Clarity of Vision

Psalm 139:1-4 (NIV)

You have searched me, Lord,
 and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

John 3:17 (NIV)

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

A strict disciplinarian threatens their child with a warning–"God sees everything you do, so you'd better be good!"  It is through paradox and maturity that we come to understand that the omniscience of God is not a condemnatory threat, but the most liberating of all things about God. He knows all there is to know about us–even our most closely held faults–and his love abides with us still.  We are thus set free despite a paralyzing past to be honest and confident within God’s love. In the final analysis, the omniscience of God is not about rejection, but about unconditional acceptance and the all-embracing induction of doable integrity.

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Reaping the Whirlwind

They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. (Hosea 8:7 NIV).

Ever since Barack Obama was first elected, the Republican opposition has been fierce in its detestation no matter what he proposed. Furthermore, they have demeaned and belittled the president, demonizing him with every despicable pejorative and contumely capable of conjuration, each plainly congruent with thoroughgoing hatred. Now the Republican Party is captured by an internal tempest that swirls with obnoxious prurient charges and countercharges, passionately slashing each other with deep-seated vengeance – a reflex irretrievably implanted and set during the past eight years. We should be aware of how we conduct ourselves vis-à-vis the opposition – for we surely reap what we sow within the inner mind.

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Perry Mason Redux

Who is your favorite TV courtroom attorney? Your favorite TV judge? What do you like about them? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 697).

I stream CBS shows of the past, including multiple seasons of Perry Mason. It is a special treat when Connie and I settle in for an episode which was first televised in the late 1950s. The original characters are all there including Della Street, Paul Drake, Lieut. Tragg, and prosecuting attorney Hamilton Burger. Perhaps the first thing that strikes today’s viewers are the social customs that have changed over the years, especially the then widely accepted practice of smoking tobacco virtually anytime, anywhere, by virtually everybody. The last show I watched portrayed a medical doctor who was frequently lighting up.

Connie and I can repeatedly view each episode, and this comes in handy because many of the shows introduce multiple suspicious characters whose names are briefly mentioned at the beginning and not referred to again until the dénouement (to make matters worse, these key characters often look alike). I become utterly confused as to who is who and who did what. I’ve watched the same show as many as three times to fully understand the plot and keep track of the characters. 

Paul Drake often plays an essential role walking into the courtroom with decisive new evidence that he confides to Perry Mason who happens at that very critical and suspenseful juncture to be standing before the court. Della Street is far more than a clerical secretary as she significantly contributes to the progress of the case. Lieut. Tragg is consistently skeptical and sardonic and Hamilton Burger is without fail ground up in the end like hamburger. Perry is always a prescient genius who grasps the outline of the case leagues before it unfolds.  I only wish it were true that there were such a man as Perry Mason.

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Human Ills as Straws in the Wind

What does it mean that God is your “rock”? How can you live this truth? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 310).

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25).

Picture this scene – a group of people in their prime singing songs of praise.

Now picture this scene – a group of old or infirm people with a multitude of severe conditions singing songs of praise.

Which scene do you find most compelling, most challenging to your assumptions as to what is tenable? If you want to know that faith is solid, look to those in which it is the only explanation for joy. We live in a world in which physical affliction of various types can fill the atmosphere, but those afflictions are no more than straws in the wind to those filled with the love and presence of God. The other day I discussed confidence and its essential role in creativity and effectiveness. It is a mystery, really, how it all works in the brain. Likewise, the role of faith as an anchor for praise is a mystery, but its reality cannot be disputed.

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The Grace of Deception

Is covert action okay? Should honest alternatives take priority over complex plots and deceptive means? (Serendipity Bible, Fourth Edition, page 539).

