Quotes, Enemies, & Making It Matter

I love quotes, and I probably love them because dropping them in conversation without citation makes me sound smarter than I am. As an impulsive individual with a propensity for stuttering, I need all the help I can get.
For the last couple of days, I've had three quotes from my past pop into my mind multiple times. They are as follows:

• "Motion isn't meaning. It's just another drug. But, that's all we've got."
• Thrice, "Motion Isn't Meaning"
• "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."
• Galatians 6.4-5. I should note this is from The Message, of which I am not a big fan, but I enjoy this phrasing.
• "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..."
• Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance"

I probably drop the Emerson quote twice a week; for me, it's about as encompassing and applicable a notion as anything else I've come across in my years. I truly wish that weren't so, but every time I see a friend or acquaintance complaining about something they do regularly, or refusing to listen to another side of an argument, or looking more for affirmation than for truth, Emerson's voice is the first thing that springs to mind. 

Most everyone has experienced those frustrating "because that's the way we've always done it" moments at work, and we often find that same reasoning creeping into our relationships and the rest of our lives. For most human beings, routine is comfortable. It's safe. And when an outside party agrees with us, that affirmation can help to make us more entrenched in our consistency. 

There is an obscene amount of money to be made by telling people what they want to hear. Rush Limbaugh does it; Joel Osteen does it; Lew Rockwell does it. For just about any brand of politics, or religion, or sports, or entertainment, there is someone out there who will constantly reinforce the beliefs you already have and do their level best to convince you that you are on the right side. But they will not stop there.

The danger of being on a side is that there are inherently people who are on the other. And in the art and practice of affirmation, there's a crucial second step after someone has got you on their team: de-humanizing the other side. Whether it's government propaganda telling you that the enemy hates your freedoms, or a friend telling you to buy local because a big foreign firm produces things so cheaply that they must be exploiting children, or any other "us vs. them" debate, the key to keeping people on your side is not making your merits as attractive as possible, but instead to appeal to the anger or fear or biases that you have against the enemy. 

However, this methodology and its surrounding premises are indeed the hobgoblins of little minds. If we are able to live our lives in such a way that we never encounter evidence to contradict what we believe, then great. But it's likely that this means we are looking in the wrong places, or worse yet, not looking at all. And in the event we find evidence (whether empirical, philosophical, or anecdotal), we cannot be afraid to change our minds to accommodate it. I much prefer being a hypocrite to being a fool. 

We live in a world that has made action into virtue. Being busy is a status symbol, and one that is proudly worn by many. The more time you can spend, the more reports you can create at work, the more things you can memorize in school, the more valuable your life. It doesn't so much matter what you're doing, so long as at the end of the day you're exhausted and ready to do it all over again tomorrow. We must reject this school of thought.

To be clear, I am not deifying sloth or laziness, but rather purpose. It is better to do one thing that really matters than ten that serve only to occupy your resources. And what "really matters" is something that can and will vary wildly from person to person, from role to role. Whether it's adding value at work or making a person feel valued at home, there are endless ways to improve someone's experience here on Earth. When we're able to find purpose and passion in what we do, we're able to do our best work. We are indeed responsible for doing the creative best we can with our own lives, without comparing ourselves to others, and without doing for the sake of doing. 

But don't take my word for any of it; listen to those much smarter than I. That's what quotes are for, after all. 

Lenten Discipline: The Gay Marriage Debate

            Easter is my favorite holiday. I’ve on many occasions asked myself why but have been unable to settle on any particular reason; I’m not sure if it’s the explicit religious significance, the contrarian in me, or the bliss incarnate produced by the fine people at Cadbury. I’ve used all three as my explanation from time to time, and only today have I stumbled on what I think is probably the truest and most accurate reason for my love of Easter: the season of Lent.

            I think it’s good to be hungry sometimes. I think there’s value in wanting something yet holding out until later to purchase or consume or experience it. I also think patience has lost its fans in this world, largely because discipline is not always, or even often, fun. Its very nature is that of self-denial, of directly identifying the easy route and yet taking another. Microwave culture does not find those things to be particularly virtuous. But Lent is the time in which we, in varying degrees of discipline, attempt to remind ourselves of the sacrifice and trials of Christ, the very one who took on unfathomable burdens and curses and indeed the sin of the world so that we might know what it means to be loved and to be liberated.

