Super Mario Power

A recent minor surgery got me thinking about mortality... mine. It seems that as I age certain things don't work as well as they have in the past. I used to scoff at the doctors' recommended rest periods after various procedures. If they said two weeks, I bounced up in two days without dire effect.  This time I was still limping around after a week, thinking that maybe two weeks of reduced activity was going to be about right.

Last summer I did more heavy physical work than I have done in many years. I picked up huge chunks of tree trunk to throw into the truck or onto the splitter. I also fell in an Ax Men type accident and hurt my hand and elbow which still remind me occasionally, many months later, of the incident. When I mentioned these issues to my doctor this fall, he pointed out that just because I am able to lift heavy things and sustain injuries at my age does not mean I should do so. In other words, age has its consequences.

As I watched my grandson play Super Mario Brothers at my house this Thanksgiving, I saw a life-lesson. It seems that Mario can gain power by bouncing into various icons that float into the scene. Grabbing these icons will strengthen and lengthen little Mario’s life. Lesson: there are things that appear in life (sometimes serendipitously) which we do well to grab onto. I am thinking that one of these I should note is acting a little more my age. Then there are the obvious ones like eating healthy and getting appropriate rest and exercise. I am not personally ready for the food supplements and fad diets my Facebook friends are constantly recommending, but they do fall into the same category.

The same power pills exist in the spiritual life of a believer. Too many Christians, I fear, walk around like tiny Mario subject to defeatism at the slightest whiff of trouble. The Super Mario strength is available to every believer who just “bumps” the power. The most obvious analogy here is the Scripture. Even though just about every Christian knows reading God’s Word is a required part of a balanced “diet,” few actually make any real effort to feed regularly on their own. When Jesus told His disciples to “remain in Him,” He surely meant to read the Word on a regular basis, if nothing else.

A quote on my Facebook page from Leonard Ravenhill really struck me this morning; it read, “The only reason we don’t have revival is because we are willing to live without it.” Likewise, the only reason we go about our daily lives as if we are defeated is because we are satisfied with powerless living. I was reminded by Troy Champ at the Capital Church Christmas eve service that Emmanuel means God is with us no matter what the circumstance. The angel told Mary she could handle what was to come because God would be with her. That is a power pill like no other, and it is always hanging within reach. Just a little jump, Mario…

Well, What Do You Know!

I was with a friend Sunday who is one of those people I always listen to because he never fails to come up with something interesting to think about. In a context I have since forgotten he pointed out the irony that most Democrats associate with concerns that are not unionized, whereas Republicans typically own concerns that are union shops. His point was that Dems can blithely support the union agenda because they will seldom have to deal with the ramifications. I decided to do some research.

There is a revealing portrait of the current Congress at Constitution Daily. Only 209 of our congressmen or women list their background as business; one can assume some are Democrat: guess that about 50% are Dems and the number is about 105. 408 congressmen list either lawyer or public servant; a reasonable estimate (66%) of those who might be Dems is 270. Adding 118 who list professions which are stereotypically peopled by Democrats and the total comes to 493. In other words, the vast majority of lawmakers have no idea what it takes to make things, pay people and deal with unions in the process. I think it proves my friend right.

Congress is not the only place you can see ignorant people with the power to mess things up. The people who are currently making all the noise about police violence against blacks are equally in the dark. The facts of the two most well-known incidents (Ferguson and Staten Island) simply do not support the opinion that the police behaved in a prejudiced way. But the protesters don’t let the facts get in the way of their opinions. Ignorance does that.

We cross paths with ignorant people all the time. I recently heard a young woman who is otherwise an intelligent, responsible nursing student paying her own way through school say that she would rather die than be married – that her life would be over if she said yes to the young man who wants to propose something monogamous. She said that it would mean the end to her freedom. I was saddened to think what she meant by freedom. I can only imagine that she has seen too many marriages that were not of a winsome character, to say the least, and she believes that all marriages are bad. She has no witness to the beauty and true freedom that marriage provides. Ignorance strikes again.

Then there are the people who won’t go near a church because of all the hypocrites there or because they only want your money or because religion is the opiate of the masses or whatever ignorant excuse they offer. These are not unlike other people who claim that they believe in God, but there is no evidence in their lives to support the assertion; they are ignorant of the fact that true “belief” always entails a change in behavior.