A parent asks a child: What do you want to do first–dress for Sunday school or straighten your room?  Such in-miniature complex plots and deceptive means are familiar to all of us–the parent suggests that the child has multiple options and choices when in fact there are none.  A good boss says to a subordinate: Please put this in your schedule for today, we need to accomplish xyz.   This little ploy suggests the subordinate has great freedom in scheduling their day, when in fact they do not.  Yet these ploys are profoundly human in that they come across as more polite and considerate than flat-out demands.  Both suggest that we have some meaningful control over our lives.  Everyone prefers the option to pay a bill sometime this month rather than at this very minute.

What I’m saying is that complex plots and deceptive means can embody respect and goodwill and not just be an indicator of menacing exploitation and manipulation.  The person or organization so plotting and deceiving can in fact be faithful to their obligations and accountability while bestowing the same compliment to others.  That is, plots and deception can be indispensable tools that help endow our lives with grace and dignity.

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Wake-up Calls

What is the first thing you hear in the morning: Alarm? Radio? Kids? Dog? How do you respond? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1019).

I arise to the chirp of birds every morning.  Loud, insistent, chirps.  I arise, that is, to the sound of digital bird chirps blaring from my alarm clock.  It’s always set at 7 am.  It’s intent is only incidentally to awaken me. (The truth be told, I often get up before it goes off.)  The main purpose is to remind me to push a button on the wall in my bedroom.  If I don’t push that button, the nurse will be at my door early afternoon to see that I’m all right.  It’s comforting, I suppose in a way, to know that if I should pass away overnight, the world will be notified other than odoriferously.

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The Shattering of Niceness

What is the relationship between peace and righteousness?...(Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1033).

Jesus said: “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”  (Luke 12:49-53 NIV).

When you are nice in order to protect yourself, lookout, because you might just be putting yourself before God.  Sometimes you, like the prophet Ezekiel, have to speak up, and that might mean ticking people off.  It’s so much easer to just be nice and avoid the conflict altogether. But when sin is involved, being nice and not saying anything that would offend is contributing to that sin, even joining it. (God Guy Bible with notes by Michael DiMarco, page 944).

Certainly one of the greatest challenges to attaining righteousness on this earth is to give up the childish notion that love equates with niceness. We must come–even if reluctantly–to realize that love’s deep-river kindness has nothing in common with society’s trivial ploys of shallow niceness. I think the current political contest in America illustrates the justified cynicism that political correctness and saccharine “niceness” have engendered. As much as I disagree with Donald Trump and cannot ever foresee voting for him, I do tip my hat to his righteous skewering of the dangerous pantomimed hypocrisy of plastic niceness.

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Lunchtime Chatter

What can your group cultivate to help eradicate gossip and false accusations among God’s people? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 294).

Various Definitions of Gossip:

=========================
Gossip need not be all that bad. (With a clear conscience most all of us regularly gossip/chatter like this):

• Light informal conversation for social occasions
• ...divulging [non-derogatory, sometimes laudatory] personal information about others (WordWeb Pro)
• Idle chat
• Tittle-tattle
• Easy familiar writing (Chambers Dictionary)

• casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true [but of a non-derogatory, sometimes laudatory nature]: he became the subject of much local gossip.
  (New Oxford Dictionary)

============================
Down and dirty gossip:

• A report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people (WordWed Pro)

• Scandalous rumours
• Someone who goes about telling and hearing news, or idle, malicious and scandalous tales (Chambers Dictionary)

• chiefly derogatory a person who likes talking about other people's private lives (New Oxford Dictionary)

========================

So when we consider gossip, it must recognized that it would be difficult to get through the day without passing on at least some interesting news about others.  This need not be bad, and can even serve others.  We can, in effect, function as a friend’s marketing department.

Malicious gossip intended to damage others is of another character entirely and must be avoided in whatever veiled form it appears.  Its intent is not only to hurt others, but to poison the ambient atmosphere.

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The Essential Role of Confidence

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for. (Hebrews 11:1-20 NIV).

The wicked flee though no one pursues,
but the righteous are as bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1 NIV).

This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. (1 John 3 19-22 NIV).

