An End to the Beginning

Much to my shame I must admit that I do in fact watch Adam Sandler movies. I think the best of them all is Reign Over Me, but for sheer laughter I rather enjoy Happy Gilmore. In the movie Happy Gilmore, Adam Sandler’s character is having trouble putting because he is a former “hockey player” and can’t quite get used to the adjustments necessary for going from a slap-shot to a putt. One piece of advice given to Happy Gilmore is for him to enter a “happy place.”

We all have “Happy Places.” For some it’s a comfortable room; for others it’s a darkened movie theater. As for me, my “happy place” has always been a coffee shop. That is why I write this post. My happy place is no more. What do I mean?

Gratitude for MLK Jr.

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. It’s nationally recognized as a day of service to the community. There were some folks that occupied the sidewalks in front of banks, there was graffiti removal, and parks were cleaned. All this was to celebrate the memory of a truly remarkable man.

My son Elijah is in Kindergarten and this is the first year that he was taught about Martin Luther King Jr. When my wife and I picked him up from school he was wearing a crown with the words, “I have a dream that…” emblazoned on the front. The rest of the crown were lines that each kindergartener was able to write about what they dream about. Elijah wrote, “that people would help each other up.” My son and his friends fall down…a lot! Watch the speech below...

Early on Monday, we took a trip to Costco to buy some much needed house supplies. We were successful in getting all that we needed…and, of course, a trip to the food court. On the way home we tuned in to National Public Radio (NPR). My wife and I listen to NPR most of the time that we’re in the car to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world and in our country. It was not surprising then, that NPR was airing Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream speech.” We all listened intently – including Elijah.

Why I don't hate religion

I’ve recently been asked to watch a YouTube video that pits religion against Jesus. The reason I was asked to watch it is because it so clearly describes what is expected of people who follow Jesus and stands in direct conflict with much of what is taught in churches. I liked the video. The production style is very well done. But what about the content? See below.

I think, by and large, the content is solid. However, the biggest problem I have with the video is that it contrasts two things, which aren’t necessarily at odds. Is religion and Jesus at odds?

I don’t think so. I think the major conflict we see throughout scripture (Old Testament and New Testament) is between true religion and false religion. When God sets forth various prohibitions to the worship of Baal, gods of the philistines, Ammonites, and Amalekites, and the setting up of “high places,” He does so because they are wrong, and false. Consistently, God is calling His people to turn from false idols because in them there is no life, which results in the worshiper having no life. For, you become like what you worship; if you worship lifeless idols, you become lifeless. The conflict is always between what is right and what is wrong; what is true and what is false.

Religion is simply beliefs that humans hold regarding the supernatural and the actions appropriate for such beliefs. If you have beliefs about the supernatural and that leads you to live a particular way, then you are religious, strictly speaking.

Saying Silly Things

So, I was recently having a conversation with a very bright young man and he asked a very good question: "Daddy, how come we park in our driveway? It isn't enough room to drive on." The inquisitor has a point. Although only 5 years-old, he could smell an oxymoron a mile away. He concluded his inquiry by stating, "That's silly, Daddy."

Indeed it is.

That interchange got me thinking about other silly things that we say, which often times go unnoticed. Little sayings have gone unchecked and sometimes they become part of our vernacular without really pondering their implications. So here are a couple others that I personally have said:

"That was seriously, funny..."

"That play (in football) was pretty ugly." (not in reference to Tim Tebow)

"Pick up your toys before you can have a treat. That's your only choice."

"If you're not officially dating, then I don't think you should be alone together."

"After that, make sure I get the original copy."

Those are somewhat harmless little slogans and phrases that we tend to say without thinking too much about them. But there are some things we say that do have bigger consequences and larger implications. Here is one of my favorites:

Stranger > Acquaintance > Friendship > Best Friends > Family

The title of this blog is a small and extremely succinct progression of interpersonal relationships. For most people they will agree right away that this seems to be the normal progression of how humanity in the North American and Western culture progresses to deeper and more meaningful relationships. Admittedly, there are exceptions to this progression. There may be certain circumstances that might prevent the progress, or that propel a relationship further along by skipping a step. Either way, most people would agree with this progression.

There is a popular commercial that is circulating on the Internet advertising Google+ called “Google+: Circles Love Story”. The commercial is a split screen of a man and woman using Google+ circles to define their relationship. The commercial begins with the creation of a “circle” of people and progresses from “creeper” to “maybe” to “keepers.” The reason the commercial is so captivating is because it points to the natural and often experienced reality of relational progression. It hits us right where we are and confirms our suspicions and our experiences. See commercial below.

On Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday. It wasn’t something unexpected since his latest medical leave from Apple was speculated to be a result from his fight with cancer. Nonetheless, the news took me by surprise.

While I was standing in line at Peete’s, I was reading the newspaper that was left on one of the tables. The paper printed a cover story about the innovator, inventor, and black turtle-neck-wearing-czar of cool technology. As I was reading the article I was asked by a fellow patron, “pretty sad news, huh?” Yes. Of course it is sad news; death is rarely ever anything but.

The Patron calmly asserted that his death was probably better than what he was going through with cancer. “After all,” he said, “better to not exist than to exist in that kind of state.” I don’t think he really meant that. How, in any world, is it better to not exist than to exist? Non-existence can’t be better for anyone. It certainly isn’t better for the one that doesn’t exist because “better” is probably a state for people that actually exist. It certainly isn’t better for those people that do exist because a person’s existence may be inconsequential to most, but incredibly personal to others. Neither group would affirm the situation to be better. This truth seems self-evident. I can see it played out in the way our legal system functions. We send more people to prison for life than we sentence them to death because a fundamental human principle is that existence is better than non-existence.

Objective v. Subjective

I was able to preach at my church recently and I mentioned something that I have received a number of questions about. I made a comment that we live in a society and culture that operates with a subjective and relativistic approach to life and morals. But what does that even mean?

I had hoped my comment would have been easily understood, and I think it was for the most part. But the questions that came to me were ones of inquiry. Many simply wanted to know the difference between an objective standard and a subjective one. And how does preference and relativity play into that?

To understand subjectivity you might need to have a basic understanding of what objectivity is. To be objective is to be uninfluenced by opinion, preference, or emotions. Supposedly, Judges are to be objective, teachers are to be objective in their grading, and umpires are expected to be objective in their umpiring. That is to say, Judges - whether for the Olympics or in Law - are expected to make judgments from the actual performance uninfluenced by their personal opinions, preferences, and emotions related to the athlete and/or their country of origin. In Law, the Judge is expected to rule based on the facts and not on hunches, feelings, opinion, or personal vendettas. In these cases objectivity is an adjective - something that modifies a noun.

Another way to look at objectivity is to