This is not to say that ignorance itself is wrong or bad – not in and of itself. Ignorance on purpose is though (see Ignorance Is Not Bliss for an example). To be ignorant simply means to not know something. The older I get the more I realize I don’t know – the more my own ignorance becomes apparent. The danger is in being ignorant of ignorance, especially when the ignorance is behind significant behavior. There is a cliché that says ignorance is no excuse. That’s correct.

 Another cliché says knowledge is power. That is also true. The key to wisdom is knowing what is critical to know. If ignorance blindsides you, you have to know what to do about it. When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” that is what He was talking about. The power to make the right decisions comes from knowing what to know. Since only God knows everything, knowing God is the key to the key. As Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” There is nothing else you need to know.

More Than a Feeling

I am quite sure when Boston sang More Than a Feeling, they had nothing in mind like I am thinking, but I can't get it out of my mind since it dropped there. I have been reading a book by Michael Harper called The Love Affair which is challenging my beliefs about what love really means, or perhaps I should say how love really works. Ever since I first studied Greek in Bible college, I have believed that the love the Bible teaches, that Jesus demonstrates, is something unique. It is represented by the Greek word (αγαπη) transliterated "agape."

I have long taught that agape is a love of the will; that it cannot be anything else because it is commanded. God could not command the emotion usually associated with "love" in our generation, or in any generation for that matter. Harper suggests that the fullest sense of agape must be informed by our understanding of God's eternal, infinite character. He rightly points out that in the Old Testament especially, God is pictured as an emotional being. He longs for His people, pines for his people even. He mourns when they disappoint Him, as they regularly do. He is jealous when they have adulterous relationships with other gods, as they often do. He shows His wrath when dealing with people who deserve it.

That picture is not the sterile, compassion-less agape of will alone. Nor can one dismiss the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world...." The incarnation of that love, Jesus, was Love in person, the very demonstration of what it means to love as God loves, for He was God in the flesh. One cannot read the Gospels without seeing a Man consumed by love. The amazing thing is that He directed his love toward the un-loveliest people one can imagine: lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes, His executioners.

Perhaps it is this last category that most merits investigation. A cardinal principle of Bible interpretation demands that we first look at how the people directly involved would see the action or hear the dicta. The scene at Calvary is interesting, to say the least. The condemned Man had previously shown his compassion for the ones He knew would call for his death, by his wish to bring them to Himself, "as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." Standing at the foot of the most torturous execution instrument the Romans could devise, the bystander would have heard the alleged Messiah forgive those who carried out his execution. Whereas the Jews who had asked for the sentence willed the blame upon themselves, Jesus absolved the Roman soldiers of blame. This irony would not have been lost on a perceptive observer.

This brings me back to the idea Harper planted that agape includes compassion toward the object loved. It is hard to classify compassion as anything but an emotion. A careful study of the love commanded by God in the New Testament proves it to be directed horizontally much more frequently than vertically, reciprocally. It is true that when asked, Jesus listed the great commandment as “Love God,” but he followed immediately with, “and love your neighbor.” The rest of Scripture seems to imply that Christians must demonstrate their love for God BY loving their neighbor. And if this is done as Jesus did, it is not without compassion.

I have said frequently over the years that we are not commanded to like anybody, but we have to love (agape) everybody. Now I think that biblical love may not be fully mature if it lacks compassion. I struggle to picture this until I imagine what Jesus would be feeling (WWJF). For example, I don’t like the way my neighbor/brother/spouse is behaving; it is decidedly un-Christian… unlovely. So I love (agape) them anyway, but what am I to feel? Compassion – pain that they have strayed from or never gotten close to God’s will. I feel their lost-ness, their need to be right with God. Love is more than a feeling, but it is, rightly expressed, also not without feeling. Not if it is God’s love, shed abroad in our hearts to be shared abroad in an unlovely world.

Calling a Sin a Sin

The widespread reaction to the Grand Jury verdict declining to indict Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri was sad, if predictable. Just as predicable was the President’s sympathetic reaction, but in a speech in Chicago he revealed something of his personal character and beliefs that is shocking in its import. Referring to the distrust between law enforcement and minority communities, the President said, "The problem is not just a Ferguson problem. It's an American problem," USA Today reports. Obama added, "If any part of the American community doesn't feel welcomed or treated fairly, that's something that puts all of us at risk, and we all have to be concerned about it."