Donald Trump remarked this past week that if one loses their confidence, then their talents can also decline. (Remarks regarding his friend, Michael Jackson.)

It seems to me that one of the greatest mysteries regarding humankind is the place of confidence in effectiveness and achievement. I think Donald Trump made a profound observation when he noted that the loss of confidence can lead to abatement of talents.

I think one of the most remarkable things that those who drew around Jesus must have seen and sensed was that here was a man who had full confidence. Not afflicted by sin and guilt like the rest of us, he must have been a tremendously refreshing figure standing free without the usual weighty baggage of anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and guilt. The Scripture says that “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us we have confidence before God and received from him anything we ask....” Let us not slouch and sneak around like a tormented dog, but with full confidence enter a room as man’s best friend – as someone at peace with themselves and imbued with joy, goodwill, and creativity.

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Hey baby, come here often?

What’s the “oldest line in the book” when you are trying to get to know someone “new”? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 580).

Hey baby, come here often?
What’s your sign?

Such introductory segues are so trite as to bring groans and eyes rolled to the ceiling. Of late I have been thinking about what is the best way to introduce someone to Christ. This is a very hard nut to crack for most people will run in terror the moment they think they’re your religious mark. To make matters worse, the reason that you are even thinking about such an introduction means that you have judged the person you’re speaking to and found them lost. And what does “lost” mean? It means you think they are searching for a purpose worth living for. It means you think they have had it up to here with glitterimg promises that do not pan out in practice. That list of lost and misapplied attempts can be a long one depending on where one has looked for meaning and put one’s faith – success, money, status, education, career, entertainment, government, business, material goods, consuming projects, frenzied experimentation. To this person I would simply say: “For a long-term sense of satisfaction and purpose one needs spiritual contentment that rests upon ultimate freedom. This freedom is possible when one trust in God and God alone. I have found in my experience that true freedom comes only by following the way of Christ.” And I would end it right there and change the subject. You can trust that if a person is honestly searching for freedom, they will appreciate a sincere and concise suggestion.

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The Aphrodisiac of Financial Gain

Think of a time in your life when you have gotten the wrong answer because you asked the wrong question.  Silly you, what happened? When did you finally wake up and fly right? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 736).

Some time ago I filled up my garage with merchandise purchased at BOGO (Buy One, Get One free) sales. My question at the time was, how can you possibly go wrong when you get the second item for no more money? – it’s a flat out steal! Well, when it came time to move I had to give away or throw away a multitude of buys too good to pass up. You see, these items were purchased at a grocery store and many of them were, incredibly, perishable items. Those that were not – like laundry detergent – were in such abundant supply that it was more appropriate for a commercial laundry.

This was not the first time that a chase after money led to bad decisions. In college I didn’t know nothing about anything except that I wanted to be financially secure later in life. Therefore without any appropriate skills, talents, gifts, or interest; I decided to be a dentist. Not surprisingly, low grades quickly diverted me off this yellow brick road.

I would like to think I have outgrown my lust for money and irresistible bargains, but I have backslid often enough to know otherwise.

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Find Drama If You Dare!

What motivates you more:  (a) A well-timed whisper full of wisdom? (b) A mighty shout that gets you off your feet? (c) A radical change in circumstances? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 735).

Human beings are mysterious beast because we can spend so much time trying to attain and yet avoid drama. I bought a new car for the excitement and drama of it. Yet, I take the car in for regular service to avoid the drama of major engine problems. I plan my day so I can have the satisfaction of checking off in order accomplished tasks; yet can appreciate the refreshing drama and proffered lessons that can arise from unexpected disruptions. As a Christian I believe that some drama is heaven sent – such as met Paul on the road to Damascus. Some drama arises from human creativity: for example the worldwide web as a catalyst for dramatically enhanced commerce and communication. On the other hand, we are only too familiar with the dark drama that arises from human poverty and neglect. We dream of a world of peace and tranquility, but do not see to do the multiple chores or to make the multiple sacrifices that would bring it on. Some drama we hate; some drama we love; some drama we seek; some drama we flee. It is with some anxiety that we dare pray for a drama-filled week.

