Young Examples

Over the weekend we went to a play at The Adobe Theater entitled "Is Life Worth Living?" I wrote a blog Monday about this play and some of the lessons and questions that came from it. Today, however, I am writing about a different experience we had at the play.

We had gone for my mom's 50th birthday so there were a lot of us, 14 to be exact, and the theater, which is pretty small, it only seats about 90, was completely sold out. From the moment we got there the lady taking the tickets, who was, I guess, in charge of the place, was complaining about how large our group was and how she had no idea how we were able to get such a large group in, and we had no idea how difficult it was for them to accomodate us. This was quite confusing because: 1) We weren't sitting all together taking up entire rows in the theater. No more than 4 of us were sitting together in any one place. 2) We just called and bought 14 tickets...I'm not sure what was so difficult about that. Would it have been easier if 14 people had individually bought the 14 tickets? I mean come on. We were not that difficult...

Anyways, the 2nd thing that this lady did was immediately pull Manda and I aside and tell us that this was an adult play and she was not worried about what Mallory was going to hear, but what the 90 paying customers were going to hear from Mallory, and the moment she started to make any noise we would have to leave the building. Now I can understand letting us know that if Mallory was loud we may be asked to leave, but the way she approached it was like Mallory was a horrible intrusion and the paying customers shouldn't have to endure her. I think she kinda forgot that Mallory was one of those paying customers and 13 other paying customers were with us... So this was a little annoying, but it got worse. She then came up to us on 2 more occassions and told us that Mallory should not be there, that she should not have been invited, that there were so many things wrong with our reservation, and got upset at us because we told her that an empty seat next to us was Mallory's seat. She told us Mallory could not have a seat, even though we had paid for it, and she should not be at the play. Keep in mind, this whole time, Mallory is being perfect. She's not crying screaming, being loud in any way. This lady is making much more of a scene than Mallory was.

Anyways, we got to stay in and the play started, and continued for 3 hours. During that time, Mallory watched intently. She loved it. She loves plays. She never made a single noise. In fact, she was the quitest one in the whole place. She was perfect.

This whole thing got me thinking about a lot of things. One of which is how people just assume that because a kid is young they are going to be disruptive and annoying. Kids, of any age, are human beings, just like the rest of us, and their age has nothing to do with whether or not they are disruptive. It is said that children only have an attention span the same number of minutes as their age, so Mallory should only have a 2 minute attention span, yet she sat still, intently watching the play, for 180 minutes. Also, the play didn't start till 8:00pm so by the time it was over, it was well past her bedtime, and she was tired, but she was still paying attention and enjoying it.

So here's the lessons I learned from it.

1. In life, don't look at kids as some annoying group that must be tolerated until they grow up. They are people with likes and dislikes. Maybe a kid is throwing a fit cause they genuinely don't like what is going on, and if they do like it, they are capable of paying attention and participating. Children are people, so treat them as such.
2. As Christians, there is an important lesson, that is outlined in 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." There is an important lesson here, regardless of which side of the "age line" you are on. If you are a younger Christian, be an example. Age is not an excuse to slack off, falter or fail, just because a lot of people think you will. You have a responsibility to be an example, not only to younger Christians, but also to older Christians. Your calling to follow and obey God in EVERYTHING is not dependant on your age. If you are an "older" Christian don't be like the lady at the play. It may be easy to dismiss younger Christians as immature or inexperienced, and this can have a variety of results, from "think[ing] less of" them to patronizing them, disregarding what they have to say/teach, not learning from their examples. However, the Bible is clear that younger Christians should, and therefore CAN be examples for ALL believers, so allow them to be.

In the end I was very impressed with and proud of Mallory, she was fantastic, and there were so many people that came up after the play to tell her how amazed they were at how well she did. It was a good feeling. However, I would love if people weren't amazed and shocked when kids did well in situations. I would love if people recognized that children can do things more than they are given credit for, and on the other side of things, we are often amazed/inspired/impressed when young people do big things, are examples of what a true Christian should be. I would love to get to the point where we are not impressed, because young people are consistently being and setting examples and older people are consistently expecting young people to be and set examples.

Is Life Worth Living?