            It would be very easy at this point to launch into a tirade on the all-consuming, un-understandable perfection of grace. I’ve given up on trying to put it into words and instead endeavored to put it into practice. I fail constantly, as do we all, but I think the start of this Lenten season provides an excellent opportunity for me to soapbox about my two favorite common nouns in this world, grace and economics, and their roles in two of the hottest-button topics of our day: gay marriage and immigration.

“’Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.’”



Luke 6:31-37. If that’s not discipline, I don’t know what is.

I think “tolerance” is one of the most misused words out there right now. To some, it means embracing a concept or action wholeheartedly and assimilating it into their daily lives; to others, “tolerance” is anything short of flat-out destroying the object one is supposed to tolerate. Right now, the (state’s role in) gay marriage is attracting a lot of both of these variations of tolerance. Everyone seems to have been struck with conviction that lands them firmly on the pro-or-anti gay marriage bandwagon.

Of all the many things in which I can’t understand the government’s involvement, I have to think marriage is at the top of the list. Right now, it can get you some tax breaks and survivorship benefits, but that’s really about it, governmentally-speaking. As people of faith, marriage is an incredibly more significant and powerful oath than any probate judge-issued piece of paper can indicate. Pardon me while I wax romantic:

            Marriage is not just a contract. It’s not something one ought do because it is conventional or convenient. Marriage begins with the acknowledgement and recognition of the virtues, values, and loves you hold most dear, and the presence of these in another human being. For me, finding this complement is what impels a person to marriage; I know I could not for one spare second know that such a person existed without finding revelry in the thought of spending the rest of my life with them. Marriage is a continuous commitment, a sacred pledge that in all things you will value this one person above all others, including yourself. In light of this, who on earth am I, or any person, to deny another individual this opportunity? Because my other half happens to be female (and quite a lovely one, at that), does that possibly change the reality for someone who finds theirs in a person of the same gender? Of course not. Marriage is not about physiology or picket fences; it is about the opportunity God can grant you to spend the rest of your life with the person with whom your soul longs to spend it.

I once heard a message at church in which the pastor said that taking the Lord’s name in vain is not just invoking God into a curse word or phrase, but rather claiming the mantle of Christ(ian) while not aspiring to live up to the message of the gospel. I think we’ve come to treat the sanctity of marriage is a very similar fashion; while many people consider homosexual unions to be the “God damn” of the institution, it is instead the very sobering fact that so many heterosexual couples fail to live up to the holy covenants they have made between their God and each other, whether it be through infidelity, abuse, divorce, or apathy. There is no true sanctity but that which resides in the participant’s heart, and the heart of a stranger is certainly not something which we can know. Wherever a person finds love, it is our duty as members of the body of Christ to nurture it and do all we can to fan its flame in hopes that others will recognize love in all its many forms. It is not our duty to use the institution of government to strong-arm our opinions onto others.

            To summarize, marriage is more than any government can make it. Whether a person believes their particular denomination or creed should recognize or perform same-sex marriages is not the argument that currently dominates the conversation; it is instead whether two people of the same gender who have chosen to dedicate their lives to one another can be granted the same recognized status and benefits that two people of opposite genders can. I don’t think anyone can with a straight face say that affording two people a given tax status will somehow make them more or less in love. Thus, denying two people the right to marry is nothing more than institutionalized bullying.

Lenten Discipline Continued: Immigration

            My argument for immigration is much simpler and less romantic. Let me be clear that I am not addressing legal/illegal immigration but instead the broader notion of people migrating from one country to another. While I disagree with their conclusions, I at least understand the logic of people who say that open borders make a nation less secure, or that illegal immigrants ought not be granted the same civil liberties (particularly voting) as natural(ized) citizens. But there is another very specific argument used by opponents of immigration that I’m sure you’ve all heard it before:

            “THEY’RE TAKING OUR JOBS!”

            It makes perfect sense if you don’t think about it. There are a certain number of jobs available, and increasing the population makes those jobs harder for any individual to get.

That would be absolutely true if immigrants were self-sufficient, needless automatons, but they are in fact not. Instead, it turns out that immigrants also like to go to restaurants, buy new clothes, and seek better job opportunities as they gain more experience. In other words, immigration does not simply serve to increase the supply of labor, but also to increase the demand for goods and services.