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A Privileged Life

Did you ever run out of money when you were away from home? What did you do? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1706).

As I have never in my 72 years unintentionally missed a single meal, I have never run out of money at or away from home. This simply points to the privileged nature of my life. I have never for a second personally experienced want or deprivation. So from this measure you can clearly see that I have lived in privileged abundance; though many with yet more exuberant measures would judge me materially deficient. It is for those in my position to choose to see their lives in the light of gratitude and grace or from a jealous vantage point churning out a dark and envious shade of greed.

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What Do I Expect of a President?

Since power in the US is shared in many ways (executive, legislative, judicial on the federal level and variously on the state and local levels), I do not expect the president to wield by fiat all handles of power (not to mention economic and social power).  I do not expect nor do I want this. If a president can accomplish three major new programs, I feel that the president has accomplished about as much as one can expect in eight (or four!) years. Let us not fool ourselves, a single term of four years is a flash-in-the-pan blur in which to realize major objectives.

So when I vote for a presidential candidate, I not only vote for a few specific programs, but I suppose one can say my major intent is to signify to all comers that I agree with the basic rhetoric, ideas, and dreams of the candidate; that is, I am most comfortable with the candidate’s style and persona which combined extends significance light-years beyond any one or two specific programs.  I am signifying to the world the America I would like to see not just in a few years, but the America of my cherished dreams.

This might seem odd or grandiose, but it’s not at all.  I feel the same way about many who fill “lesser” roles.  I have a friend that washes dishes for a living.  I would hire him in an instant because he does the work of three people.  But more than that, he represents the character and entrepreneurial spirit I admire.  So it’s not only a question of can he do the job, but in what spirit he does it and what big dreams inspire him?  

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Desert Years

What do you view as the wilderness period for you? Why? What was most difficult about this for you? What good came out of that experience? At the time, how did it affect your relationship with others? With God? As you recall this desert experience, what painful and joyful feelings linger? What do these lasting memories make you want to do now? Why? How can you use this to strengthen your faith in God? Your service to others? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 262). 

I view the first six years after leaving home (roughly ages 18 – 23) as my lost years when I had little clue as to who I was or what I wanted to do – what to expect of myself, what to expect of others. These were the uncomfortable years, the years of high anxiety and feelings of misgiving. Many of these years found me at institutions of higher learning. But I was not focused and passionate about my studies or work. I was searching, I was lost. I was a tied statue. I was sure only of my family’s love and God’s love. These were the springs of living water in a desert pocked with stagnant pools of isolation and doubt.

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Self-Absorption

What tries your patience more: Slow elevators? Slow food service? Traffic jams? Christmas sales lines?... When have you been spiritually lazy? What motivated you again? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1672).

The other day a group of us was lamenting the maldistribution of wealth in the United States. Someone had the good sense to point out that the greatest maldistribution of wealth occurs on an international level in which some countries are unspeakably poor compared to others overflowing with material goods. A century or two from now people may look back and wonder how we possibly could have been so heartless as to acquiesce to such ruthless contrasts not only on the home front but internationally as well. May we pray for enlightenment that will awaken us and bring us to conviction.

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A Standing Invitation

Are you ambitious for great things, or satisfied with very little? Illustrate. (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1111).

Remember that in sports the difference between “average” and “champion” is only a matter of seconds, or even tenths of seconds; and in the measure of life, the difference between “average” and “historic” is only an accumulation of relatively small decisions. This is partly to say that the meaning of average is difficult to determine, so we ought to use the term cautiously; and still more, that we ought never to minimize our own role or potential, because we may not know how close we are to being a key component in eternity’s unfolding. (The Thirteen Apostles by J. Ellsworth Kalas, pages 105-6).

