Month: March 2013

Lives Cut Short


Wars take a terrible toll on countries, peoples, families, and individuals. Too many young men & women sacrifice their lives for what they believe to be the right way, the way of their country and/or their God. No matter the winner of the conflict, the cost to both sides is immeasurable.

Presently, our planet finds itself in the midst of another world war; not of nation pitted abainst nation, but of beliefs pitted against beliefs, with small cells of extremists attacking established systems of governence. Lives will be lost, thousands of them, on both sides, as this war rages on. It is the kind of war that will go on for decades, leaving the victors in exhausted glory.

However, there is another kind of war that cuts short the lives of men. It is the war of identity-theft. Far too frequently we tie our identity to some acceptance matrix; to a job, to a discretionary activity (sports, parenting, music), to a particular relationship, in ownership of property (wealth, houses, cars). We define ourselves in terms of other things—a position, athleticism, intelligence, motherhood, performance, wealth, even other people.

Then something happens to rob us of the identity we tied to our job, family, friends, athletic ability, etc. It may be as minor as a broken ankle, as devastating as a divorce, or as simple as aging. And our world collapses. Whatever it was that gave us our identity is no longer there. We are at float in a sea lacking any clearly identifiable directions. Your life, as you knew it, has been cut short.

For some of us, that is it: that’s all she wrote. It’s over. Whatever comes next looms as insignificant compared to what we have just lost. How can there be any kind of future for me?!?

Some things to ponder—

  1. Consider that the original foundation for your identity may have been established on an inappropriate underpinning, be that people, place, property, wealth, or ability. Placing your self-definers in stuff, or people, is never a good idea. It all burns up in the end anyway. [FYI- I’ve grounded my identity in the God of the universe. So far, this has proven a very safe connection.]
  2. Your present “tragedy” could be just the incentive you need to re-examine your identity baseline. Don’t forgo the opportunity.
  3. Don’t stop living. Force yourself to dream about what could be next. On a personal note, there was a period in my life when I believed I had developed failure to an art-form. But I learned a lot how NOT to mess-up again.
  4. Be on the lookout for God’s little surprises. He has a way of dropping new friends into your life, of healing broken bodies, and of healing hurting hearts with new love.
  5. Try to rest. Take walks. Think out loud. Don’t give up! If you’re still breathing your life is NOT cut short yet.

Have a nice week,

Gary

boxers or briefs

They say you can tell a lot about a man by whether he wears boxers or briefs—underwear, that is. REALLY!?! Well, first, how exactly do we know this, short of…, er, never mind. Anyway, let’s test this most curious hypothesis. Take me, for example. I’ve written just shy of 1,000 of these articles. From your reading, can you determine whether I wear boxers or briefs? My point exactly. You cannot tell. And I’m not telling!

We categorize or judge people on the most curious criteria; British tweed, pin-stripe suit, punk, business casual, dirt-bag, unkempt hair, southern-drawl, “blonde,” the metrosexual look. It’s been said that you can’t judge a book by its cover. How much less can you know the character of a person by their jockeys?!?

We need to learn the skills of interpersonal communication again. It takes some degree of effort to truly know someone. Learn to ask questions, good questions. Not questions that will yield a clichéd response of good or fine. Not helpful. Remember, open, honest relationships always require both parties to win the right to be heard. This can happen in a night or take a lifetime. While we’re at it, we might as well learn to listen more than we talk. Two ears, one mouth. Remember?

Dare we assume a rich relationship with anyone with no effort expended to nurture it? I try to take everyone at their face-value. They may prove trustworthy: they may not. But I assume that there is always more to a person than what meets the eye on first, even second, encounter. There has to be. How do I know that? Because they reveal more of their selves as they feel safer around me. And how do they come to feel safer? Simple. I take the risk and disclose who I am to them.

So, don’t classify someone on the basis of their appearance, accent, cultural heritage, or underwear. Listen for their soul in between the lines of your exchanges, whatever the topic. Listen for their frustrations, their concerns, their passions, even their political and religious penchants. Listen for the person within the outward skin. It may surprise you.

Finally, keep in mind that God looks on the inward person, not the external persona. And He doesn’t even care if you wear underwear at all! Go commando!

