‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein’ (Psalm 24.1).
In an episode of the television show House, Dr. Gregory House is attempting to make a point to his assistant and fellow Alison Cameron. Her efforts to figure out if Dr. House accepted her into the program simply based on her natural physical attraction are relentless. Dr. House continues to raise questions by letting her know that the other two fellows either had outstanding grades and referrals or powerful connections, but she did not. In frustration she loses it and says something to the extent that she wants to be in the program because of her brains and not her beauty. Dr. House calmly asks why it is worse to gain success from one natural and physical thing (the body) than it is from another equally natural and physical thing (the brain).
People tend to have a problem when people use their body as a means to success, but somehow the mind is a clean and even good tool for success. But the mind can be a tool used just as arrogantly, just as flauntingly, just as wrongly, just as immorally as the body. However the mind somehow gets a free pass. We praise those who can destroy their enemies with point after point absolutely sending a tsunami of rhetorical chaos on an opponent; we love it, it is the sport arena of genius. If it is a free-style battle with beats in the back or a political debate on podiums, it is just as easy to send an audience lusting after the natural talents on display and fully exposed.
The mind, just as the body, can also be used for good things. It truly can be a way of success that is hard working and fascinating without being cut-throat or immoral. Just as a good body can be used for success without defying goodness.
Aside from frustration, Dr. Cameron had no retort to her boss’s question. We, like Dr. Cameron, have failed to see that the mind is just another gift, another thing that we can indeed cultivate but cannot take credit for. But we read, we think, we debate, we write, we expose ourselves to new things! But we do not make the mind work, we only work out the mind that was given us; we only flex the muscles of intellect that already exist.
Are you using your mind, or really anything that is in this world, to honor, to follow, to wonder, to gaze at the God who created it? It should be not surprise that the capabilities of the mind are so grand; why, because God made us to know him and he gave us a tool to begin to know how grand he is; he is the high sea and he gave us the boat to explore; he is the deep blue and gave us the SCUBA gear to glimpse his grandeur. It is hard to become arrogant about a gift given to us freely because the giving nullifies all credit or merit of reception to the one receiving. Friend, with your mind are you exploiting others or exploring the God who made it? Are you arrogant and rude or creative and helpful? Are you worshiping yourself with it or God?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Reason
Reason doesn't understand
the ways he makes with his hand,
the clever lever of his promised plan,
the garbage he makes of souls, others grand.
Reason is confounded, slack-jawed astounded,
confused, its guesses impounded
drooling with introspection
navigating the resurrection.
Reason too must bow,
dumb found in his heart.
Raising a toast lowers the steam
of cackled throats trying to sing.
the ways he makes with his hand,
the clever lever of his promised plan,
the garbage he makes of souls, others grand.
Reason is confounded, slack-jawed astounded,
confused, its guesses impounded
drooling with introspection
navigating the resurrection.
Reason too must bow,
dumb found in his heart.
Raising a toast lowers the steam
of cackled throats trying to sing.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tell Us We Will Die Like Dogs
I lie. You lie. The underlying philosophy of the character Dr. Gregory House, played by the astonishingly American Brit Hugh Laurie, in Fox’s television show House is that every body lies. No one can be trusted because everyone always wants to do what is best ultimately for themselves whether it be because they want others to see their good behavior or because it makes them feel good, they have accomplished or done therefore they love themselves more. Well this is true: in the unreal reality of the television show House we can learn and wonder.
First I like to think, ‘I don’t lie, lying is for cowards and wimps.’ It IS for cowards and wimps and I, unfortunately, find myself swimming in that water. When we think of lying it is most often Richard Nixon, Michael Vick, and Enron type stuff. The big things. The costly things. But what about the insignificant, small and unimportant? When I find myself misplacing the truth and finding some falsity it is usually when I have no reason to. So maybe I added a for more yards to my career rushing in high school when I tell my kids, maybe the food wasn’t that good, maybe I wasn’t that excited when I saw him. Brad Paisley sings about bending the truth a little bit and he concludes—or at least whoever wrote the song—that bending the truth is love.
Why do we lie? The easy answer is that we’re liars and liars lie. But what is the point of telling a lie? As far as I can tell it is masquerading who we are or what we can do and projecting something more exciting and more appealing and impressive to those around us. We work on the micro level: we don’t need to lie on our taxes or lie to a whole nation, rather a small group of people who we can be more than. Of course, I’d never verbalize such a thing and that is mostly due to the fact that I do not see it that way . . . until I actually think about it and it becomes obvious. Why do we lie then? Maybe because we’re scared of what we are, who we are, and what we are capable of doing. We’re not satisfied with who we are in reality so we broadcast who we are fictionally to people who don’t know otherwise.
What’s so scary about who we are? We could be sitting in the execution chair if we had different parents, grew up in a different part of town, and hung around different people. The truth is we are capable of worse things than we cover our television with and that is frightening. This however is the wonderful news of Jesus dying on the Cross in the way he did then raising from the dead: our abilities, our identities are completely changed. When you entrust yourself to Jesus it is only when you realize you are the Father’s child, Jesus’ brother and friend and no longer who you were that you have no need of lying. If you are a follower of Jesus you have no need to alter reality. All that is truly helpful and good in the world already is with you and for you, the only reason you would lie is to impress nobodies who only exist to harm. Again, it is only out of a transformed heart that loves Jesus and his words and his life that one can live in absolute security in his identity: God loved us while we were still cheats and murderers, pedophiles, rapists, drunks, addicts, lesbian, arrogant, rude, hateful, and a liar.
First I like to think, ‘I don’t lie, lying is for cowards and wimps.’ It IS for cowards and wimps and I, unfortunately, find myself swimming in that water. When we think of lying it is most often Richard Nixon, Michael Vick, and Enron type stuff. The big things. The costly things. But what about the insignificant, small and unimportant? When I find myself misplacing the truth and finding some falsity it is usually when I have no reason to. So maybe I added a for more yards to my career rushing in high school when I tell my kids, maybe the food wasn’t that good, maybe I wasn’t that excited when I saw him. Brad Paisley sings about bending the truth a little bit and he concludes—or at least whoever wrote the song—that bending the truth is love.
Why do we lie? The easy answer is that we’re liars and liars lie. But what is the point of telling a lie? As far as I can tell it is masquerading who we are or what we can do and projecting something more exciting and more appealing and impressive to those around us. We work on the micro level: we don’t need to lie on our taxes or lie to a whole nation, rather a small group of people who we can be more than. Of course, I’d never verbalize such a thing and that is mostly due to the fact that I do not see it that way . . . until I actually think about it and it becomes obvious. Why do we lie then? Maybe because we’re scared of what we are, who we are, and what we are capable of doing. We’re not satisfied with who we are in reality so we broadcast who we are fictionally to people who don’t know otherwise.
What’s so scary about who we are? We could be sitting in the execution chair if we had different parents, grew up in a different part of town, and hung around different people. The truth is we are capable of worse things than we cover our television with and that is frightening. This however is the wonderful news of Jesus dying on the Cross in the way he did then raising from the dead: our abilities, our identities are completely changed. When you entrust yourself to Jesus it is only when you realize you are the Father’s child, Jesus’ brother and friend and no longer who you were that you have no need of lying. If you are a follower of Jesus you have no need to alter reality. All that is truly helpful and good in the world already is with you and for you, the only reason you would lie is to impress nobodies who only exist to harm. Again, it is only out of a transformed heart that loves Jesus and his words and his life that one can live in absolute security in his identity: God loved us while we were still cheats and murderers, pedophiles, rapists, drunks, addicts, lesbian, arrogant, rude, hateful, and a liar.
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