘s?not much shared sense of purpose there, only a diverse group of people gathered in a particular geographical space to pursue private ends. The Mall really is the symbol of our place in this time. 

I suspect the Bradley Effect?was in effect yesterday. I wrote about the Bradley effect in yesterday's post.Politics exposes our idols. Millions of people would be in despair this morning had Mrs. Clinton won. Millions of people are despairing because Mr. Trump?has won. Ravi Zacharias has it right: "The loneliest moment is life is when you have just experienced that which you thought would deliver the ultimate and it has just let you down."I'm glad the?Church is "of no party or clique." My job is to be a pastor, a shepherd of people. That responsibility?does not depend on the fortunes of any party or clique, and my calling is to people, regardless of how they vote. I'm glad of that, this morning.As my friend Matt Judkins, a pastor in Oklahoma, puts it:[embed]https://twitter.com/matt_judkins/status/796339315336941568[/embed]  

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Brief Thoughts on Voting

I was at my polling place (a beautiful old church in East Dallas) 10 minutes before the polls opened this morning, and there were already 10 people in front of me. Voting always makes me?reflective, and here are some of my thoughts and reminiscences, in no particular order. The sacred solemnity of peaceful voting always strikes me. There is just something about being surrounded by my fellow citizens, who may or may not share my beliefs, as we all line up peacefully and patiently to cast our votes. There is just something sacred about walking into the voting booth as a free man. I think voting represents America much better than fighter jet flyovers at NFL games--that's just a show of power: our real power lies in the peaceful ritual of?Election Day.Nothing is more important than the peaceful transfer of power. There are lots of issues I feel very strongly about, issues I believe matter to God. But I don't think anything matters more than the peaceful transfer of power. This 229 year-old experiment we have with our Constitution is exceeding rare in human history, and unless we are governed by laws with a peaceful transfer of power, nothing else is possible. I lived in West Africa as a small boy, and I distinctly remember watching from the verandah of our house, which was perched on the side of a small mountain, and looking down at the capital city below as the sirens sounded and soldiers shouted: there had been a coup attempt. Nothing is more destructive than chaos. May our system continue long into the future.God bless the election volunteers. I remember the first time I voted (must have been November, 1998). I was home from college and I went with my dad up to our polling place, which was a school I'd attended. In the 1950s era gymnasium/auditorium/cafeteria, we checked in with the volunteers and I was surprised to see I knew all of them--they were ladies from our church. I was impressed then with their civic commitment, and I have been impressed with election volunteers ever since. These people make our freedom possible.The longest line I ever waited in to vote was in 2004. I was living in Richmond, Virginia, off of Monument Avenue. I went to vote around midday, and the line wrapped around the city block. No one complained.It is shameful that I don't know more about the down ballot races and propositions. I am an educated guy. I read the newspaper every day. I care about local issues. And yet there were a few races on my ballot this morning that I knew nothing about. There was also a long and complicated proposition having to do with the pension fund for civilian city employees. I was mortified to read it and realize?I didn't know what I should do. I left it blank. That is unacceptable. I never want to be in that position again. It is my responsibility to be?more informed.But it is also shameful how our media don't prepare us for these important races and issues. I have a good memory and a varied media diet, and yet I walked into the voting booth knowing very little about issues beyond the headlines involving our leading presidential candidates. I know that there may not be a market for journalism devoted to issues, particularly down ballot issues, but I still think it's shameful how little space our media devotes to anything other than the presidential horse race.I wonder if a variation of the "Bradley Effect" will play a role in this election. The Bradley effect derives its name from the 1982 candidacy of Tom Bradley for governor of California. Mr. Bradley, a black politician, was ahead in the polling before the election, but lost the actual election. Why? Political scientists concluded that potential voters were not?honest with pollsters, telling the pollsters that they were going to vote for a black man (the socially acceptable answer), while not actually doing so in the privacy of the voting booth. I wonder if the same thing might happen today with regard to Mr. Trump--are there people who will privately vote for him, even though they'd be embarrassed to say so publicly?I don't know why cell phones are banned at polling places, but I'm glad they are. In Texas, cell phones and other "electronic communications devices" are banned within 100 feet of voting stations. I don't really see the problem with a ballot selfie, but I'm not complaining.Finally, the Presidency isn't going to save us, and our future will not depend on tonight's results. I believe it matters whom we elect--I want good people serving in office, from dog catcher on up to President of the United States. But, our ultimate hopes do not lie with our politicians, and the church does not depend on politics to carry out its mission; our hopes lie with God, and the church depends on him.In other words, Jesus is Lord, today, tomorrow, and forever.  