Like many humans (all humans?) I yearn to have a lasting influence that will live beyond my encroaching mortality. No doubt this is one reason I do these blogs. There’s a hope that someone perhaps now or years hence may happen upon them and find them interesting or helpful. Very average in every way, I must augment my occasional gifts with considerable effort. The hope is that any extra measure of effort may make the difference between average ephemeral and above-average longer-term. These daily blogs are like photographs--I must shoot a raft of mediocre turkeys to hit upon a prize gobbler worth keeping.  If a handful of them survive and find their way to table; I will, rest assured, smile.

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Pyrrhic Perfection

Are you more likely to “speak the truth” or “in love” try to keep the peace at any price? To achieve a balance, what do you need to learn? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1628).

I think we’re called to witness for Christ in whatever situation we find ourselves. Of prime importance must be the love and respect we bear others.  The short of it is we wish to help, not hurt, others. But this is not an easy thing to do and often requires considerable skill. The blunt truth can crush a fragile soul and the shaded truth can be oblivious to a headstrong one. Thus we must modulate our behavior to be most helpful at any given juncture. Now we have to admit that no mere mortal is very good at this. When we fancy ourselves too savvy for words, we do the most damage of all. When we telegraph to others that we think they are not up to the truth and we must “handle them” (read “manipulate them”), then we’ve committed the profoundest insult and greatest hurt of all. Sometimes the boisterous ruffian is 100 times more compassionate than the fine-tuned connoisseur of manners.

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The Morning After New Hampshire Primary

I find a beauty in the clamor of US politics. Bottom line, the U.S. is a democracy and thus ancient injustices and modern distortions have, not only the hope, but an avenue of redress through the enforced equality of the People's ballot.





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Bathroom Integrity Trick

When did you purposely copy someone else's dress? Hairstyle? Homework? Recipe?...(Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 546).

Let us say that you are in a discussion group and that you tend to be staunchly conservative in politics. The group is of the other persuasion and tends to be consistently liberal. You have been keeping quiet during the discussion, but at some point someone turns to you and says “Mac, what are your ideas on this?” Now of course all of your juices are saying “Turn chicken and craft your answer to be more or less aligned to the dominant persuasions of the group. Most of all, don’t ruffle any feathers!”  This is when the bathroom integrity trick can come in handy. In a flash image in your own mind that you are sitting in complete privacy in your home. You’re thinking aloud with your own musings on the issue: “What do I think about this?”  Now simply answer the question in a quiet but matter of fact way.” See the beauty of this integrity trick? I think others will take note and be persuaded, if nothing else, of your quiet integrity.

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Salad Days and Zealous Years

In your zealous years, did you march, rally, picket, obstruct, or otherwise “protest”? Get in trouble? In what ways have your views changed? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 688).

It is human to forgive, but divine to forget. (Heard today in church.)

Now 72, I look back on my “zealous years.”  First off, I would like to say that in many ways I’m more zealous today than ever. This is primarily because I do not have a tendency to worship society’s authority figures to such an extent as I once did. (Maybe this one reason they want young ones in boot camp.) When I was 23 anyone prominent almost without exception had some degree of abeyance from me. Now I have enough self-confidence to realize that an eight-year-old can be 100 times more right than a 47-year-old credentialed expert among most important everyday matters – certainly most ethical questions fall within this realm.

When I was in my 20s I refused induction into the US military because of Vietnam and thus ended up in federal prison. When I was in my 20s I picketed a restaurant that enforced racial segregation. That little incident ended with a car chase and multiple stitches in my lower lip. I don’t mean to over dramatize this, but it is essential to know that eternal verities must be affirmed when this can be a threat to one’s life.

I’m less “athletic and physical” than I once was. But I’m way more sure and determined and resilient in spirit today. How this all washes out in practice is open to question.