Given the context, the President seems to be saying that we should expect violent reactions from people who feel that they are being treated unfairly. The context also includes the indisputable fact that the justice system worked as intended, but there are people who don’t consider it fair. The subject of the speech where he delivered his bombshell was his new immigration policies. I wonder if the President meant to imply that violence is the normal reaction to treatment that fails to meet someone’s standard of “welcomed.” I wonder if the President was hinting that we should expect violence from immigrants who don’t feel “welcomed.”

To his credit, the President did condemn the violent reactions, but he came very close to saying he not only understands, but sympathizes with the protesters. He wants us to be concerned about the “risk” of treating someone in a manner they don’t like. He seems to be sympathetic toward the perpetrators instead of the victims of violence. I wonder if President Obama feels sympathy toward Cain, the slayer of his brother Abel; Cain felt as though he was treated unfairly. Perhaps we have been misinterpreting the first murder; perhaps it was Cain who was wronged, and Abel just got what he deserved for being so unfair to his brother.

We saw this same kind of misguided sympathy soon after we were attacked in 2001. People asked why the Islamic terrorists hated us so; they wondered what we had done to “deserve” the attack. Perhaps if we had treated them more fairly they wouldn’t have attacked. To ask such a question betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of history, of radical Islamic culture, and of human nature itself. (The Christian Post has an excellent article on the Islamic hatred of the West.) One of Cain descendants, Lamech, expresses the fallen human tendency well, “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is seventy-sevenfold.” Islamic terror is simply revenge for a perceived wrong.

It is a human tendency to get even, sometimes even when the slight is trivial or innocent in itself. Abel didn’t deserve to die; America didn’t deserve 9/11; Ferguson’s merchants didn’t deserve the violence perpetrated against them. These were all acts of vengeful individuals who felt as though they had been treated unfairly. Obama is correct that humans can be expected to do such things. What worries me is that he seems to be on their side. He seems to be saying that we are responsible for their actions, as if it were our fault for being unfair.

It is wrong to imply that we bear some sort of national blame for the sense of injustice some African Americans feel toward our justice system. To be clear, Christians must stand for justice, but we must also stand against injustice of the kind perpetrated by the protesters in Ferguson. The system declared Darren Wilson innocent of wrongful actions. The Grand Jury based their decision on facts of evidence, not on a preferential treatment of whites or disregard for blacks. The pressure under which they labored surely would have pushed them to indict if there were the slightest evidence of wrong doing. They declined. To protest that decision with violent action is to commit sin. Those violent acts betray the darkest regions of human fallen nature. Those acts do not merit any sympathy.

We can be sorry that a young man lost his life as a result of a police officer performing his duty. We can be sorry that a situation exists in America where a segment of our citizens so distrust the police and the justice system that their default attitude is set on grievance. We can even be sorry that our ancestors treated African slaves so badly for so long that they feel aggrieved. What we should not feel is sorry that Darren Wilson was declared just in his actions. And we certainly should not feel sorry for the sinners who are burning Ferguson because of that decision. Not to contradict the President, but I think we Americans should be concerned about the risk of bowing to the demands of sinful human nature instead of calling a sin what it is: sin.

Slip-slidin' Away

The first real winter weather has hit West Michigan, and once again, it seems like everyone has forgotten how to drive on slippery roads. Is it really that hard to remember to slow down and leave lots of extra space between you and the car you are following? Really? The people who end up on the curb or in the ditch all seem to have the same surprised look on their faces. They can't all be from Florida experiencing their first winter drive.

Then there are those people in their four-wheel-drive vehicles. (Full disclosure: I drive one.) Apparently they imagine that having all the wheels driving the car makes the laws of physics void. Not so much. It doesn't matter how many wheels put power to the road, once the accelerator is released and brakes are applied, all vehicles are more or less equal. If the road surface is slippery, braking becomes a matter of how well the car/driver can modulate the slowing of the wheel rotation. Anti-lock brakes are a wonderful invention (when they work), and they work independently of the drive mechanics: 4WD, AWD, FWD, RWD will all skid if too much brake is applied.