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Brangelina

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are getting divorced. Though I don't know them, I'm grieved at the news: divorce is always painful, and the thought of their 6 children having to grow up without a mom and a dad in the same house makes me sad. This news of yet another failed celebrity marriage has got me thinking. 

Our Deepest Problems Are Spiritual Problems

Our deepest problems are spiritual problems. If this were not the case, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would not be getting divorced. If our deepest problems were merely material problems, then money would solve our problems. If money could solve our problems, then rich people would never get divorced.Our culture is obsessed with material reality. We've bought into the self-evident lie that the only reality that matters is that which we can see, taste, touch, and measure. But, this belief is self-evidently false, because material solutions don't actually fix our deepest problems. Spiritual reality matters. Our deepest problems are spiritual problems, and so they can't be solved with material solutions. Spiritual reality is just as real as material reality, but because we can't see, taste, touch, and measure spiritual reality, our culture pretends it's not real.Unfortunately, the effects of spiritual brokenness are quite real, and these effects are all around us:

• War is a result of spiritual brokenness;
• Divorce is a result of spiritual brokenness;
• Racism is a result of spiritual brokenness, etc.

Yes, these problems have material results, but the roots of these problems are spiritual.Again, if our deepest problems were merely material in nature, then we could buy solutions to our problems. This is the false god of wealth. If our deepest problems were merely material, we could solve our deepest problems through technological invention. This is the false god of progress.If our deepest problems were merely material, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie wouldn't be getting divorced. What about you? What is the spiritual brokenness in your heart producing in your life?Anxiety?Adultery?Anger?These come from our hearts, and their effects can be seen in the material world. But, they can't be fixed with material solutions.This is the human predicament: our problems all have spiritual roots, and we can't fix ourselves.But...This is the gospel:?the God who is Spirit entered into material reality and fixed our Problem himself. Do you understand?  

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Dallas Cops: Freedom's Martyrs

We live in a culture of overstatement in which the words "freedom," "hero," and "tragedy"--among other words--are overused to the point that they are almost meaningless, but I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the?five Dallas police officers murdered last Thursday are freedom's martyrs. Here's why. Martyr is a Greek word that means "witness." The early Christians used the word?martyr to refer to those believers?who refused to compromise their faith in the face of the hostile Roman Empire. In their refusal to apostatize, they were witnesses to their belief that Jesus was Lord, and not Caesar, and they were witnesses to the power of sacrifice. Rather then killing the church when they killed the Christians, the Romans found that the church actually grew when it was persecuted. In fact, Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, famously said that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church."The Dallas police officers are martyrs--witnesses--because of the circumstance of their deaths, which, though I've had several days to think about it, still strikes me as extremely powerful. The police officers who were killed were killed because they were protecting the protesters who were there to criticize the police. When shots were fired, the officers ran toward danger, not away?from it. I think it's fair to assume that most of the police officers in downtown Dallas last Thursday disagreed with the claims and conclusions of the Black Lives Matter activists, and yet they were there to ensure those activists' right to peaceful protest. The murdered police officers are freedom's martyrs, because in their deaths they bear witness to the freedom so many of us take for granted, namely the freedoms specified in the First Amendment.Tertullian thought that the deaths of the early Christian martyrs caused the church to grow stronger. It remains to be seen if the deaths of the Dallas police officers will cause our society to do the same. We could choose to use their deaths to further our own partisan?purposes, in which case the murdered men will have become propaganda. Or, their deaths could wake us up and cause us to?dedicate ourselves to working towards a society worthy of their sacrifice and of the freedoms they died protecting.Which will it be?  

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A Brief Thought on Suffering

I woke up early Friday morning to the news that five Dallas police officers had been murdered, and I immediately started frantically texting the?cops who are part of my church to see if they were safe. When the first response came back--"I am here on the scene, but I am okay"--I was overwhelmed with gratitude. And then I felt guilty that I felt grateful, because the fact that my friends were safe necessarily meant that someone else's weren't. But that's the way it always is, isn't it? We are all so nearsighted when it comes to suffering.