Over the weekend we saw a play at The Adobe Theater entitled, "Is Life Worth Living?" It was a good play, a comedy, and yet quite depressing at the same time. The basic gist of the play is that an acting group comes into a small quiet town in Ireland and puts on these serious plays that tackle deep/dark issues, which in turn reveal all the problems and issues in the town that no one acknowledged where there. They compare it to moving a stone in a grassy field and revealing all the creepy crawlers, worms and bugs. As a result of this, people start going nuts, killing themselves, killing others, all because they start to realize how messed up everyone is, and they start to ask the question "Is Life Worth Living?" and for many, the answer is "No." The play ends with the town kicking the acting group out before the cause more problems, and replacing them with a circus, where people can go and simply enjoy life. They relate it to putting the stone back over the worms and bugs. It is meant to be a happy ending, but I think it was one of the most depressing parts of the play. You see, everyone's eyes were opened to the fact that they had problems, that deep down they didn't find any purpose or meaning in life to validate continuing to live, and rather than seeking some answer or trying to fix what was wrong, they pulled the wool over their eyes again, plastered on a fake smile, buried their doubts and fears, and went to the circus.

This was an interesting play because it touched on a topic that so many people struggle with. Is life worth living? What's the point? It's so sad that so many people truly cannot answer this question, and w/o an answer, what is to keep them from ending their lives? This is something that people have struggled with since the beginning of time. In Ecclesiastes 1: we see Solomon say, "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind." This was Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, and he questioned whether there was any purpose or meaning to life, if it was worth living.

So I ask you, is life worth living? What do you think? If you say it is, why? What makes life worth living? What gives life meaning and purpose? This is a philosophical question, but a vitally important one. I recently heard a story of a man who had lost his wife, job, career, and because of it, because of the loss and the shame, he killed himself. He had asked someone close to him if he could give him some direction, some meaning, and this person told him he didn't know. This lack of hope, lack of meaning, lack of worth, resulted in absolute loss of life, which is devastating.

Some say family and friends give life meaning. Some say love. Some say helping others. Some say their jobs. Some say possessions/toys. Some say a purpose or cause to work for. Here's the problem though. All of those things can be taken away. If all of those things are taken away and you are stripped bare, what gives your life meaning. What makes life worth living? What makes it more than futility?

Solomon said that everything is futile, and for 12 chapters he goes on about how literally everything anyone does is meaningless, but in the final verses he comes to this conclusion: "When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity."  It all boils down to this. Is life worth living? Absolutely, but it's not worth living because of love, family, friends, pets, causes, jobs, money, possessions, health, helping others, etc... Those are all benefits of living, but they are not what makes life worth it. Life is worth it because God created you. He created your life and loves you. Our goal, our purpose should be to honor, love, and obey Him, and in and through that we find meaning and worth in life. Paul stated in Acts 17 "From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. 27 He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 28 For in Him we live and move and exist..."

In and of ourselves we are messed up. We have worms and bugs crawling beneath the surface, hidden by the makeup of a circus clown, but no matter how much laughter and enjoyment we use to cover up our problems, to place the rock over our issues, they are still there, and will eat us alive from the inside out until we are nothing more than a hollow shell that is easily shattered. We have nothing left inside, and in that place, life is not worth living. However, God supplies us with hope, with purpose, with meaning, with worth. He removes the rock over our lives, exposes all of our nasty worms and bugs, and rather than cover them back up, he gets rid of them. He removes the rock and allows that filth to be replaced with grass, flowers, life. We are emptied, but are not hollow shells, we are filled with His life and our worth is not found in the fleeting pleasures of this life, in the circus, but our worth is found in Christ! In Him we LIVE and MOVE and EXIST! He is LIFE and He gives us that life, and in and through Him, life is definitely worth living!

The White Savior Complex

Yesterday I wrote about the little boy we are sponsoring in Ghana, Felix Kusi, and it got me thinking about this concept that I have become more and more familiar with in the past month or so, The White Savior Industrial Complex.
Basically, and I am sure I am oversimplifying this, the White Savior Complex is the idea that as White, Western, Americans we are "heroes" or "saviors" to the rest of the world, primarily non-white, impoverished peoples in Africa and the like. It is viewed as a very negative thing, with many asserting that those with this "complex" simply ride in on a white horse to make themselves feel and look good, but don't actually accomplish anything to alleviate real problems, and are insulting and belittling to the people they "help" by either implying or directly stating that they have no power to help themselves. Essentially, they are "saviors" who are rescuing the pitiful masses who can't do anything for themselves. At least that is the portrayal and generally what is meant when someone talks about the "White Savior."

Recently, Invisible Children has been accused of this, especially with the KONY 2012 campaign. Being that I am a ssupporter of that campaign, and that I am sponsoring a black child in Africa I thought it would be relevant to write a bit about this "complex."

I'm not going to write pages about this, afterall, it is a very complex issue, and I can see the point behind those that taut that this "White Savior Complex" is a very bad thing, but I tend to disagree, and here's why.