Stopping on slippery roads is more or less equal between all vehicles of the same weight. Physics again dictate that a heavier vehicle will take longer to stop than a lighter vehicle; it's all about inertia and mass and other such inevitability. Good tires, bad tires, any number of drive wheels on either end of the car all skid according to the inertia and mass involved. Once a wheel has stopped turning (definition of "skid"), the laws of physics are driving and the human driver is helpless. The only way to increase traction is with studs which are illegal for us everyday folks.

While it might feel safer in a big, heavy vehicle, it is not often the case. If you are in the one hitting another vehicle which is lighter than yours, there is a small advantage. If you are hit by a smaller vehicle there is a similar small advantage. But in all other cases, size doesn't matter. If you hit an immovable object like a tree or bridge abutment, the deciding factors will be your own weight and the safety measures installed and functioning. The airbags and seat belts will help prevent injuries, but every body in a car that suddenly stops will continue to move at the previous speed until it hits something, large car or small.

If it seems like I have turned into a driver ed instructor, it may help to know that I am one, rather, I was once. So what has Heaven to do with this. The laws of physics apply to believers as well as the rest of the population. However, I believe we have the advantage of a sovereign God who cares about even our slippery commute to work, or church, or shopping, or wherever. What this means to me is not that I can speed along oblivious to conditions, but that I need not panic when black ice is more prevalent than tarmac.

If I end up in a ditch, it is because my Lord wanted me there for some reason. It may be to teach me humility regarding His physical laws related to friction. It may be that I need to witness to the tow truck driver who will pull me out. It may be that He parked me there so I would not be in the 247 car pile-up that I would have encountered. I don't know. And I don't care. I trust Him. When I was driving for a living, people used to ask if I wasn't stressed out by having to drive thousands of miles every week in bad weather. My answer has always been, "No. I trust the Lord I serve to take care of me -- no matter the weather."

This same attitude should apply to all the risks we face in our dark and dangerous world. Nothing can overtake us that is not under the watchful eye of the Creator, Sustainer, Completer God. No terrorist, mugger, stalker, geo-physical or weather demon can thwart the plans God has for us. That even has to apply when any of the above seem to overtake us; they are not in control; God is.  Peter and John proved this when they led the hymn-sing in prison. My advice is to tune in to some good music and slow down; enjoy the drive and the everlasting arms in which you drive. It's my belief that you can never slip out of those arms once you are in them, no matter how slippery the road may be.

Veteran's Thanksgiving Day

If you can read this, thank a veteran. I know, there were teachers involved too, but the system of free public education within which your teachers labored was made possible by the sacrifices of tens of thousands of American servicemen and women. Then there is your freedom to use the Internet -- bought by vets. The job where you earned the money to to buy this computer -- secured by those who defend us. You'd be hard pressed to name anything  connected to the American dream that is not in some way established or maintained by those who served or are serving in the armed forces.

And let us not make the mistake demonstrated by David Masciotra of Salon.com. If you read only the first few paragraphs of Masciotra's article, it sounds like any other liberal panty-waist who doesn't like anyone who carries a gun. He is clearly not in favor of the foreign policy decisions made by recent administrations (Democrat or Republican). He is also rightly disgusted by the miscreants who sometimes get into uniforms and do awful things. But he makes the mistake of saying that only the "the soldier who runs into the line of fire to protect his division" or "the police officer who works tirelessly to find a missing child" are really heroes. His mistake is in thinking that the infrastructure behind those truly heroic acts is not essential to the commission of the valiant acts themselves.

Everyone who has served in uniform deserves the thanks of those of us who benefit from their service. The uncommon bravery of a few must be recognized, but the common, even mundane acts of service by all the rest are also worthy of our esteem and honor. The financial hardships borne by either military or law enforcement qualify as acts of service (enlisted persons on food stamps). The stress borne by the families of those who answer the call to serve is another form of sacrifice (wives and children without husbands and fathers). The real demon of PTSD which was overlooked in the past, but which haunts our society. The thousands of wounded warriors who would have died in earlier conflicts, but because of medical marvels are living scarred among us.

Honor to whom honor is due, the Apostle Paul commands. There are none in America on this or any day who deserve honor more than our veterans. Thank you, all of you!

Hooray! We Won... Now What?

