The Pleasures of Earth

"It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime time dribble of triviality that we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of His love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not His enemies, but His gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God Himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable." - John Piper

This is a strong word that cuts to the core of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus - to lose one's life in order to have true life. It is this inordinate love for this life - for created things - that blinds us to the poor, to the battle, to the mission, and most of all, to fully loving Jesus.

But as Piper points out, these things often are indeed gifts from God. How then does the disciple of Jesus use the things of this world, and even enjoy them, while counting all of it loss for the sake of Christ? How do our values come into line with what is actually valuable?

Think about it...

The Urban War

This is a graphic picture.



It's a young African American man lying in a morgue, killed by another young African American man. It happens every day here in Chicago, usually completely invisible to the world outside the 'hood until somethng graphic like the beating that occurred last week captures our attention. For a minute.

I’m so weary of the same old tired 1960’s solutions being rolled out to address the violence problem (“Educate! Legislate! Regulate!”).

But the problem being faced by (mostly) minorities in urban America is far more complex than either the conservatives or the liberals let on. It involves systemic injustice alongside personal responsibility. It involves racism and historical disenfranchisement on the part of the majority culture alongside victim posturing and personal sin on the part of the minority culture. It involves bold-faced Satanic attack and other varieties of spiritual warfare. It involves the overreach of government alongside the apathy of government. I could go on...

It involves, at a significant level, the failure of the institutions of Church and Family. It begs the question, "where are the fathers?"

But with all that in the background, we must look at this picture and ask HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?

Force yourself to face this...

It's A Wonder We Ever Survived!

To Those of Us Born Between 1930 – 1979…

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate bleu cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight… WHY?

Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on…

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill; only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives… for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?

Republicans and Health Care

WHY are the Republicans suddenly so concerned about health care?

What I find interesting is that in light of the Democrats' effort to extend health care to all Americans, the Republicans are suddenly paying attention. It seems they're concerned about how we can get insurance to the significant percentage of Americans who have none without bankrupting the country, destroying the insurance industry, and careening towards 'soft' socialism and ever more governmental intrusion into everyday life.

And, mind you, it seems like they have some good ideas. Surely there must be a way to help the uninsured. Surely, in a society like ours, where health care is sophisticated and expensive, there must be a way for that society to care for those without means. And even more surely, the plans that the Democrats are forwarding are about as creative as the Great Society. (Read: 'Every problem is a Crisis, and the solution to every Crisis involves the Federal Government and your tax dollars.')

I would argue that, as is frequently the case, the Republicans have more practical and workable ideas than the Democrats do.

My beef is this: If Republicans cared so much about health care and the uninsured, why didn't they do something about it when they had the White House and both houses of Congress? (For YEARS!) Why are they waiting until the Democrats are in power and in a position to impose ever more government on the American people?

Here's my theory: The big problem with conservatives in general and Republicans in particular is that they are blind to the plight of those genuinely in need. They lump them in with the freeloaders who prey on peoples' compassion and pull the 'personal responsibility' card. This creates a vacuum that liberals eagerly fill. Liberals who tend to really care about the poor, but have ridiculous, abysmal, ideologically driven "solutions" for the problems.

Memo to the Republican Party:

Start caring.

Use your practical, workable market-based solutions to solve problems for people in need instead of reacting to what the Democrats do. Stop being blind to the plight of the poor and who knows? You might win some elections. And maybe even save us from the government in the process.

Some Perspective

Hey, all

Sorry It's been so long!

I have not gioven up blogging, but summer is INSANELY busy for me and I simply have not had time to put anything thoughtful up.

I do have a pretty good piece written by a soldier regarding America's reaction to Michael Jackson's death, so I'll share it since I do not have any original thoughts...

OH - for those of you who might freak out - this is not a statement about Michael Jackson, but rather a statement about the values and priorities of the American people.

A Soldier's Take on Michael Jackson's Death: This is written by a young soldier serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.

Folks,

Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief? When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?

Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddance," and "thank God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;

"So that others may live..."

Isaac

Soul Nourishment First

A Great Quote from George Muller:

"It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost, for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit."

Thought of the Day

“Run, run and do, the law commands
But gives me neither feet nor hands.
Better news the Gospel brings,
It bids me fly and gives me wings.”