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Please Explain

How do you feel when those who are evil suffer? Do you rejoice that justice is done? Are you sad when anyone suffers? Do you have mixed feelings? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 863).

I would like to ask a psychological therapist two questions. If I come to you and say that I am the president of the United States, you quickly assess that I am delusional. If I come to you with a full set of male genitalia and say that I’m really a woman, you adjudge  a very interesting and profound psychological phenomenon and say that I am quite rational to think that way. Please explain. If I come to you and say that I am suffering from deep mental depression and plan to commit suicide, you step back and say that I have a right to do so – to end my own suffering. If, on the other hand, I sit here with a razor blade and slash my arm, you quickly intervene and say that you have a professional responsibility to do so. Please explain.

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A Ballsy Request

If Jesus said, “What do you want me to do for you?” How would you answer? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1358).

My answer is that he help make me an apostle through the Scriptures. That is, in a sense, I want Jesus to imagine that I was in the social mix during the time that he was here on earth. I would that he make me one of the few that had his close companionship. The reason I would wish this is quite simple – I want to learn from him. Therefore I ask that in my studies of Scripture and my exploration of the Christian life with others; that I ever more correctly discern his spirit, his style, and his way of loving and respecting others with courage and truth.

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My Prison Treasures

If in jail, what three items would you want most (a file, a saw or key is not permitted)? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1565).

When I was in prison in the late 1960s, I most appreciated three items – The Christian Science Monitor (newspaper format) daily edition, an anthology of American literature, and a space to call my own (my own bed and locker situated within a large open-spaced dormitory). The Christian Science Monitor offered not only news, but interesting essays on home life, literature, and so forth. The anthology of American literature kept me anchored in early, middle, and late American writings. It too provided some solace for me to fancy mystic kinship with Emerson, Thoreau, Dickinson, Twain, Sidney Lanier, and even Benjamin Franklin. Of course in prison there is little or no real privacy. The bed and locker provided a place to sleep and to stash a few keepsakes. It was a locker in name only and was not provided with a lock. In prison a daily positive personal routine is essential for good mental and spiritual health.

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A Crisis of Judgment

In a crisis, Paul reacted with urgent forewarnings, maintaining hope, counseling, common sense, giving thanks, remaining calm, persevering to the end. In comparison, how do you react to crisis? What is the greatest pressure situation you’re facing now? How can Paul’s example and the principles you’ve learned from his experience help you? What is your part and what is God’s part in the resolution of your storm? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 1564).

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. (Henry David Thoreau in Walden)

Paul’s basic principle was to stay steady in the Lord always affirming the way of Christ. His calling required leadership and travel. My calling does not require leadership and travel, but does require contemplation and affirmation. As a retiree it can be expected that I have tons of free time. Just the opposite is the case. At the close of most days I feel a quiet desperation that though I have traveled about the city like a lizard, my true calling has not been met even though I have been conscientiously serving others (and thus not "wasting" time).  Paul’s principle of perseverance is my greatest counsel – to keep on “keeping on” and leaving final judgment as to my efficiency and effectiveness up to God.

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When I Fall in Love

What about a politician’s or clan’s “Rise and Fall” most intrigues you? What do you imagine it must be like to be famous and powerful one moment in history, only to be disgraced and banished the next? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 565).

Verb: infatuate
1. Arouse unreasoning love or passion in and cause to behave in an irrational way
[WordWeb Pro]

I have been infatuated by people and by things. I’ve been infatuated by stock I knew would triple in a year. I have been infatuated by a car that I purchased on the spot knowing for certain it had all positives and no negatives. Ironically, often our bigger more important decisions entail the most ignorance regarding realistic particulars, so we are impelled to act based on emotion and symbolism. This is spectacularly true in politics in which less as to program details can be more as to emotive power. In this climate there is little wonder that politicians “Rise” on promises and “Fall” when inexorably faced with the paradoxes and complexities of the real world. We learned the hard way that the gallant white horse can carry a veiled buffoon.

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