            Granted, I do not understand xenophobia. Maybe I’m just not proud enough of my country. Maybe I grew up in too poor a place to realize that an influx of low-skill workers makes everyone else worse off. Maybe I’m too sarcastic. But truly, I think it’s because I really, really love free-market concepts, whether it be as they apply to interest rates, labor markets, or even population.  I’ll be the first to admit that I am at times a cripplingly logical person; sometimes that puts me at odds with others because my brain is wired to place utility before emotion, making me appear callous. But if I hear one more person argue about how they just love the free market economy, then directly contradict themselves by advocating for economic protectionism (which is what closed-border policy really is), I might lose it.

            Even if you disagree with me and believe comparative advantage is stupid, a nation is only as strong as its manufacturing sector, and the American dream applies solely to people who were either born here or can spare years of their life and thousands of dollars, there is one thing that is not debatable: if any human being is valuable, then all human beings are valuable. If it so suits your politics to believe that every illegal alien should be deported tomorrow, so be it, but if you claim to know the God of grace and mercy, then be very conscious of how you treat people in the process. After all, if you believe that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, and that all have fallen short of the glory of God, then it is nothing if not our entire calling to treat the people with whom we come into contact with our highest possible degree of grace and love, even when that may be the most inconvenient thing we can imagine.

Anything less is just taking the Lord’s name in vain.

This explains a lot of me...

Until I went to college, the only bathroom reading I ever had was "Calvin & Hobbes." I've always been a gigantic fan of Bill Watterson's writing, but only tonight did I realize his genius. Here's a selection of quotes, some of which are just flat out philosophically rich:

Calvin: From now on, I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do! The world owes me happiness, fulfillment and success…. I’m just here to cash in.

Calvin: I go to school, but I never learn what I want to know.

Calvin: I think life should be more like TV. I think all of life’s problems ought to be solved in 30 minutes with simple homilies, don’t you? I think weight and oral hygiene ought to be our biggest concerns. I think we should all have powerful, high-paying jobs, and everyone should drive fancy sports cars. All our desires should be instantly gratified. Women should always wear tight clothing, and men should carry powerful handguns. Life overall should be more glamorous, thrill-packed, and filled with applause, don’t you think?… Then again, if real life was like that, what would we watch on television?

Calvin: I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! Want to see my book report?

Calvin: I wonder if you can refuse to inherit the world.

Calvin: If you do the job badly enough, sometimes you don’t get asked to do it again.

Calvin: It’s hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.

Calvin: They say winning isn’t everything, and I’ve decided to take their word for it.

Calvin: It seems like once people grow up, they have no idea what’s cool.

Calvin: My brain always rejects attitude transplants.

Calvin: Nothing spoils fun like finding out it builds character.

Calvin: Reality continues to ruin my life.

Calvin: Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.

Calvin: The only skills I have the patience to learn are those that have no real application in life.

Calvin: There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.

Calvin: There’s no problem so awful that you can’t add some guilt to it and make it even worse!

Calvin: To make a bad day worse, spend it wishing for the impossible.

Calvin: What assurance do I have that your parenting isn’t screwing me up?

Calvin: You know how Einstein got bad grades as a kid? Well, mine are even worse!

Calvin: You know how people are. They only recognize greatness when some authority confirms it.

Calvin: That’s one of the remarkable things about life. It’s never so bad that it can’t get worse.

Calvin: Everybody seeks happiness! Not me, though! That’s the difference between me and the rest of the world. Happiness isn’t good enough for me! I demand euphoria!

Calvin: Mom and Dad say I should make my life an example of the principles I believe in…But everytime I do, they tell me to stop it.

Hobbes: I don’t know which is worse…that everyone has his price, or that the price is always so low.

Hobbes: I had resolved to be less offended by human nature, but I think I blew it already.

Hobbes: So basically, this maverick is urging everyone to express his individuality through conformity in brand-name selection?

Hobbes: So the secret to good self-esteem is to lower your expectations to the point where they’re already met?

Calvin’s Mom: How can kids know so much and still be so dumb?

Calvin’s Dad: Why is it that I can recall a cigarette ad jingle from 25 years ago, but I can’t remember what I just got up to do?

Calvin’s Dad: By the finite patience vested in me, I hereby dub thee “mud.” You may rise.

Susie: Talking with you is the conversational-equivalent of an out of body experience.