If you have read much of what I have to say here, you will not be surprised to know I am elated with the results of the 2014 mid-term elections. It would seem that maybe (but just "maybe") the electorate has realized the error of hoping for "hope and change" Obama-style. But I am not overly optimistic: the new legislative leadership under McConnell and Boehner is not going to be able to transform our government quickly or easily. Much of what disturbs conservatives is entrenched bureaucracy (think IRS targeting conservatives), judicial over-reach (think Ninth Circuit overturning a vote of the people) or executive hubris (think Obama's threats to use executive orders to steamroll his policies into practice).

I still believe what I said back in August of 2012: Obama is not the problem. It may be that all we saw last Tuesday was the populace saying they want a better, stronger, more effective form of socialism. That may sound like a terribly pessimistic and warped conclusion, but voter turn-out statistics may support it. Because of the pathetically low rate of participation, a small minority of the electorate made Tuesday's choices. (More on that in the conclusion.) US News reports that disenchanted Democrats stayed home while energized Republicans voted.

This could mean that a majority of the voters still want the "free" hand-outs of a socialistic government, but they are fed up with Obama's failure to get it done.

Then there are those other nasty realities that the new Republican leadership must face. The behemoth that is the Federal bureaucracy did not go away with Tuesday's vote. Millions of worker bees with billions of dollars in their budgets are still fully empowered to continue to implement bad policy both new and old. Combine this with the President's clear intention (threat) to use (abuse) his pen to make law by executive order despite anything Congress might say or do. Those orders can be undone by the next President only if he or she is of a different stripe. (More on that later, too.) Finally, the third branch of government tilts leftward far enough use judicial fiat to bring into practice countless things the voters openly eschew.

Each of these gloomy predicaments has a positive resolution, but it did not resolve on Tuesday; it may not even be in the works. McConnell and Boehner have not enthusiastically supported the conservative wing of their party; both in fact have at times worked around or against them. According a New York Times story last March, “I think we are going to crush them [Tea Party candidates] everywhere,” Mr. McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said in an interview, referring to the network of activist organizations working against him." This does not bode well for those of us with Tea Party type imaginations.

As for the gargantuan bureaucracy, dismantling it will take years of concentrated legislative effort. The first step requires a will to begin; I'm not sure the crop of politicians we elected Tuesday are up for that. Some doubtless are, and they have proven their mettle (Scott Walker in Wisconsin). Others are too afraid of disappointing the forty-plus percent of Americans who are beneficiaries of government programs to even talk about shrinking, let alone ending them.

Lastly, the judiciary is supposedly insulated from the partisanship of electoral cycles, but history proves that to be a thin protection. Every administration since George Washington has tried to put its favorites on the benches of the federal court system. The Washington Post reported last June that there were 57 judicial nominees awaiting approval. The Senate is not supposed to consider partisan bias in their role of "advise and consent" to the President's nominees, yet both parties have tried to block candidates of whom they disapprove (eg. Robert Bork).

So where is "heaven" in all this (WHAMM)? Tuesday did not even come close to winning the war against conservative ideas in this country. A major skirmish went our way, but the battle rages on. Any Christian who could have voted but did not vote last Tuesday should be ashamed. The Epistle of James says, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them." Believers have a responsibility to take part in the process that allows them to make choices about who governs.

Voting is a major part of that responsibility, but it does not stop there. Remaining educated about the issues is critical. The founders realized that the experiment in representative Constitutional government they began would only work if the electorate remained informed. Jefferson believed that even democracy could devolve into tyranny if people were not properly educated. It is also important to continue to support and advise those who represent us after we elect them. There really is a feedback loop that affects how legislators think about the bills they support. According to Tim Hysom of the Congressional Management Foundation, "Members listen to the views of their constituents through all kinds of means…. They take all that information … and they craft their views and policies.

So while Tuesday's election results are a step in a positive direction for conservatives, the road back to a conservative America is long and it stretches uphill all the way. Human nature being what it is, people will always want something for nothing. And since being ignorant is easier than being educated, vast numbers of voters will make bad decisions. Believers must not grow weary in the march toward the next presidential election (although it sure is a relief to be without the political ads for a while). Keep up the conversation with friends, neighbors and, yes, your elected representatives.. Believers seldom fall prey to "sympathy for the devil," but sadly many are guilty of apathy toward his schemes; the end of either is the same. It would be a shame if we lose our freedoms because of our own apathy.