Wild at Heart (1)

Tomorrow begins a new adventure for me.

I’m starting a book club.

I know it doesn’t sound like much of an adventure, but in reality it is. Because very soon, our book club will turn into a man’s club. And we’ll go out and do manly things. And men will become better workers, better husbands, and better fathers.  And that is a big deal.

We’re starting by reading a classic, Wild at Heart by John Eldredge.

Just last week, I began listening to the book on audio and already I’m inspired to go and kill a lion with my bare hands. I want to return to Oregon and climb Mt. Hood, fly to Peru and hike the Incan trail to Machu Picchu, then come back and make love to my wife. Eldredge inspires that kind of action with his writing.

At the same time, however, Eldredge digs down deep, right into the heart of man. He tells men what they’re doing right and graciously shows us the things we’re doing wrong. He addresses office work, surburbia, the “nice man” syndrome. He points out how these things domesticate a man, like locking a lion in a cage at the zoo. He describes how men, as a result of the Fall, usually fall into one of two extremes–aggression or passivity. We either act like macho man and cuss and yell and flex at people. Or, we never address conflict, pretend nothing bothers us, and shrink back when it comes time to take action, letting our wives take control or letting our children walk all over us.

Somewhere in the middle is where the heart of man is to be. Bold, adventurous, and willing to fight for what matters, and at the same time, being gentle, nurturing his wife and cherishing his children. 

But here’s where I must stop, for I don’t want to give away all of wisdom of the book. I can only tell you, if you’re a man, you should come join us. And if you’re a woman, you should tell your man to come. (And go read the book for females, Captivating.)

Mammon

A wise man once said, “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” And while I’ve always been taught that mammon means money, I’ve always wondered if this was correct. Just recently I learned that it was almost correct; it turns out that mammon means wealth in Aramaic. It can also be understood as riches, neither of which are much different than money.

When I think about money, I think about how this 3in x 6in piece of paper is, ironically, what makes the world go round. And when I start to think about it for too long, it makes my head hurt. But I want to bring some clarity to this notion of money, wealth, riches, mammon–so here it goes:

Money is a means of exchange. It’s a middle man actually. Back in the day, people exchanged goods for goods, services for services. These goods and services were used. It was practical. But now, we exchange money for goods or money for services. Now, our goal is to accummulate money. And this isn’t just in America, for when we travel to another country, we exchange money for money so that we can buy within that market. What’s a market? Good question. As I understand it, there’s basically two types of markets. There’s a free market and a controlled market. In the U.S., we claim to have a free market, aka capitalism.

In capitalism, the means of production and the creation of goods or services are privately owned. The goal–profit. But there’s a few problems with this set-up and over the years, people have noticed. For example, G.K Chesterton once stated, “The chief heresy of vulgar capitalism is the fundamental falsehood that things are not made to be used but made to be sold.” In other words, we buy to buy; we don’t buy to use. So we have an abundance of goods that we never use, which in turn, creates an abundance of waste. 

Another problem of capitalism lies in its motive. As Karl Marx said, “The directing motive, the end and aim of capitalist production, is to extract the greatest possible amount of surplus value, and consequently to exploit labor-power to the greatest possible extent.” That is, the disparity between the rich and the poor will only grow in capitalism.

Furthermore, capitalism assumes a need for more. More surplus value and more money so that more things can be sold and more things can be used (and more things can be wasted). One of the richest men in U.S. history was asked how much money it takes to make a man happy. Without hesitation Rockefeller responded, “Just a little bit more.” You see, the problem is in the motive: more, more, more.

Going back to the quote at the beginning then, it seems that the person saying “You cannot serve both God and mammon,”  is pointing to an inherent quality within mammon. Mammon isn’t a neutral. It’s a competitor. And it competes against God.

So the more I think about this, the more I wonder if, when it comes down to it, Os Guinness might be right. “Either we serve God and use money, or we serve money and use God.” Which are you doing?

11:35

The other day I was thinking about the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept.”

In context, as I’m sure many of you know, Lazarus has died. Lazarus was a friend of Jesus’ and the brother of Mary and Martha. But what stands out in the story is not that Jesus wept, but that he knew Lazarus was sick and didn’t do anything about it for two or three days. And after Jesus weeps, he ends up resurrecting Lazarus from the dead anyways. So, the natural question to ask is, “Why did Jesus weep?”