Have a nice week,

Gary

a curious Bible

The Christian Bible is a curious thing. Most people in Western & Latin cultures have one; that is also true for much of the African continent. Many claim that it is the revealed Word of God, inspired by God, inerrant and infallible. Defending these beliefs about the Bible (short of a circular argument) becomes virtually impossible, historically and rationally, given our current culture’s proclivity for self-creating truth.

At a Christmas party in our home we gave small bibles wrapped with a chocolate bar as party favors. One particular person took the chocolate, but lifted the Bible with two fingers as if it were a dead rat to be disposed of in the trash can. That was almost 30 years ago. Today, I would never consider even offering a Bible as a gift in this postChristian mélange.

Oddly, even giving a Bible to a Christian can be a like pearls before swine. Why? They rarely get used. Read, occasionally, yes; but truly used in contemplation or study? Rarely. Why? Genuine Christians carve out very little time to learn about the Bible. It’s just too much work. Unless it’s a Bible video download to an iPad. Or there’s always the History Channel’s version. “That was easy.”

In the same way that many of us want an easy faith so also do we want an easy Bible.  Seriously, what is so difficult about God’s revealed Word, 66 individual treatises (some say more), written by 40 authors, over 1,500 years of written history, spanning 4,000-10,000 of remembered history and then some?!? Then passed down in over 900 English translations alone, across widely diverse cultural perspectives, reinterpreted and oft misapplied by countless of our forefathers over the past 2000 years. I mean, where could there possibly be any difficulty in understanding its message?

No wonder so few of us read it deeply, Christian or otherwise. It just takes so much effort. I want a simple, sound-byte faith: so do you. So don’t concern yourself with the difficulties in understanding the complexities of the Bible. Leave its richness and depths to the scholars. “Just give me Jesus.”

Really!

Just give me an intelligent faith that leaves the Bible in its own history, utilizing its history & principles to guide me to God and to live an honorable life before God and men. Selah…, means pause.

Maybe it’s not the Bible that is curious: maybe it is us.

Have a nice week,

Gary

an improper Manhattan

The “Manhattan” was Steve Jobs cocktail of choice; but only if made properly. If you’ve spent any time on the island of Manhattan you are well aware of the competition to serve the best “Manhattan.” Some finer restaurants rest their reputation on the quality & acclaim of this most common of drinks. Its recipe is simple—

Ingredients:

Preparation:

  1. Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice cubes.
  2. Stir well.
  3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  4. Garnish with the cherry.

Nonetheless, this is NOT a proper Manhattan. It is close, but not quite perfected. The formula of ingredients and preparation above suffer one alteration. Namely, that a proper Manhattan should be, just as the Martini, and in the words of our bard, James Bond, shaken, not stirred. This creates slight slivers of ice crystals on the surface of the drink when poured into a fine, lead crystal goblet.  THIS is a proper Manhattan.

Our society, however, is no longer a culture of refinement, of sensibility, let alone a place for propriety. We oft settle for second-best, or, worse yet, the mundane of the ordinary. Any ol’ drink will do—Whiskey! Beer! Manhattan. Further designation unnecessary. We have lost our sense of taste for things that are more reflective of God in His creation. Few of us mount fine art work in our homes (even reproductions are replaced with WalMart copies). We drive cars that get us from A to B…, and little more. Our culture has settled for things that reflect craftsmanship at its mediocrity, if that.

Because we have lost a vision of the Lord God Creator in His Splendor and Glory we settle for a plastic Jesus in all areas of life; from Manhattans, to business ethics, to building construction, to art, to relationships. We have lost a proper respect for God in His Universe and thus for any glory in His creation. We are content with the commonplace, the knock-offs, even the fake. Everything is affected.

Isn’t it time we questioned whether we are the gods we believe we are and that maybe, just maybe, there truly is a God in the Universe who has a sense of the proper order of life; who has more power, insight, wisdom, intrusive graciousness than we have ever accessed. I am tired of improper Manhattans! And I am tired of people holding an improper view of God and of life. Let’s get over ourselves and get our lives in order, our relationships in order, this world in order, and learn to make proper Manhattans once again.

Have a nice week,

Gary