Four-Buck Bourbon

Dr, Gary, Davis, Clueless, Christian, Christianity, Bourbon, Cheap, Value First, a disclaimer— I am not a Bourbon drinker, let alone a connoisseur. But when a friend of mine told me he had bought a $4 bourbon, I assumed he meant a glass of the stuff. He did not. He meant the whole bottle. For four bucks! That’s $4.00! Four ounces of STP Gas Treatment costs about the same— by comparison. Octane Boost is $7.50.

But this was an entire bottle of Bourbon for $4.00. My interest was piqued! So I turned to the Internet to discover what could possibly be that cheap. After perusing a few sites it seemed that the unanimous conclusion was a certain brand that will go unnamed because I do not want to go to jail. A number of bourbon drinkers described it as “tasting mostly like dirt.” Blended, no less. I decided sampling it was out of the question.

Thus, philosophically did I ponder— What is the purpose of Four-Buck Bourbon? I came up with these possible options—

1.      To get totally plastered! Cheaply.

2.      A gift for that special relative.

3.      A Car-Starter on a cold winter’s morn.

4.      Cheap octane-booster.

5.      A De-greaser.

6.      Weed-Killer.

7.      Flavoring in even worse coffee.

8.      Cough medicine.

9.      A Molotov Cocktail.

10.  Self-initiated suicide. (No reports on success rate).

More realistically, I pondered— Why would anyone buy Four-Buck Bourbon? Other than a few of the ideas above, I could only deduce two—

1.      To get plastered…, again.

2.      You could not afford STP Octane Boost.

These same philosophical questions arise when many of us choose what we really value. We tend to settle for group-think; what the majority believes. “I’ll have what he’s having.” We settle for the cheap instead of doing the hard work of considering the issues, the morality, the implications, the ramifications and effects on other people.

Actions DO have consequences. Make sure your actions are worth something. Don’t settle for the Four-Buck Bourbon level of contribution to the needs of our world. And if you DO drink Four-Buck Bourbon, my apologies; and my prayers.

 

For what it’s worth,

  Gary

longing

          Throughout our lives we pursue things that we hope will give us fulfillment, happiness. Too many believe that happiness comes through acquiring money when, actually, it merely eliminates a fear of poverty. Some find “the ultimate rush” in sex, alcohol, drugs. Others look for their significant other, in hopes that they will find their own soul in relationships. Expectations in relationships can be disappointing. Some find meaning in status, success in business, music, design, or theatre.

Yet, underlying all of these pursuits is something deeper— longing. British author C. S Lewis once wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Quite a point to ponder.

Disappointment can be a major catalyst, igniting our deepest inner longing. Not the trivial regrets we feel when we realize the frivolity of some things. Rather those depth-of-soul longings for something more, something deeper, solid, and incorruptible. We want a security found in the bedrock of all being as the sanctuary for our lives.

In recent times, the value of soul, of a single life, has been so diminished that those of us who remain barely react to the loss. The Evening News has dulled our senses. Yet we are vessels without a rudder when a death comes near. It shakes us. We have no emotional or spiritual mechanisms to cope with this new, final reality. Thus do we float on a vacuous sea of fog, with no rudder or compass to set us back on course. For me, this has always seemed a forlorn loss of deeper resolution.

I, too, have this deep longing. Yet I know that, someday, it will be utterly fulfilled in a restoration of my soul with the God who made me, and made us all. Is this a naive fantasy to which I cling? I think not! There are too many compiled coincidences in my life for this longing to go unsatisfied. Although, it may be in another world, most likely, I do have such great expectations to anticipate in my future. How about you?

Have a nice week,

Gary