In the story, the people see Jesus weeping and they say, “See how He loved him.” Clearly they thought Jesus was crying because He had lost a loved one. But I wonder, could He have been weeping for something larger, especially considering that He knew He would resurrect Lazarus? Could Jesus have been weeping because He saw the sorrow that death caused amongst the crowd? Could He have been weeping because He knew we weren’t created to die? Or could He have been weeping because He knew that what was happening with Lazarus would soon be happening to Him?

What do you think? Why was Jesus weeping?

A Riddle (Narnia)

Last time I wrote, I said I was going to give you something to chew on; I just had to keep my mind moving and be intentional. Well, today my mind was a-movin’ and now I’m ready to be intentional. So here’s the riddle:

In The Chronicles of Narnia there is a creature named Tumnus. Tumnus’ appearance is similar to a character in mythology. Which character does he resemble?

Also in The Chronicles of Narnia, particularly in chapter 11 of Prince Caspian, there is a scene of dancing around Aslan. In the midst of this dance is a boy named Bacchus and an old man named Silenus. Both of these names refer to characters in mythology. But what is the significance of the dance?

Now, if you’ve answered the previous two questions, here’s the big kicker: What do we do with this knowledge?

Saying Something

This month marks a year that I have been writing on this blog. Now that’s saying something.

A year ago, I was thinking about so much and learning so much that I just needed an outlet. I wanted to write, and so I did. But now, after writing nearly two blogs per week, I feel like I’ve run out of words. Not really, but kind of. Let me clarify:

Last year at this time, I was sitting in class for 16 hours per week, absorbing information. Then I’d go home and spend about 30 hours per week studying, reading, and learning. My brain was getting crammed and my heart was being challenged. But now, I’m working a job for 40 hours per week where I really don’t have to think. I do mindless manual labor or mindless computer tasks. Yesterday, I hammered some nails. Today, I opened 300 individual documents and clicked print on page 1 and 2, leaving page 3 out. Four hundred and fifty times, click, click, click–ahhhhh!!! And at home, I’m admiring my daughter and helping my wife and walking my dog. As you can surmise, there’s not a lot of time for in-depth thought and new learning. I try my best to learn in the car, but it’s limited.

So, a year later, being in the circumstances I’m in, what can I offer you? A LOT! I just have to keep my mind moving. And be intentional.

I’ll give you plenty to chew on–just wait!

Signs

Signs.

What comes to mind when you hear that word?

An octagon colored red?  Two golden arches? A swoosh? A movie from the early 2000’s?

What about “writing in the sky?” Like a sign from God? Did you think of a sign like that? Have you ever been given a sign like that?

This week, I was given a sign like that. There was no writing in the sky, at least not that I saw. There was, however, a variety of circumstances pointing in the same direction. Here’s what I mean:

I’ve been trying to decide what to do about work. Right now, I’m a seasonal employee, but that stint will run out in March. Already, I’ve begun the job search and there have been a few openings for which I’ve applied. Recently, I saw a posting for a job that would be with the same organization, but it would be full-time, it would pay more, and it would be closer to home. Sounds good, eh? But the problem is that I have been feeling stirred to do something different. That is, I want to use my brain at work. And, I want to work with my brain. I think God has given me a good noggin, and instead of using it, I’ve been doing a mindless job, a manual labor job. So, I’ve been thinking, why not look for another type of job, a job where I’ll use my brain? I started praying.

  • First sign: God says write a letter to this guy who does the type of work I’m wanting to do.
  • Second sign: God gives me two Scriptures to look up. I look them up and both pertain to the type of work I’m wanting to do.
  • Third sign: I try applying for the other job (the full-time one with the same organization, closer to home, and better pay), but I can’t do it. The online program won’t allow me to submit the application–three different times!
  • Fourth sign: I receive a random newsletter in the mail and the first article happens to be about the type of work I’m wanting to do.

So, what should I do with all of this? I think I should go for it! And wait patiently for all of the circumstances to fall into place. After that, I’ll let you know what I’m doing at my new job.