Susie: I was going to ask you to play House, but I think you’d be a weird example for our children.

Susie: Uh oh… here comes Calvin – the Incurable Weirdness poster child.

Calvin: This piece of pie is awfully darn small!
Calvin’s Mom: Life could be a lot worse, Calvin.
Calvin: Life could be a lot better too! … But worse is more likely.

Calvin: Dad, where do babies come from?
Calvin’s Dad: Most people just go to Sears, buy the assembly kit, and read the instructiions.
Calvin: I CAME FROM SEARS?!?!
Dad: No, you were a Blue Light Special at Kmart. Almost as good, and a lot cheaper.
Calvin: AAUUGHHH!
Calvin’s Mom: Dear, what are you telling him now?!

Calvin’s Dad: The world isn’t fair, Calvin.
Calvin: I know, but why isn’t it ever unfair in my favor?

Hobbes: How come we play war and not peace?
Calvin: Too few role models.

Calvin: People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don’t realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world.
Hobbes: Isn’t your pants zipper supposed to be in the front?

Susie: Do you have your line memorized for the nutrition play, Calvin?
Calvin: I’m still learning it. Being an onion is a difficult role, you know. What are you?
Susie: I’m “fat.”
Calvin: No, I mean in the play.
Susie: Anyone ELSE want to say it?!?
Calvin: Aackk! Understudy! Understudy!

Calvin: Ms. Wormwood, I’m a fierce advocate of the separation of church and state. Nevertheless, I feel the need for spiritual guidance as I face the day’s trials. Therefore, I was wondering if I could strip down, smear myself with paste, and set fire to this little effigy of you in a non-denominational sort of way.

Calvin: If ignorance is bliss, this lesson would appear to be a deliberate attempt to deprive me of happiness, the pursuit of which is my unalienable right according to the Declaration of Independence. I therefore assert my patriotic prerogative to not know this material. I’ll be out in the playground.

Calvin: Some people complain all the time! They complain about the least little thing! If something bugs them, they never let go of it! They just go on and on long after anyone else is interested! It’s just complain, complain, complain! People who gripe all the time really drive me nuts! You’d think they’d change the subject after a while, but they never do! They just keep griping until you start to wonder, ‘What’s wrong with this idiot?’ But they go on complaining and repeating what they’ve already said!
Hobbes: Maybe they’re not very self aware.
Calvin: Boy, that’s another thing that gets on my nerves!

Calvin: I sure am great! I’m one of the greatest people who ever lived! How lucky people are to know someone as great as me! I’m great in so many great ways! In fact, I’m so great that my greatness is…
Susie: You’re not great! You’re the most conceited blowhard I’ve ever met!
Calvin: When you’re great, people often mistake candor for bragging.

Hobbes: Shouldn’t you be doing your homework?
Calvin: I’m pretty sure the assignment was optional.
Hobbes: Denial springs eternal.
Calvin: It’s not denial. I’m just very selective about the reality I accept.

Ms. Wormwood: Calvin! Pay attention! We’re studying GEOGRAPHY! Now what state do you live in?
Calvin: Denial.
Ms. Wormwood: [sighs] Well, I don’t suppose I can’t argue with that..

Calvin: Sometimes when I’m talking, my words can’t keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we can speak.
Hobbes: Probably so we can think twice.

Food for thought.

JMRB.

Oh, Happy Day..

I'm not going to church today, but I watched this. Keep in mind these are white people. From Canada. Moreover, they're French-Canadian. Bearing that, I present to you: ssoouuuuuuuuulllllll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a37bBm8pXSk&feature=related

The Proof Is in the...

About a month ago I found myself stuck in a frame of mind saying "Perhaps religion is indeed the opiate of the masses. And if so, a damn fine opiate it is." Maybe it's only as real as I believe it to be; if it's this personal faith that I claim it to be, there's no need for it to resound with anyone else. For some reason, I was OK with that line of thinking. Perhaps in some way I "tolerated" myself into tolerating my faith. Over the course of the last week, however, I've come to realize, see, and just flat-out believe that that's not good enough.

I do believe our God is personal, and our relationship with Him/Her is personal. And indeed faith can and very often does make otherwise intolerable circumstances bearable. But I've just become absolutely convicted that it's real.