1. While there are definitely deeper rooted problems behind much of the poverty, hunger, sickness, etc... around the world, it doesn't change the fact that there are still these problems, and for many "white saviors" who are sending money/contributing to humanitarian efforts the desire is not to make themselves feel good, but to help those who are in need. Many individuals cannot change the governments that are contributing to these problems, and even many organizations cannot change these governments. They can contribute to helping the relieve the effects of these governments, and as such, is what they do. However, this is not to say that there can be nothing done. If anything, I think that the KONY 2012 campaign has shown that people can get active about causes, and influence their governments to take action. It is in this sort of campaign, one that involves governments, that change can be made to the causes behind the situations around the world.
2. The fact of the matter is that, in America, no matter who you are, you are riduclously rich and powerful compared to a lot of the rest of the world. What you spend on a coffee or burger in the course of an hour or so on any given day is probably more than the monthly income for many families around the world. To quote SpiderMan "With great power comes great responsibility" and to quote Jesus "Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more." -- Luke 12:48b  In America, as well as in many European countries, we have been given much, we have abundant blessings in food, money, shelter, health, rights, etc..., and therefore, much is expected from us. It is our duty to help provide for those who do not have, not as some "savior," but as fellow human beings.
3. The argument has been made that before trying to "fix" the situations of others we should fix our own country's foreign policies, etc... many of which may contribute to the poverty in Third World countries. I agree that we have an obligation to try and change these things as well. If there is a hole in your boat you eventually have to plug the hole, not just keep throwing buckets of water out of your boat. If you don't plug the hole, eventually you will sink, BUT if you are working on plugging the hole, you still have to throw the buckets of water out or you will sink. We need to fix foreign policies, etc... that contribute to corrupt governments and Third World poverty, but while working on that, we cannot ignore the fact that there are millions of men, women, and children dying of sickness and starvation.

So, there may be some who only want to help in order to give themselves a good feeling and a "hero" status, but I believe that this is not the case for the majority of those who help. The fact is that there are people who need help, and there are many ways to help, and many things that need to be done, but to essentially discount any assistance as a "White Savior Complex" is misguided in my opinion. Should we be seeking to fix underlying issues of corrupt and evil societies and governments? Of course! Should we be seeking to fix the corruption and greed in our own governments that contribute to this? Of course! Should we be giving money/assistance to help provide food, health, shelter, education to the people in need? Of course! Are we in America and other First World countries blessed beyond belief? Of course! Do we have a responsibility to use what we have been given to help those in need, whether in our own country or around the world? Of course! Are we saviors? Absolutely not! However, we are to show the love of the Savior to those around us!

To close this out I thought I would post some pictures that I found when I do a Google image search for White Savior Complex, just for fun. What do you think?

Felix Kusi, Ghana

Yesterday Manda and I got a packet in the mail. It was our Sponsor packet from Compassion International. This packet contained all the info about the little boy, Felix Kusi, that we recently sponsored. This little guy lives in Ghana, and is about to turn 5 on April 30. He is super cute, as you can see in the picture, and we are so happy to be sponsoring him!
It's amazing the dual heartache and joy that comes in sponsoring a kid across the globe. As we initially searched for a kid to sponsor, it was almost overwhelming, the sheer number of kids who live in poverty and sickness, who need help and support. It was impossible to pick a kid. I mean, how can you pick one over another? So we just basically sponsored the kid who had been waiting the longest, and that was Kusi. Now after that heartache, there is an incredible joy in knowing that we are going to be contributing to helping this little boy, to providing education, food, clothing, shelter, and the love of Christ.

This is something that we have been talking about for a long time, but always put off for various reasons, usually something along the lines of "we can't afford it right now," but really, we can absolutely afford it, as can a lot of people in the world, and almost everyone in the US, and secondly, if God is telling us to do something we need to do it, regardless of whether or not we think we can.

I am looking forward to getting letters from Kusi and getting to know more about him, and looking forward to writing to him and letting him know about Manda, Mallory and I! Since his birthday is coming up soon here, if anyone wants to leave a short birthday message for him we will try and send those in a special birthday note to him as well. :)

I encourage you, if you are not already, go sponsor a child! It's extremely rewarding, and you are giving hope and needed supplies to kids around the world.