Last weekend I went home to lead music at Discovery, a 48ish hour youth retreat, for the sixth consecutive year. I was unenthused, to say the least; it had become such a routine, and the circumstances were frustrating. I was piecing together a band, with no practice, and more importantly little concern to how good it was. But, as seems to so often be the case, everything fell into place. I don't think God did that for me, though; it almost seemed to be in spite of me, in spite of my lackluster attitude, until Saturday afternoon. My wonderful sister had decided that for "Mission Time" one of the 3 groups of tweens was going to the Magnolia House (a nursing home about a hundred yards away from the fellowship hall in which Discovery weekend is spent) to sing to and just generally be around old people. You know what singing means: James is going to lead music again. With this news, my already ebbed enthusiasm further waned.

I generally don't vibe well with the elderly. But after playing "Amazing Grace" with about twenty youths and fifteen people over 80, I was really enjoying myself. Then an elderly man very dear to my heart spoke up after a few minutes of conversation with, "Oh, do y'all do 'Amazing Grace'?" Right in the middle of Round 2 of perhaps the greatest song ever written, my heart completely melted. I'd come back home to a truth that I easily stray from in my daily dealings: My Jesus lives in music. It's what I'm supposed to do and where he always seems to find me, or I find him. I'm not sure which direction that flows.

Back to the universality point I began this rambling with. I absolutely cannot believe that human beings crafted "How Great Thou Art," "Because He Lives," and "Amazing Grace" on their own. There's just no way. Those songs, and countless others, are where my God constantly abides. He's everywhere, so I'm told, but that's my center. Many years ago I remember hearing someone say "If you find yourself farther away from God, guess who moved."

I'm very Methodist. We don't mention "Hell" much, or "the blood" much. Perhaps rightfully so. I buy into the goodness of Christ and his Grace being infinitely greater than any pain or suffering Hell could inflict, so we ought to moreso focus on the positives. But this phrase absolutely will not leave my little head:

"And when I think that God, his son not sparing

Send Him to die, I scarce can take it in.

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing

He bled and died to take away my sin."

That's real.

"Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come

'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far, and Grace shall lead me home."

A person couldn't just sit down and say, "I'm gonna write a song for my opiate" and come up with that.

He. Is. Real.

And for that, my soul sings to my Savior, God, "How great thou art."

Love Song

First thing's first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aubjDJc07E

From about 2:30 til the end is possibly my favorite piece of music. It's so dynamic, well-made, and just flat out sonically gorgeous. Moving on....

I've been thinking recently (say, twelve minutes ago) about what I call God's "Theory of Originality." Paul writes in Galatians 5 and 6 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians%205.25-6.10&version=MSG) about the importance of your life's uniqueness. My favorite bit is this:

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."

I think the idea has the power to genuinely change lives; I know it's greatly affected mine. Just the notion of how comparing your being to another is futile is pretty awesome. The best I can figure it, we're all indescribably crafted individuals. Your parents don't meet, the womb's a little colder, you don't have some random experience when you're five, and your world can be altogether different. We're multifactorial creatures, to say the least. Why is that significant to this passage? Because God made, is making, and will ever make only one of you. At no space in time is there an exact replica. And because of that, we all have different capabilities, different weaknesses, different strengths, so to compare yourself to anyone else will always and forever be to weigh apples against oranges.

We have insecurities, we have shame, we have instances in which we never quite meet our or another's expectations. But as I'm keen to say, expectation is the root of all disappointment. I believe God's impression of us (if there is such a thing to the Creator who knows and is all) is in what we are doing at the present. The value in our lives is not to hit a standard, or meet an expectation, or be better than anyone who has been, is, or is to come; the most important thing we can do is to do what we can, where we are, with whom we're with. I don't think everything is relative; instead I propose that it's in varying absolutes. In any scenario your best remains your best. Five minutes later, things have changed and you are still capable of that best, though it may not match that of the situation prior.

In short, God made one of you, and he made you on purpose. The success of our life is not in achieving more than a little, or just short of a lot, but rather proving to be an enduring message and embodiment of love, hope, and grace. I thank God every day that besides being all of those things incarnate, he is also the creator of second chances. So even if I miss that first opportunity to do the creative best I can with my life, I exist in another one at that same moment. I guess you could say we're infinite in that respect, that we're perpetually in an opportunity. I think that through Grace, God allows that to be our reality, to exist every moment in an open window to try our best to be his likeness.

Super bad ass, if you ask me.