Two organizations that I know are good are:

Compassion International
Website: http://www.compassion.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/compassionintl
Twitter: http://twitter.com/compassion
Google+: https://plus.google.com/107104884705564139268#107104884705564139268/posts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/CompassionIntl
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/compassioninternational

World Vision
Website: http://www.worldvision.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldvision?lpos=bot_img_facebook
Twitter: http://twitter.com/WorldVisionUSA
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/worldvisionusa

"Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." - James 1:27 HCSB

"Isn’t the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you,
and the LORD’s glory will be your rear guard." - Isaiah 58:6-8 HCSB

God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him

I wrote this 3 years ago around Easter. I meant to post it yesterday, but couldn't access it on my phone for some reason, so here it is, a day late, but it's still close enough to Easter. Plus, it's true no matter what time of year it is.

These words were made famous by Friedrich Nietzsche*, but I am sure he was not the first to think or utter them. Close to 2000 years ago there were many with these words on their minds and mouths. Some were screaming them in total joy; others were whispering them in disbelief, shock, and horror, and still others were weeping them in mourning, but, just like Nietzsche*, all were wrong.

2000 years ago in Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, a common punishment of the time, for heresy. There was something different about this death. Jesus was killed for claiming to be God, but the fact was that He was the Son of God, Jesus was God, God was dead, and all the forces of darkness and evil were thrilled, but they were wrong.

While Jesus died as a sacrifice for us. He did not stay dead, and no one killed Him. There has been controversy since He was crucified about who killed Him. Some blame the Jews, others blame the Romans, and Satan took pride in thinking he had slain his arch enemy, but the fact, again, is that no one killed God. He went willingly to the cross and laid himself out to die because He loves us, and in that one ultimate sacrifice, He saved us all eternally.

So when Nietzsche* says, "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him," he, along with everyone else who ever has or ever will think or speak these words, is wrong.

God died (in an act of ultimate sacfricial love). He rose from the dead and remains alive today. He laid down His own life. No one took it from Him.

"Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" -- 1 Corinthians 15:54b-55

*For all you philosophical people out there, I know that Nietzsche was not necessarily talking about the physical and literal death of God, but about the symbolic death of God through the death and dissolving of religion and morals. While this is somewhat true, true religion, that which God accepts and is in, is not what Nietzsche or most people view it has. It has nothing to do with ritual or tradition.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." -- James 1:27

This type of religion is not dead because the author and creator of it is not dead.

Happy Easter!

KONY 2012: Part II - Beyond Famous

It's only 20 minutes. Watch it. Get involved. Stay involved.

A Loving Relationship

Wow, I haven't written a blog in a quite a while! I've been pretty busy and lots of craziness going on, but life is good and God is good!

This weekend is Easter, which is so exciting! I love Easter for so many reasons, I love the brightly colored eggs and Easter egg hunts. I love Easter baskets full of toys and candies. I love the food and the time spent with family. But most of all, I love the fact that we are celebrating the single most important event in the course of human history. Christmas is my favorite holiday overall, but when it comes to significance, especially in relation to God, Easter is at the top!

Easter is a time to celebrate the fact that God defeated death! He was tortured, and crucified for my sins, which is an unbelievable example of His love, but His death, what happened on Good Friday, would be essentially pointless if it wasn't for His Resurrection on Easter. Easter is the celebration, the remembrance that God is truly ALIVE! It is His life that enables us to have salvation, to be reconciled with Him, to have a relationship, and that part is important, RELATIONSHIP.

See, God didn't die and rise again just so that we could have an impersonal worship system, or an intellectual reverence for Him. He suffered, died, and came back to life so that we could have a personal relationship with Him. Yes we worship and revere Him, but not as some God aloof, but as one our souls are passionately enthralled with. This is something that God has been convicting me of lately. I have fallen into the trap of knowing and revering God intellectually and worshipping Him systematically, but not loving Him passionately, and I need to. Without that passion and love I am missing out on what this whole Christianity thing is all about. I am missing the purpose for Christ's death and resurrection. I am missing the true meaning of Easter, and I am missing the complete fulfillment that God is longing to provide me.

So regardless of where you are at this Easter, whether you have zero relationship or desire for a relationship with God; have that relationship, but are stuck in the "religion" and the systematic worship and intellectual reverance of God; or you are passionately enveloped in the loving relationship that Christ defeated death to gift to you, I encourage you to seek to love Him more, to fall deeper and deeper in love with Him and to truly understand both the sacrifice Christ made for you and incredible power and gift that came as a result of His coming back to life.

We don't worship a dead or made up God. We worship a God who is well and alive and who is offering us life and joy and relationship. The ball is in your court whether you will accept it or not.

"“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been resurrected! He is not here! ..." -- Mark 16:6b

"Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me." -- Revelation 3:20